Isabella Uzcategui to appear with her aunt, Anne Burrell, on ‘Worst Cooks in America’
On Sunday, Jan. 22, Cazenovia 12-year-old Isabella Uzcategui will play a major part in the newest episode of Food Network’s show “Worst Cooks in America,” as she mentors show recruits through a skill drill to make unconventional pizzas.
Uzcategui, the niece of show co-host Anne Burrell, who is also a Cazenovia native, is an enthusiastic amateur cook who is making her television debut.
“It was really fun; I couldn’t stop smiling,” said Uzcategui, who is a seventh grader at Cazenovia Middle School. “At first I was scared to tell [the adult contestants] what to do, but once I got past that it was really fun.”
Worst Cooks in America “turns kitchen nightmares into skilled cooks,” as chefs Anne Burrell and Rachael Ray each lead a team of bumbling cooks in an intense kitchen boot camp designed to whip them into culinary shape, according to the Food Network website. The contestant who makes the most impressive transformation is awarded a $25,000 grand prize, along with victory and bragging rights for their team leader.
Worst Cooks in America has been on Food Network for 10 seasons, nine of which have featured Burrell as one of the two team leaders.
According to a Food Network press release, the Jan. 22 episode of the show, titled, “Something’s Fishy,” sees Burrell and Ray replaced with “two surprise culinary giants, Lexi Shuster from Food Network Star Kids and Anne’s niece Isabella Uzcategui,” who mentor the recruits through the day’s skill drill during the first 20 minutes of the show, making “unconventional” pizzas.
For the skill drill, Uzcategui and her aunt together showed Burrell’s team members how to make pizza. When it came time for the contestants to cook on their own, Burrell stepped out and Uzcategui was in charge. “I got to order them around and [my aunt] told me what to do through an ear piece,” Uzcategui said.
Once the drill was over, Uzcategui helped her aunt taste each pizza and decide which one was the best. “All of them were edible, and a lot better than I expected,” she said.
Uzcategui may be young, but she’s been cooking for a while. “I cook a lot of different things,” she said. “Sometimes mom gives me a recipe to make for dinner. I like trying new things and it’s fun to eat it afterwards — especially if it tastes good.” She said her favorite dishes to cook are mac and cheese and lasagna.
While Uzcategui does help her aunt cook Christmas dinner when Burrell comes home to Cazenovia for the holidays, the 12-year-old said her dad actually taught her most of what she knows. “He’s a really good cook,” she said.
And while Uzcategui enjoys cooking, it’s not something she wants to pursue as a career, she said. “It’s just something I enjoy doing in my free time.”
In the world of television, nothing is instantaneous, and it has actually been about six months since Uzcategui went to New York City to film the Worst Cooks episode. So when the show airs for the first time at 9 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 22, on Food Network, she and her family — mom, dad, and two siblings — will all watch it together on television.
And they probably will not be the only ones in Cazenovia watching. “My mother decided to email Lou Turner at school, who told all the teachers [about the show]. They announced it at lunch [last Thursday] so now everybody in my grade knows,” she said. “My Spanish teacher was so excited she was one person away from knowing Anne Burrell.”
Worst Cooks in America “Something’s Fishy” Episode Premieres at 9 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 22, on Food Network.
