Worst Cooks in America, Season 9: Craziest Moments

Relive some of the top moments caught on camera, including hilarious goofs, epic cooking fails and bittersweet eliminations.

Episode 8: Southern Comfort vs. Italian Elegance

After the two remaining recruits meet with their mentors, Loni and Rachael settle on a Southern menu, and Nicole and Anne on an Italian menu. With a practice cook before the final cook, the recruits have a chance to hash out ideas and make minor tweaks before the big day. "I don't know if I can do it tomorrow," says Loni, who worries that Rachael's ingredient-heavy recipes will be difficult to replicate. Meanwhile, Nicole is thinking about something entirely different: "Worst-case scenario is I make three judges sick," she says blankly.

Pride on the Line

"Anne's really leaving me on my own today," says Nicole, who is trying not to freak out on the final cook day, but is stressed about relying on her own taste buds. "I don't know if they work," she half-jokes. Nonetheless, Anne is proud to see Nicole focusing, and compliments her: "Look at you multitasking." "I'm basically about to be recruited by Italy to come make pasta for them," Nicole says of her skills while preparing her tagliatelle.

Bingeing Under the Pressure

"Loni's not moving fast enough," worries Rachael, who really wants to win. As Loni plates her grits for her second course, Rachael starts losing it, and in the excitement Loni forgets to garnish the plates with bacon. While spiking her rib barbecue sauce with whiskey, Loni feels she needs to "give some to Rachael to calm her down." But it's something else that helps both mentor and recruit deal with the pressures. "We ate the leftover bacon to make ourselves feel better," Rachael admits.

Watch the Highlight: Season 9 Highlights

Reflecting on Misses and Final Decisions

"Things just took a turn for the worse," says Nicole, realizing she's overcooked her Cornish game hens for the main course. Anne recommends that Nicole concentrate on her sauce tasting good, but Nicole oversalts it. "We made three courses," Loni says in near disbelief after the cooking is over. The guest judges love her duo of ribs and pork chops. Although they find Nicole's entree more refined, they can't get past its being overcooked. "The deciding factor is our last course," says judge Akhtar Nawab.

Breaking the Red Team's Record

"This truly and honestly was one of the most-difficult decisions to make," says judge Sara Gore before announcing that Loni has won the competition and $50,000 for her charity, the American Red Cross. "I got our first win," Loni tells Rachael through happy tears. "You got the win," Rachael replies. "This experience was food-altering," says runner-up Nicole, who can't wait to get home and cook. And Loni's already planning her next move: "I'm using my skills for my next gentleman caller," she says.

Episode 7: What Goes Around Comes Around

Lifting the cloche, Mike immediately recognizes the dish as chicken Marsala. "Finally an Italian dish I've had a million times," he says. He and Nicole just have to decipher the recipe by filling in the blanks. Feeling a little too confident, Mike tries to confuse the Blue Team by dropping incorrect hints. "Did you guys cook your bacon yet?" he asks. But it comes back to bite them, when both Mike and Nicole have flare-ups.

Almost Right Idea, Wrong Country

Seeing her recruits struggling, Rachael drops hints to get them to realize what the dish is. "If a dish is called 'Marsala,' don't you have to put it in there?" she asks. But both John and Loni are confusing it with Indian masala. "Marsala, holy God," Rachael yells at them, when her recruits still don't know it's an Italian wine. Despite the help, John makes the mistake of using white wine. Anne and Rachael call it a tie.

Testing the Recruits with Secret Supervision

"It's a Jersey Shore reunion," says Mike, when their special guests are Jenni "JWoww" Farley, from last season, and also Kendra Wilkinson. The ladies are there to help the recruits, but there's a twist. "JWoww and Kendra are taking our place," explains Anne. The recruits will have to make pasta from scratch, but what they don't know is that Anne and Rachael will be watching it all on closed-circuit TV.

Leaving the Boot Camp Nest

"It's time to spread my wings and try to fly," says John, not sure where to start. "I'm trying to telepathically go through the television," says Rachael when she sees him and Loni start to roll out their pastas without resting the dough. Luckily Kendra steps in and reminds them what's next. "I have to act like I know what I'm doing," Kendra says. But when John realizes he forgot to add the herbs to the filling, Kendra talks him down from the ledge.

