By The Food Network
1. The press release.
Dear Steve,
I am on the casting team for the hilarious yet heartwarming show Worst Cooks In America on Food Network. The show is a culinary boot camp of sorts, with top chefs teaching hopeless home cooks how to succeed in the kitchen.
We are actually in our second season and our casting team is headed to Chicago to find people who have a hard time in the kitchen and really need help! We are going to be hosting a casting event in Chicago on Saturday, April 17th, and are so excited to meet the contestants from the Windy City.
We would love to pitch a small feature – a little more than a listing but shorter than an article – which would include both information on our casting event and information about the actual casting process, what we look for in a contestant, etc.
I’ve answered some major questions below:
Why do people nominate themselves for a reality show to learn to cook? This is the opportunity of a lifetime to train with famous Food Network chefs for a culinary boot camp to learn to cook like a professional. If you have a desire to learn, you may as well learn from the best!
What are the different ways in which people can be bad cooks? We are looking for the types who are always asked to “just bring the napkins” to the potluck dinner, the ones who consider scrambling an egg overwhelming, people who over-season, under-season, over-cook, under-cook or just plain never set foot in the kitchen.
What is the real reason it’s so important to some people to learn to cook? We are looking for people who have heartfelt reasons as to why they want and need to learn to cook. The reasons are endless but some of the popular reasons people need to learn to cook are:
For their families: Those who want their children to eat healthier; specifically, less frozen food and take-out.
For their spouse: Someone who wants to take the pressure off their husband or wife, who has been doing the cooking their entire marriage.
For their family-to-be: Newlyweds or parents-to-be want who want to break the cycle of take out and fast food when they start their own families.
For themselves: There comes a time when people realize they need to take control of what they eat because no one is going to do it for them.
Why have people never learned to cook? Some people’s parents never cooked themselves so they never learned themselves. On the flip side, some people’s parents cooked wonderful food their whole lives so they never had to learn. We also live a society where frozen meals and take-out have made it so easy to survive without ever sitting down to a home cooked meal.
With the popularity of cooking shows, food magazines and food in general it’s surprising how many people still don’t have this basic life skill and we are trying to reach those people!
Our casting director, Jennifer Sullivan, who has cast other popular food related shows like The Next Food Network Star and the new Food Network show 24 Hour Restaurant Battle is available anytime to speak further.
As for the casting event, people can either nominate themselves or nominate someone they know.
The details of our event are as follows:
CHICAGO OPEN AUDITION:
Date: Saturday, April 17
Time: 9am – 3pm
Location: The Affinia Chicago, 166 East Superior Street
To apply people can email us at worstcookschicago@gmail.com with their contact information.
I have attached our flyer and some pictures from the show and if you need further information, please feel free to e-mail me or check out our website at www.worstcookscasting.com. Also, I can put you in touch with our casting director if you would like to talk more!
Thanks in advance! I look forward to hearing from you.
Best,
Sarah McKitterick
Casting Assistant
Worst Cooks in America Season 2
2. The flyer.
Are you a hopeless home cook? Or is someone you know totally incompetent in the kitchen?
Food Network is looking for the most disastrous home cooks in Chicago to participate in a very different culinary competition show!
This is the opportunity of a lifetime – to work with the best chefs in the country and learn to cook like a professional. Seeking people with a genuine inability to cook, but a need and desire to improve!
NOMINATE YOURSELF
* Has your wife told you it was probably better if you ordered take out?
* At the big potluck dinner, are you always asked to “just bring the napkins?”
NOMINATE SOMEONE YOU KNOW
* Is someone you know constantly offering you food that you have to turn down?
* If you know a dad/mom who can’t scramble an egg, a colleague who can’t convince anyone to try their culinary creations, or a guy friend who tries but can’t seem to get it together in the kitchen, this is your chance to get them the help you BOTH need!
OPEN CALL CHICAGO
The Affinia Chicago
166 East Superior St, Chicago IL, 60611
Saturday, April 17th
9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
*Please bring a dish that represents your cooking
HERE’S HOW TO APPLY: WE ARE CONDUCTING CASTING PHONE INTERVIEWS THIS WEEK, SO PLEASE APPLY ASAP!!!
* Email us at worstcookschicago@gmail.com
* Tell us why you (or the person you are nominating) is the most disastrous cook in the country
* Include name, age, hometown, occupation, contact phone number, and a recent photo of the hopeless cook
Additional information & application available at worstcookscasting.com
3. The photos.
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Comments welcome.
Posted on April 8, 2010