Worst Cooks in America season 3

Worst Cooks in America 3, is the third season of the American competitive reality television series Worst Cooks in America. It premiered on Food Network on February 12, 2012 and concluded on April 1, 2012. Kelli Powers was declared the winner of this season, with Vinnie Caligiuri as the runner-up.

Worst Cooks in America
Season 3
Judges	Anne Burrell Bobby Flay
No. of contestants	16
Winner	Kelli Powers
Runner-up	Vinnie Caligiuri
No. of episodes	8
Release
Original network	Food Network
Original release	February 12 (2012-02-12) – April 1, 2012 (2012-04-01)
Season chronology

Format

Worst Cooks in America is an American reality television series in which contestants (referred to as "recruits") with poor cooking skills undergo a culinary boot camp for the chance to win $25,000 and a Food Network cooking set.^[1][2] The recruits are trained on the various basic cooking techniques including baking, knife skills, temperature, seasoning and preparation. Each episode features two core challenges: the Skills Drill, which tests their grasp of basic techniques demonstrated by the chef mentors, and the Main Dish Challenge, where they must apply those skills to recreate or invent a more complex dish under specific guidelines. The weakest performer is eliminated at the end of each episode. The final two contestants prepare a restaurant-quality, three-course meal for a panel of food critics, who evaluate the dishes based on taste, presentation, and overall improvement.^[3]

Judges

Anne Burrell hosted season 3 with Bobby Flay, who replaced Robert Irvine.^[4][5]

Recruits

Contestant	Age	Hometown	Occupation	Team	Status
Kelli Powers	40	Los Angeles, California	Stay-at-home mother	Anne	Winner on April 1, 2012
Vinnie Caligiuri	47	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Mortgage broker	Bobby	Runner-up on April 1, 2012
Melissa Rhodes	28	Naples, Florida	Nursing Student	Bobby	Eliminated on March 25, 2012
David Shelton	26	Longview, Texas	Unemployed	Anne
Tiffany Michelle	27	Los Angeles, California	Poker player and actress	Bobby	Eliminated on March 18, 2012
Dorothy Strouhal	38	Cove, Texas	Make-up artist	Anne
Anthony Schiano	33	Massapequa, New York	Mechanical engineer	Anne	Eliminated on March 11, 2012
Benjamin Dennis	37	Dallas, Texas	Stay-at-home father	Bobby	Withdrew on March 11, 2012
Sean "Bennett" Bennett	36	New York City	Automotive Spokesperson	Anne	Eliminated on March 4, 2012
Sarina Weeraprajuk	31	West Covina, California	Wedding photographer	Bobby
Erica Weidner	53	Long Beach, New York	Court Reporter Student	Bobby	Eliminated on February 26, 2012
Robert "Bob" Tamke	44	Massapequa Park, New York	DJ	Anne
Sherrill Moss-Solomon	55	New York City	Fundraiser	Bobby	Eliminated on February 19, 2012
Rachel Margolin	31	New York City	Night Club Promoter	Anne
Richard Chen	55	Queens, New York	Attorney	Anne	Eliminated on February 12, 2012
Libby Floyd	46	Eden Prairie, Minnesota	ShopNBC host[6]	Bobby

Elimination Chart

  Team Anne

  Team Bobby

* Initially a member of the other team but switched after Team Bobby won a challenge.

Rank	Contestant	Episode
		1	2		3		4		5		6		7		8
1	Kelli	WIN	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	BTM	WIN	BTM	WIN	WIN	WIN	WIN	WINNER
2	Vinnie	IN	WIN	WIN	IN	IN	IN	WIN	IN	BTM	IN	WIN	WIN	WIN	RUNNER-UP
3	Melissa*	IN	IN	IN	SWAP	IN	IN	IN	WIN	WIN	IN	BTM	IN	OUT
4	David*	IN	IN	IN	SWAP	IN	IN	WIN	WIN	IN	WIN	BTM	IN	OUT
5	Tiffany	WIN	IN	IN	WIN	IN	BTM	BTM	IN	BTM	IN	OUT
6	Dorothy	IN	IN	WIN	IN	BTM	WIN	IN	WIN	WIN	WIN	OUT
7	Anthony	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	WIN	OUT
8	Benjamin	IN	IN	IN	IN	WIN	WIN	IN	IN	WDR
9	Bennett	IN	IN	BTM	BTM	WIN	BTM	OUT
10	Sarina	BTM	IN	IN	IN	BTM	IN	OUT
11	Erica	IN	IN	BTM	IN	OUT
12	Bob	IN	WIN	IN	IN	OUT
13	Sherrill	IN	BTM	OUT
14	Rachel	BTM	BTM	OUT
15	Richard	OUT
16	Libby	OUT

Key

  (WINNER) This contestant won the competition and was crowned "Best of the Worst".

  (RUNNER-UP) The contestant was the runner-up in the finals of the competition.

  (WIN) The contestant did the best on their team in the week's Main Dish challenge and was considered the winner.

  (BTM) The contestant was selected as one of the bottom entries in the Main Dish challenge, but was not eliminated.

  (SWAP) The contestant get switched by a mentor to the other team

  (OUT) The contestant lost that week's Main Dish challenge and was out of the competition

  (WDR) The contestant volunteered to quit

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Original release date [7]
15	1	"Best of the Worst"	February 12, 2012 (2012-02-12)
16	2	"Going Global"	February 19, 2012 (2012-02-19)
17	3	"Extreme Flavor"	February 26, 2012 (2012-02-26)
18	4	"Late Night/Date Night"	March 4, 2012 (2012-03-04)
19	5	"Luck of the Irish"	March 11, 2012 (2012-03-11)
20	6	"Something Fishy"	March 18, 2012 (2012-03-18)
21	7	"Kicked Off by Kinfolk"	March 25, 2012 (2012-03-25)
22	8	"Worst of the First: The Final Battle"	April 1, 2012 (2012-04-01)