Pasta-Making Dominatrix

"JWoww is really, like, cracking the whip," says Anne, happy to see Jenni's taking control of the Red Team, especially when Mike and Nicole forget to blanch their peas. But when Mike has trouble with his pasta breaking, Jenni steps in to give him some direction, although forcefully. "I am getting so nervous for him," she says, watching him move slowly. Anne feels Jenni's taking it too far. "Mike just likes women to tell him what to do," Anne surmises.

Watch the Highlight: Season 9 Highlights

Who Can Best Cook Without a Crutch

"I wonder how they were watching," says Nicole, after Anne reveals she saw everything during the cooking challenge. "Oh, there's 75 cameras," Nicole adds, sarcastically. Anne finds Nicole's pasta could have used more filling. But after Mike's tasting, he feels he's fallen behind and says, "Nicole may have edged me out." Plus, Anne feels like Mike relied on Jenni too much. Anne ends up choosing to move forward with Nicole, and Mike leaves with $5,000 for St. Jude's Children Hospital.

Sort-of-Good Cooking Intuition

"Oh, my God," Rachael screams when she sees Loni cooking the crabmeat when it's supposed to go into the filling cold. Loni realizes the mistake, and the consequence is watery filling, so she pats it with paper towels. "So you have a little lint in there," says Anne. "She's trying," Rachael says. "I don't know how I feel," says Rachael, who has trouble picking between John and Loni. But going with her gut, Rachael chooses Loni; John leaves with $5,000 for Casa Hogar.

Remote-Control Chef

"You want me to tell Chef Anne what to do? What are you, nuts?" asks Nicole, when she hears that she and her team members must direct their mentor in cooking a dish. "This is an exercise that proves there can be too many cooks in the kitchen," says Matt, seeing as how each of them has a difference of opinion. "I think Chef Anne would rather jump in front of a freight train than listen to three amateurs," says Nicole. But Anne actually enjoys it.

What Are You, Fishy Fishy?

"I don't know snapper from cod from a goldfish from Nemo," says John, not recognizing catfish. The Blue Team ends up winning the challenge by the difference of a red onion. "I can't believe how much I enjoy being bossed around by somebody else, because I'm an extremely bossy girl," says Rachael. "If you like this, wait until you see what you guys are going to be making us for dinner," jokes John.

Mentor-Mentee Connection

"I'm definitely an Indian virgin right now," says Mike, who must cook a vegetable stew with lamb kebabs for the Main Dish challenge. "I didn't know you could even toast spices," he adds, no sooner burning them. Luckily he's got a watchful eye on him. "I like Chef Anne over my shoulder," says Mike, appreciating her guidance. "He just wants positive reinforcement," says Anne. Mike wins the challenge.

Musical Intermission

"This challenge is all about me not overcooking," says Nicole, who's notorious for doing just that. Getting ready to sear her kebabs, she gets the pan extremely hot, which concerns Anne. "I have no idea what I'm doing right now," says Nicole. To dispel the tension, she sings a "mise en place" song. Except for a puddle of liquid on her plate, Anne commends Nicole on the dish. Conversely, Anne finds Matt's stew mushy.

A Danger to Himself

John, scattered as always, ends up burning his fingers on hot pots, pans and skewers, forgetting that "cooking with heat makes metal pots hot," Rachael points out. "I hope John can rally mentally and stay focused on food," says Rachael. Whereas Loni gets a "drop the fork" reaction from Rachael, John gets nitpicky comments. Rachael chooses him to fight for the team in the elimination round against Matt.

Kebab Conundrums

"Hopefully I don't slice a finger off," says Matt, rushing into the elimination challenge against John. But with just 10 minutes to invent their own kebabs, the pressure gets to John, who cuts his finger badly while slicing pineapple. "I am giving this competition my all, including a piece of my finger," he jokes. Once bandaged he cooks his way through the challenge. Anne and Rachael find his dish better cooked. They send home Matt, who leaves with $5,000 for the Arizona Children's Association.

Episode 5: Trivia Versus Run-and-Go-Seek

When Mike and Loni are asked, "Manchego, Roquefort and chevre are all types of [what]?" in a game of Family Food, neither can answer. "Mike is a thinker, just not a fast thinker," Nicole explains. "He needs his reboot, and you never know when that reboot is going to happen." But when Mindy and Mike are asked to retrieve a skimmer, Mike brings back the correct utensil. "Finally I got this one," he says.

Brains Over Brawn, or Brawn Over Brains?

Next, John and Mike race to whip up cream. "Look at what I got over here," says Anne, showing off Mike's muscles. "I'm more well-marbled, and therefore more flavorful," jokes John. The two recruits finish within seconds of each other, but John gets to the buzzer first. "Is there something you want to say to me, Anne?" John asks. But the Red Team ends up winning the game for bragging rights.

