Worst Cooks in America season 25

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Contents

Worst Cooks in America
Season 25
Judges
No. of contestants12
WinnerNick Trawick
Runner-upMichael Judson Berry
No. of episodes8
Release
Original network Food Network
Original releaseJanuary 1 (2023-01-01) –
February 5, 2023 (2023-02-05)
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 24
Next →
Season 26

Worst Cooks in America 25, also known as Viral Sensations, is the twenty-fifth season of the American competitive reality television series Worst Cooks in America . It premiered on Food Network on January 1, 2023 and concluded on February 5, 2023. Nick Trawick was the winner of this season, with Michael Judson Berry as the runner-up.

Format

Worst Cooks in America is an American reality television series in which contestants (referred to as "recruits") with poor cooking skills undergo a culinary boot camp for the chance to win $25,000 and a Food Network cooking set. [1] [2] The recruits are trained on the various basic cooking techniques including baking, knife skills, temperature, seasoning and preparation. Each episode features two core challenges: the Skills Drill, which tests their grasp of basic techniques demonstrated by the chef mentors, and the Main Dish Challenge, where they must apply those skills to recreate or invent a more complex dish under specific guidelines. The weakest performer is eliminated at the end of each episode. The final two contestants prepare a restaurant-quality, three-course meal for a panel of food critics, who evaluate the dishes based on taste, presentation, and overall improvement. [3]

During this season, a new gimmick to the show has been added. It is known as a Chef Like, which is a pin awarded to the winner of the Skill Drill Challenge on both teams and the Main Dish Challenge on both teams. The respective mentor of the team decides the winner. The recruit who accumulates the most will have a game-changing advantage. In episode 5, the recruit with the most Chef Likes on each team was able to choose one team member to switch to the opposite team.

Judges

Darnell Ferguson joins Anne Burrell to host the first run of Viral Sensations. The season premiered on January 1, 2023.

Recruits

ContestantHometownOccupationTeamStatus
Nick Trawick Los Angeles, California Social media influencerAnneWinner
on February 5, 2023
Michael Judson Berry Jersey City, New Jersey ActorDarnellRunner-up
on February 5, 2023
Paris Nicholson Los Angeles, California Social media influencerAnneFinalist
on February 5, 2023
NaJe' Elmore Texarkana, Texas Social media influencerDarnell
David Chen Fort Lauderdale, Florida Flight attendantDarnellEliminated
on January 29, 2023
Tessica Brown Violet, Louisiana Stay at home momAnne
Eliza Petersen West Jordan, Utah Amateur paleontologistDarnell
Rich Aronovitch New York City Professional comedianAnne
Mitchell Tyler Ralston Huntington Beach, California Ghost HunterAnneEliminated
on January 22, 2023
Sabrina Rios Los Angeles, California Social media influencerDarnell
Tina Kim Los Angeles, California Social media influencerDarnellEliminated
on January 15, 2023
Adam Kreutinger Buffalo, New York PuppeteerAnneEliminated
on January 8, 2023

Elimination Chart

  Team Anne
  Team Darnell
*Initially a member of the other team
RankContestantEpisode
12345678
1NickININININBTMBTMBTMWINNER
2MichaelINININWINWINBTMBTMRUNNER-UP
3ParisBTMININWINWININWINFINALIST
4NaJe'INWINWINBTMINWINWIN
5DavidBTMINININBTMINOUT
6TessicaINBTMINBTMBTMWINOUT
7Eliza*INWINWININSWAPOUT
8Rich*ININININSWAPOUT
9MitchellINININOUT
10SabrinaININBTMOUT
11TinaININOUT
12AdamINOUT
Key
  (WINNER) This contestant won the competition and was crowned "Best of the Worst".
  (RUNNER-UP) The contestant was the runner-up in the finals of the competition.
  (FINALIST) The contestant was a finalist in the finals of the competition.
  (WIN) The contestant did the best on their team in the week's Main Dish Challenge and was considered the winner.
  (BTM) The contestant was selected as one of the bottom entries in the Main Dish challenge but was not eliminated.
  (SWAP) The contestant get switched by a mentor to the other team.
  (OUT) The contestant lost that week's Main Dish challenge and was out of the competition.

Episodes

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleOriginal release date  [4]
1821"Viral Sensations: Culinary Clickbait"January 1, 2023 (2023-01-01)
1842"Viral Sensations: America's Next Culinary Influencer"January 8, 2023 (2023-01-08)
1853"Viral Sensations: My Big Fat Greek Kitchen"January 15, 2023 (2023-01-15)
1864"Viral Sensations: That's So Decadent"January 22, 2023 (2023-01-22)
1875"Viral Sensations: Surviving Worst Cooks"January 22, 2023 (2023-01-22)
1886"Viral Sensations: Glitch in the Culinary Matrix"January 29, 2023 (2023-01-29)
1897"Viral Sensations: Robo-Roast"January 29, 2023 (2023-01-29)
1908"Viral Sensations: Verified Chefs"February 5, 2023 (2023-02-05)

References

  1. ↑ Lynch, Rene (January 2, 2010). "'Worst Cooks in America' isn't just a title: They're horrible". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved February 14, 2013.
  2. ↑ Tucker, Ken (January 4, 2010). "'Worst Cooks in America': Worst thing I watched most of last night". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved February 14, 2013.
  3. ↑ Worst Cooks in America (Comedy, Game-Show, Reality-TV), Anne Burrell, Tyler Florence, Bobby Flay, Optomen Productions, January 3, 2010, retrieved July 24, 2025{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  4. ↑ "Shows A-Z - worst cooks in america on foodnetwork". The Futon Critic . Retrieved July 27, 2025.

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