Worst Cooks In America Celebrity Edition: That's So 90's is time traveling back a few decades with a 90's-themed season. Chefs Anne Burrell and Jeff Mauro will mentor the nine celebrity recruits through a culinary boot camp as they try to shed the title of Worst Cook In America. Anne has mentored on every season of Worst Cooks In America Celebrity Edition, alongside either Rachael Ray or Tyler Florence, but this season, Jeff will go head-to-head with Anne in the competition. Previous winners of the show include Jersey Shore star Jenni "JWOWW" Farley (season 1), The Real co-host Loni Love (season 2), blogger Perez Hilton (season 3), singer La Toya Jackson (season 4), retired figure skater Tonya Harding (season 5), and Bachelor In Paradise star Wells Adams (season 6).
According to the Food Network press release, Anne and Jeff will guide the contestants through a series of challenges to help them to improve their cooking skills. In the premiere episode, Anne and Jeff get to know the contestants' cooking skills with a baseline challenge during which they must cook a potluck dinner. The mentors will then select their teams who will compete in the main dish challenge, during which they make elevated versions of classic TV dinners. The Worst Cook's challenges are "wilder and more outrageous than ever," including a 90s-style game show, a tropical culinary adventure with coconuts, a retro diner cooking relay, and a super-hero-themed obstacle course. During the finale on May 29, the two most-improved recruits will create a three-course restaurant-quality meal for the guest judges. The winning recruit will earn $25,000 for the charity of his or her choice.
The That's So 90's celebrity recruits are Lori Beth Denberg from All That, Elisa Donovan from Clueless, Tracey Gold from Growing Pains, Jennie Kwan from California Dreams, Matthew Lawrence from Boy Meets World, Mark Long from Road Rules, Jodie Sweetin from Full House, Nicholle Tom from The Nanny, and Curtis Williams from The Parent ‘Hood. Before viewers watch them battle it out in this culinary competition, they can get to know the recruits and why they are classic stars of the 90s.
Lori Beth Denberg
Lori Beth, who is now 46-years-old, began her career on Nickelodeon's sketch comedy television series for kids, All That, appearing on the show from 1994 to 1998. She played characters such as Mrs. Hushbaum the Loud Librarian and hosted "Vital Information," a sketch during which she would appear to give useful information that later turned out to be nonsense. In 2019, Lori returned as a recurring guest star in the revival of All That. She reprised her Loud Librarian character and passed the hosting duties of "Vital Information" to new cast member Reece Caddell. She will soon star in the digital series The Tonopah Five, alongside her All That co-star Danny Tamberelli, playing versions of themselves. Lori also appeared with Danny on their Nostalgia Personified tour, in which they performed interactive live shows at various bars and breweries. Most recently, Lori and other original cast members from All That reunited at '90s Con in Hartford, Connecticut in March 2022.
Elisa Donovan
51-year-old Elisa is best known for her role as Amber Mariens in the hit 1995 teen comedy film Clueless. She reprised the role in the television series of the same name which ran from 1996 to 1999. Amber was the villain of Clueless, a member of the in-crowd, who was spoiled and mean-spirited. However, she is also one of the most memorable characters due to Elisa's flawless portrayal of her. The cast of Clueless reunited for a special issue of Entertainment Weekly in 2020.
Tracey Gold
Tracey, who is now 52-years-old, is best known for playing Carol Seaver on the family sitcom Growing Pains from 1985 to 1992. Carol, a middle child with two brothers, Mike and Ben, was an honors student. Fans loved Tracey's portrayal of the character, which was funny yet vulnerable. Tracey reprised her role of Carol when the Growing Pains cast reunited for two television movies. The Growing Pains Movie aired in 2000. In 2004, the cast returned in Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers.
Jennie Kwan
48-year old Jennie played Samantha "Sam" Woo on the teen sitcom California Dreams, which aired as part of NBC's Saturday morning block. The series, which ran for five seasons from 1992 to 1996, was about a group of teenagers who formed a band called California Dreams. In April 2019, Jennie performed with California Dreams during a reunion concert at Saved by the Max, the Saved By The Bell pop-up restaurant in West Hollywood, California. It was a two-show, one-night-only event. They had previously reunited for a 2010 performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Matthew Lawrence
Matthew Lawrence, who is now 42-years-old, played Jack Hunter, Shawn's half-brother, on the family sitcom Boy Meets World from 1997 to 2000. He joined the show late in the game for season 5. In 2015, Matthew, who is divorcing Cheryl Burke, brought his beloved character to an episode of Girl Meets World, the sequel to the original series. In March 2022, Matthew reunited with his fellow cast members at '90s con and later appeared with them on Good Morning America.
Mark Long
50-year-old Mark Long starred in the first season of MTV's reality competition television series Road Rules in 1995. On the show, five strangers would live in an RV, traveling from location to location, to complete missions with sets of clues. Mark went on to become an MTV legend, winning Real World/Road Rules Challenge and Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Battle of the Sexes and appearing on many other MTV competition shows. Most recently, Mark created the show, The Challenge: All-Stars, which premiered in 2021, bringing back veterans of The Real World and Road Rules. Season 3 is set to premiere in May 2022 on Paramount+.
Jodie Sweetin
Jodie, now 40-years-old, is best known for her role as Stephanie Tanner on the family sitcom Full House, which she played from 1987 to 1995. She reprised the beloved character in the Netflix sequel, Fuller House, which aired from 2016 to 2020. The Full House cast is a tight-knit group that considers each other family, and they have supported, cared for, and loved each other for over 35 years.
Nicholle Tom
44-year old Nicholle played Maggie Sheffield on the sitcom The Nanny from 1993 to 1999. In 2004, Nicholle reunited with the cast for the television special, The Nanny Reunion: A Nosh to Remember, which aired on Lifetime. In April 2020, as a special treat for fans during the pandemic, the beloved cast reunited via Zoom for a virtual table read of the pilot episode. There have been rumors of a reboot of The Nanny for sometime, but there has been no official announcement
Curtis Williams
Curtis, now 34-years-old, played Nicholas Peterson on the family sitcom The Parent 'Hood from 1995 to 1999. In 2019, Curtis reunited with his television siblings, Reagan Gomez-Preston, who played Zaria, and Ashli Amari Adams, who played Cece, for Ashli's baby shower. Reagan posted a picture of them together at the event for National Siblings Day, showing that they are still bonded from their years on the show.
Worst Cooks In America Celebrity Edition: That's So 90's will allow viewers to take a nostalgic trip back to the 90s. These stars of some of the most memorable and beloved television shows of the era are sure to spice things up in the kitchen as they take direction from mentors Anne and Jeff. It will be a blast to see what they cook up.
Source: Food Network Press Release