We have back-to-back new episodes of “Worst Cooks in America” 2026 tonight on Food Network. Fan-favorite chef Jeff Mauro and restaurateur Chef Tiffany Derry are back to teach this group of reality TV stars how to make Tex-Mex tacos and then cowboy rib-eye steaks on “Worst Cooks in America: Reality Check.” The remaining contestants, which still includes “Dancing With the Stars” pro Val Chmerkovskiy and “The Challenge” star CT Tamburello, are fighting to be named the winner of “Worst Cooks in America” season 30. Find out who gets eliminated on “Worst Cooks in America” 2026 tonight with us during our “Worst Cooks in America” live recap below.
Culinary Outlaws
The seven remaining contestants will be back in the kitchen tonight with the hopes oftheir cooking journey on the show. They will be working with Jeff and Tiffany, who will be guiding them through different challenges to improve their culinary skills.
For this fourth episode, titled “Culinary Outlaws,” the contestants will be tasked with rustling up some Tex-Mex tacos. Then they will jump into the main dish challenge, which will have them cooking up some cowboy ribeye steaks. The fight to be named the winner of “Worst Cooks in America” season 30 continues tonight. Follow along with our Live Recap below!
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD: THIS LIVE RECAP WILL BE UPDATED THROUGHOUT THE EPISODE, SO DO NOT KEEP READING IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO READ SPOILERS.
January 25 Live Recap – Episode 4
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Worst Saloon in America
For this Skill Drill challenge, the contestants will be making a trio of Tex-Mex tacos. Before they can start, the teams will be going through some challenges to wrangle up the ingredients missing from the recipes. After they retrieve all of the ingredients, they can then start making the tacos. They have 35 minutes to retrieve the ingredients and make the tacos.
The teams gather all of the ingredients and then have to put the recipes together. Everything is finally all set, so they have about 24 minutes to make the tacos. Jeff and Tiffany said this is the first challenge they are working on their own from start to finish, so they are nervous. The contestants have to figure out the protein they want to cook with and add one topping to it.
The contestants are all struggling, but then Ryan Lochte turns around to grab something and slips on a piece of spaghetti they had to dig out ingredients from. His leg shifts, and he gets shooting pain up his leg. The same leg he had knee surgery on months ago, so he is feeling some pain right now.
Ryan is feeling pain, but powers through. He struggles to get his tacos done. All of the contestants struggle, but the time runs out, and time for the judges to taste them.
Tasting & Results
The dishes are complete, so time for Jeff and Tiffany to taste these tacos:
- Manila – She has a lot of flavors on here. The mango is good to break up the spice. The shrimp is cooked well, but the tortilla is flaky and dry.
- Val – He got aggressive with the spice. They needed more crema on it, but the pico de gallo is good.
- Reza – The plate looks like something from a restaurant. Cooked well. He did a very good taco.
- CT – Nice cuts on pico de gallo, but wanted the chicken cooked more and more salt. He has something nice going on here.
- Beverly – She has great flavor on the steak, but it’s large cuts on the steak. However, she did a good job.
- Julie – Shrimp is well-cooked and well-spiced. It’s hard to eat the shrimp with the shell on it.
- Ryan – He is missing the toppings. Jeff can’t even eat the taco! He didn’t put any salt, so that’s the reason.
Reza made the best tacos. For winning, he wins the Lone Star Advantage. That means he wins immunity from the next main dish challenge on “Worst Cooks in America” season 30.
Main Dish Challenge on ‘Worst Cooks in America’
GettyThe contestants come back, and the Blue Team is missing a person. Yes, Ryan Lochte did hurt his leg/knee. The pain was too much, and he couldn’t continue in the competition, so he was eliminated tonight!
Now for the Main Dish Challenge, the contestants will be tasked with making cowboy ribeye steaks. The mentors take them through the steps to make these dishes. After getting instructions, the contestants now have 60 minutes to create these dishes.
This dish is all about the steak, so they don’t want to ruin the meat. Manila puts her steak in the oven, but then never sets the timer. This is a big mistake.
The contestants are all trying to make their dishes prettier and better. Manila is grilling some spinach. It’s all about salt for them, and is it enough or not? However, the time runs out, and the dishes are in place.
Tasting & Results
Time for the mentors to taste these dishes:
- Beverly – The steak is perfectly cooked. Unbelievable sear. She should be proud of herself.
- Julie – The ribeye is undercooked, but he loves the rub on it. Needs more salt. The zucchini is lovely.
- CT – This is super great, the steak is cooked beautifully. The Brussels sprouts are intense.
- Manila – Good sear on the steak, but one side is cooked more than the other side.
- Reza – Nice crust on the steak, evenly cooked. Cut too thick. It all flows together, though.
- Val – The potatoes might be her favorite part. He overcooked the steak in the oven.
After tasting all of the dishes, the winner for the Red Team is Reza. The winner for the Blue Team is Beverly. Also safe on Blue Team is CT, which means Julie is up for elimination. Also safe on the Red Team is Manila, which means Val is up for elimination.
Blind Elimination Challenge
For this challenge, the contestants will have to create a loaded quesadilla with a dipping sauce. They have 15 minutes to create the dish. The pressure is now on for Val and Julie.
Julie burns her shell, but doesn’t have time to start over. Everyone is stressing out, as the time is running out, and the contestants are trying to plate it. Time to taste:
- Julie – Love the coloring on the tortilla. Grilled lime is good, said they went the extra mile.
- Val – The peppers are nicely cut. The steak is good. The guac is too acidic.
The mentors discuss the dishes, and since they lost a recruit this week, both Val and Julie are safe! No one else is going home tonight, so just the elimination of Ryan Lochte tonight.
What do you think of the results tonight?
Episode 5 starts now, so follow along with our LIVE RECAP here!
