The Food Network has set a premiere date for the new season of Worst Cooks in America after Anne Burrell’s recent death. Burrell was found dead in her Brooklyn home on June 17 at the age of 55.
Worst Cooks in America: Talented and Terrible will premiere on Monday, July 28 and will showcase “recruits who are professional performers and used to stealing the spotlight, but in the kitchen, they are dishing out disasters.” Burrell hosts the season alongside chef Gabe Bertaccini.
Anne and Gabe will guide the chefs throughout the 29th season as the try to make restaurant classics, fan-favorites and international cuisines in the hopes of becoming the best of the worst. One person is eliminated during each episode until one contestant remains, who receives $25,000 and hopefully some improved skills in the kitchen.
Burrell hosted Worst Cooks in America for 27 seasons, from 2010 to 2024. Burrell “was so invested in it,” Bertaccini told PEOPLE. “It was her baby. She wasn’t there for the paycheck,” the 39-year-old chef and presenter said.
The chef explained how the pair met just before filming when Burrell invited Bertaccini to an Italian restaurant for dinner. The Ciao House star told PEOPLE how easily the pair bonded over food and his story. “I remember she was so engaged in who I was, where I was from. And I really saw a side of Anne that, because until then I just saw her on TV, so I saw a side of Anne that was so human and so interested and so inquisitive, and just smart and quick and fun and witty,” he said.
Food Network will also air a tribute night to Anne Burrell
Additionally, on June 25 at 10 p.m., the network with air “a curated selection of encore episodes featuring Anne will highlight her extraordinary talent as a chef, competitor and teacher.”
The block of programming dedicated to the late chef will include a countdown of the top 15 worst dishes ever from Worst Cooks in America. They network will also air Guy’s Grocery Games: All-Stars and A-Lister Dinners which stars Anne Burrell alongside Eric Greenspan, Jet Tila and Marcel Vigneron.
Some fans feel like this isn’t enough of a tribute for such an iconic star of the Food Network. After her death, people took to social media to wonder why they weren’t showing reruns of Anne’s shows and why the tribute is happening so late at night.
"I’m surprised you guys haven’t been playing reruns since this happened. She definitely deserves a better time slot than 10 p.m.," commented one fan. Another commented on the network's Instagram post declaring they offer "a full week of throwing her episodes in there throughout the day. Come on now!"
Burrell was a beloved part of the Food Network family, serving as host of Worst Cooks in America as well as making appearances on shows like Iron Chef America and Chopped. Before becoming a television personality, she worked in Italy as a chef and in New York restaurants.
She made her TV debut in 2005 when Iron Chef Mario Batali asked Burrell to serve as one of his sous chefs during the pilot of Food Network's Iron Chef America series. She continued to serve as his sous chef during his tenure on the show.
Worst Cooks in America: Talented and Terrible premieres on Monday, July 28, at 9 p.m. ET on Food Network. The episode will be available to stream on HBO Max the following day.
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