Birds of a Feather Butcher Together

"I love cutting; I love the pop of a joint," says Mindy, getting into butchering her chicken for the Main Dish challenge. Before long she gets carried away, admitting, "I think I have violent tendencies." She's soon flustered and ends up "butchering" the meat. Mike, on the other hand, uses his hands to rip the bird into pieces. "Did you see me wrestling a chicken?" Anne asks sarcastically. She has both recruits start over.

Omniscient and Omnipresent Anne

"In case anyone was wondering, Chef Anne is right about literally everything," Nicole says after Anne points out her frying oil isn't hot enough. "When she's above you, it's like God staring down," Nicole explains of the feeling of being watched. But upon tasting her dish, Anne has nothing but compliments. "You really hit it out of the park," she says, and Nicole wins the challenge.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

"You've got to take the white part off," Rachael yells across the room to Loni and Mindy, who are both excitedly taking the temperatures of their chicken in the deep fryer without having removed the plastic casing. Rachael can't stop laughing at them. Unfortunately, Mindy's chicken is undercooked. Rachael finds Loni's sauce bitter and burnt, but Loni still wins the challenge on her team.

Flustered and Confounded

"There's so many bowls," John says, confused by all the prep work for the waffle batter and the flour mixture for the chicken, and then he realizes he mixed up the two. "I made a spicy Buffalo-style waffle," he says. Rachael coaches him back from the brink, and he works with what he has. "This is a scorching-hot waffle," says Rachael, forcing down a bite, but it's not as bad as she thought.

Watch the Highlight: Season 9 Highlights

This Bird Is Out

Mindy and Matt head into the elimination round, as both had undercooked chicken. "You've got to be kidding me," says Mindy when she finds out they will have to butcher another chicken in 10 minutes. Unfortunately, her third time around is not charmed. Although nervous, Matt creates nine good pieces. After a blind judging, the mentors decide Mindy's going home. "This experience was thrilling," says Mindy, leaving with $5,000 for Heifer International.

Episode 4: Bloody Good Fun

Rachael gets a kick out of Loni dressed as Michael Jackson and John as The Situation. "With great power comes great responsibility," says Mike, seeing his fellow recruit's costume. "That's my message to John." Running with the Halloween theme, Anne and Rachael ask the recruits to come up with their own Bloody Mary cocktails with a garnish. "I have never seen a Bloody Mary with food attached to it," says Nicole, who also can't drink them due to her acid reflux.

Mutual Manly Admiration

"Who wouldn't want to honor The Situation?" says Mike, touched that John is making an Italian-inspired cocktail with a sub sandwich. "Is there a little bromance going on?" Anne wonders. Mike's also making an Italian-inspired mocktail with a grilled cheese. However, his drinks fall over because of the top-heavy garnishes. Anne and Rachael like Mike's sandwich better, but don't care for either recruit's drink. "There was no protein powder in the kitchen," John jokes as an excuse.

Watch the Highlight: Season 9 Highlights

It's All in the Eye of the Beholder

"They are the talk of the town," Nicole claims of her cocktail decoration, spider hot dogs that she made by stringing spaghetti through hot dog pieces before boiling them with beets for a blood-red tint. "I don't know whether I'm repulsed or thrilled," says Rachael about the concept of weenie spiders. "I mean, I can't even," says Anne. "It's adorable," Nicole retorts.

Offal Pep Talk

"Squish out the jellylike stuff inside," Rachael tells Mindy, who, along with her teammates, is cooking a chicken liver and heart ragu. "I've eaten some things that other people might define as scary food," says Mindy, but liver scares her the most. "I'm literally about to vomit myself silly," she adds. Soon she finds a cooking groove — that is, until she spills stock on her stove, which ruins her concentration.

Facing Fishy Fears

"The fish eye has its mojo on me," says Nicole, freaked out by working with seafood for her stew. "My hands are literally shaking from touching this eyeball," she says while trying to "harvest" the cheek, as Anne refers to the procedure. "Wow, that was really exciting and horrible," says Nicole once she completes the round. Unfortunately, Anne finds her dish overplated and her shrimp undercooked.

A Devilishly Good Surprise

Although Rachael felt all three of her recruits did a great job, she decides to nominate Mindy for elimination. And Anne puts up Nicole. Facing a deviled-egg challenge, Mindy says, "I think it might be easier to lay them than devil them." Both recruits complete their dishes. "Truly, in our hearts, we can't send anyone home today," Anne says, revealing her and Rachael's decision after tasting the dishes.

