The second of two new episodes of “Worst Cooks in America” 2026 tonight on Food Network starts now. Fan-favorite chef Jeff Mauro and restaurateur Chef Tiffany Derry continue to mentor this group of reality TV stars. This episode features the recruits having to create an afterparty event and then cooking up craft brunch burgers on “Worst Cooks in America: Reality Check.” The contestants, which still includes “Dancing With the Stars” pro Val Chmerkovskiy and “Shahs of Sunset” star Reza Farahan, are looking to make it another week in the competition. Find out who gets eliminated on “Worst Cooks in America” season 30 tonight with us during our “Worst Cooks in America” live recap below.
Glitz, Glam, & Gourmet
The six remaining contestants will be back in the kitchen tonight, as they continue their cooking journey. They will be working with Jeff and Tiffany, who will be guiding them through different challenges to improve their culinary skills.
For this fifth episode, titled “Glitz, Glam, and Gourmet,” the contestants will be tasked with creating an afterparty event that’s high on flavor and flair. Then it’s time to learn how to cook up some craft brunch burgers with fries. 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 5
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Party Time on ‘Worst Cooks on America’
For this challenge, they have 45 minutes to plan a party. They will each create their own hors d’oeuvres. They will work together to plan the theme of the party. The recruits have to create a drink, also.
Julie is using caviar for her dish. She said she’s been to a lot of parties over the years, but she is keeping her lips sealed. CT is making French fries, but he has too many potatoes in the fryer, so they might not cook properly. Now he has to redo this.
Reza says when he throws a party, he’s the guest and not much for him to do. Julie is serving quail eggs, which surprised Jeff. Val’s figs are in the oven, so he starts working on their cocktail. He has no idea how ounces work, so this might be a very strong drink!
CT is working on the “fun punch” for his team’s cocktail. He’s just throwing in all the alcohol on this one, as Julie tells him to make something with a lot of alcohol. The decorations are going up, and the time is running out, so time for the party to get started.
Tasting & Results
The time ran out, and now it’s time for the judges to taste these dishes:
- Red Team Drink – They said there is a good pucker to it.
- Val – They said good technique for getting crispy bacon. The fig has a touch of sweetness, so wanted salt to balance it.
- Manila – It’s crunchy and has a great sear on the crab cake. The arugula is good.
- Reza – They like the crunch on the pita. The meat is super juicy. They want it to be easier to eat.
- Blue Team Drink – They are scared to drink CT’s drink! They said, however, it’s very refreshing.
- CT – Good cut on most of the potatoes. Crispy texture, but they wanted a dipping sauce. A good start, though.
- Julie – The eggs threw Tiffany off. They said she’s been to some classy events before.
- Beverly – Everything is well-balanced. They wanted the stem off the fi,g though.
Results – The judges enjoyed both, but the winning team tonight is the Red Team. For winning, they get the Party Favor Advantage. For this, they will get access to a special pantry for the Main Dish Challenge.
Main Dish Challenge
It’s now after-party time. For this Main Dish Challenge, the recruits will be tasked with creating a brunch burger, fries, and a Bloody Mary! The mentors give them a lesson on how to make everything before they get started.
The recruits now have 60 minutes to replicate their own burger, fries, and Bloody Mary. They have to include an egg and make their own version of everything.
Since the Red Team got the specialty pantry, it included avocados. That means no avocados for the Blue Team, which Beverly wanted. Manila offers her an avocado if she can get a DVD box set of “7th Heaven,” which is beyond funny! Then her confessionals are just so good. Can we get more Manila?
Julie says that everyone has different tastes and likes. Because of that, she just seems to be adding everything to her burger right now. Beverly is doing a lot of things she hasn’t done before, so she is stressing herself out right now.
Val has access to the special pantry, so he got truffle and he is putting truffle everything on his burger. The stress levels are high, but the time runs out, and they all have their dishes plated. Julie broke her egg as she was plating, and Reza forgot his egg!
Tasting & Results
Time for the mentors to taste these dishes from the recruits:
- Reza – The burger is beautiful, with so many beautiful flavors. The Bloody Mary tastes good. The egg missing is huge.
- Val – The burger could be more under. Liked the salt on the rim for the Bloody Mary.
- Manila – The horseradish in the burger is what is singing. The egg is the most perfect egg. The fires are too sweet, and a beautiful Bloody Mary.
- CT – He loves the aioli on it. The fries are flavorful, and a mighty fine Bloody Mary.
- Julie – The burger is beautiful, loves the big thick tomato. The ratio is crazy and hard to eat. Wanted more Parmesan on the fries.
- Beverly – The meat is nicely seasoned, and the egg is perfectly done. Wanted more seasoning on the fries. Not bad at all for the Bloody Mary.
Results – The best burger on the Red Team belongs to Val. The best burger on the Blue Team belongs to CT. Also safe on the Blue Team is Beverly, which means Julie is up for elimination again tonight. Also safe on the Red Team is Manila, which means Reza is up for elimination!
Blind Elimination Challenge on ‘Worst Cooks in America’
For this challenge, Reza and Julie will have 10 minutes to create an avocado toast. They have to top it with a sunny-side-up egg.
With only 10 minutes on the clock, these recruits don’t have much time. They also don’t have any time to make mistakes!
Reza is adding truffle and chives, and is hoping it gives the avocado the flavor it needs. The toast is not cooking as fast as she’d like, but she says she needs to worry about the egg right now. They are both trying to make it as fancy as possible. The time runs out, and both recruits are happy.
Tasting & Results
The mentors are back, so time to taste these dishes:
- Julie – The egg is cooked nicely, likes the chunks of avocado. The salad is nice, but the bread needs to be toasted more.
- Reza – The egg is great. The goat cheese gives it saltiness. Things are too soft in it.
After tasting them both, the judges pick Reza’s dish as the better dish. That means Downtown Julie Brown has been eliminated on “Worst Cooks in America” 2026 tonight!
GettyWhat do you think of tonight’s results?