Episode 3: Race for Recipe Perfection

The recruits race in an Oktoberfest relay Skill Drill, starting with a game of beer pong. "Finally something I have experience with," says John. But Matt can't seem to sink a ball. "This is so embarrassing," he says. When it comes to cooking and plating his pork cutlet, though, his is deemed the best. "Matt could plate a pair of shoes and make it look like you want to eat it," says Nicole. But John's plate falls short.

Sick Mentor Mind Games

"Let's get all the jokes out now," says Anne after she and Rachael announce the Main Dish challenge is making sausages. "You know how they always say: You don't want to know how the sausage is made," John jokes. But some recruits get really squeamish: "Little worms of meat," says Nicole, making faces during the demo. "Oh, I'm going to ... " she says when seeing the casings.

Falling Into an Innuendo Trap

"You want these guys to be able to slide on and off easily," Anne say of the casings, advising everyone to oil the horn in order to stuff the sausage mixture smoothly. "I'm above a lot of that potty humor, I mean, unless it's funny," Nicole claims. But she can't help herself: "Always practice safe cooking," she adds. "My mind is not so dirty," says Matt, who likens the casings to "shriveled-up pantyhose."

Watch the Highlight: Season 9 Highlights

The Relentless Relapser

"If I focus, I got this thing," says Tommy. Anne catches him using a spatula to tamp the meat, but he claims to have written that as a direction in his notes. Once he's back on track, she helps him fill the casings with the sausage mix. But Tommy makes another misstep. "Like, really, you just have your sausage on the counter," Anne scolds him for not practicing proper hygiene.

Birthing a Masterpiece

"I really don't have time to be that perverted," says Mindy. With Rachael's help, she manages to create a nice link. "It literally sounds like we're about to deliver a baby," says Mindy as Rachael keeps telling her to "push more." John's trying to follow along, but his meat backs up into the feeding tray. "Everything that can go wrong is going wrong," says John. "I'm not one to brag," says Mindy, holding up her product.

A Chance for Redemption or Another Breakdown

"I'm really close to rocking back and forth and crying in the corner," says John when his links burst. And Tommy's barely able to plate in time. "Please, pay attention to my lessons," Anne tells Tommy on her knees. Still, he ends up in the elimination round, along with John, where the two must make sausages again. After a blind judging, the mentors choose John's specimen as the best, and Tommy is sent home, leaving with $5,000 for his charity, the Down Syndrome Foundation of Orlando.

Episode 2: Keeping the Theme Relevant

In a game of What's in My Mouth?, where one celeb must describe an ingredient for the other to guess, Loni makes it easy for Barbara by putting it in the genre of sitcoms. After tasting ginger, Loni says, "On Gilligan's Island, this was her name." Barbara immediately knows the answer. When the mentors reveal the Hawaiian cooking challenge, Loni is worried. "I hope we don't have to roast a poor pig," she says. "Those women will probably do that to us."

The Slow Poke vs. the Crazy Cook

"My grandma can do ginger faster than that," Anne yells over to Mike, who's taking his time grating ginger. "I really don't want to break the utensils here with all the strength," he says. While he's taking his time, Nicole is running around like a madwoman. "I'm discovering new places to sweat," she says. "I'm sure that's not attractive to hear." And Anne has to remind her not to swing her knife around.

Watch the Highlight: Season 9 Highlights

You Can't Cook Pork Without Innuendo

As she watches Barbara, Rachael can't continue to let the celeb helplessly pound her pork, so Rachael asks John to step in and help. "I helped Barbara Eden beat her meat for a change," says John, jokingly. Despite the assistance, Barbara has trouble cooking the cutlet, and Rachael swoops in to help before it incinerates. "The stress of trying to coach her, honestly, I think it takes years off my life," says Rachael.

Frozen by Debilitating Fear

Even John ends up giving in to the pressure: Despite starting out calm, he gets frazzled with the breading process and begs for Rachael. "Keep it calm," Rachael advises him after tasting his not-so-bad dish. "No one's going to put you in food jail." But John is still worried. "They could take us out and shoot us," he says. At elimination, Anne reveals Nicole as her top, and Rachael picks John, surprisingly, as her top.

The Genie Goes Back Into the Bottle

Unfortunately the lowest-performing recruits must go to an elimination challenge; Anne sends Mike, and Rachael sends Barbara. Both had the most issues with knife cuts and uniformity, so they'll have to chop an onion, cut a scallion diagonally and chiffonade basil to make it to next week. After the blind judging, Barbara is sent home. "This experience was phenomenal for me," she says, leaving with $5,000 for her charity, PATH.

Episode 1: Trying to Summon Up Genie Powers

"I never learned how to cook because there was no kitchen in the bottle," jokes Barbara of her most-famous TV role as Jeannie. "I think it's about time," she says of learning to cook. "I'm kind of old." Unfortunately Barbara can't blink and create great food. Anne actually wishes she could make Barbara's chicken curry casserole disappear: "This looks like something my cat threw up," Anne says.

Why You Shouldn't Get Lei-ed

"I have a lei system," says Nicole, whose biggest fault in the kitchen is forgetting to turn off burners, so she's developed a mnemonic method to remember what she has on by hanging leis around her neck, with a beaded one for the broiler. "I think there is a reason why they didn't teach us the lei method in culinary school," says Anne upon seeing Nicole just as chaotic despite the "foolproof" method.

Watch the Highlight: Season 9 Highlights

Weird Shortcuts

Seeing John smash his garlic with a meat mallet and chop his parsley with a bench scraper has Rachael worried. "What did you cut your chicken with?" Anne asks. John holds up his knife, admitting he hasn't gotten around to washing it. But what's weirder is his method for cooling cooked chicken in an ice bath. His reasoning: "Skin grafting is both expensive and painful." Rachael can't believe her eyes.

For the Night of — and the Morning After

"This was an old recipe that I used to cook for my gentleman callers, when I want something to make it happen," Loni explains to Anne of her mushroom pasta, which she feels is an aphrodisiac that works. "When you're single, Anne, there's always a plan," adds Loni. Loni's even more excited for the brunch challenge later. "I want to get eggs right because I like to cook breakfast," she says with a wink.

Mind Reboot Needed

"Wait, what just happened," says Mike, stopping Rachael and Anne's demo of their steak and eggs. "Were you zoned out for a second?" Nicole asks him. "I don't know, I just had to reboot just now," he says. Nicole notices his notebook is completely blank. "I don't know why you have to take notes," he says, claiming he can absorb information through osmosis, although he doesn't know what that means.

Not Steaking Claim

"I know that tortillas burn very quickly," says Kenya, but still she keeps burning one after another, even with Rachael yelling after her. Unfortunately Anne finds her steak "both rare and burned at the same time." When it comes to choosing teams, Kenya is left out, and she is eliminated from the competition. "I'm winning all day long," Kenya says, strutting out of Boot Camp.

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Worst Cooks in America

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Worst Cooks in America

Worst Cooks in America, Season 9: Craziest Moments

Episode 8: Southern Comfort vs. Italian Elegance

Pride on the Line

Bingeing Under the Pressure

Reflecting on Misses and Final Decisions

Breaking the Red Team's Record

Episode 7: What Goes Around Comes Around

Almost Right Idea, Wrong Country

Testing the Recruits with Secret Supervision

Leaving the Boot Camp Nest

Pasta-Making Dominatrix

Who Can Best Cook Without a Crutch

Sort-of-Good Cooking Intuition

Remote-Control Chef

What Are You, Fishy Fishy?

Mentor-Mentee Connection

Musical Intermission

A Danger to Himself

Kebab Conundrums

Episode 5: Trivia Versus Run-and-Go-Seek

Brains Over Brawn, or Brawn Over Brains?

Birds of a Feather Butcher Together

Omniscient and Omnipresent Anne

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Flustered and Confounded

This Bird Is Out

Episode 4: Bloody Good Fun

Mutual Manly Admiration

It's All in the Eye of the Beholder

Offal Pep Talk

Facing Fishy Fears

A Devilishly Good Surprise

Episode 3: Race for Recipe Perfection

Sick Mentor Mind Games

Falling Into an Innuendo Trap

The Relentless Relapser

Birthing a Masterpiece

A Chance for Redemption or Another Breakdown

Episode 2: Keeping the Theme Relevant

The Slow Poke vs. the Crazy Cook

You Can't Cook Pork Without Innuendo

Frozen by Debilitating Fear

The Genie Goes Back Into the Bottle

Episode 1: Trying to Summon Up Genie Powers

Why You Shouldn't Get Lei-ed

Weird Shortcuts

For the Night of — and the Morning After

Mind Reboot Needed

Not Steaking Claim

More Worst Cooks

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