Biggest home cook competition ever heats up on Food Network this summer with new series '100 Cooks'

Host Terry Crews and judges Nick DiGiovanni & Alex Guarnaschelli welcome 100 outstanding home cooks to Kitchen Arena on Sunday, June 7

Food Network press release & photo

Food Network celebrates home cooks this summer with the brand-new series “100 Cooks” – the biggest, boldest home cook competition in the network’s history. Hosted by actor, television host and former pro football player Terry Crews, the series welcomes 100 of the country’s best home cooks to run through an epic seven-week culinary gauntlet where 99 cooks will be eliminated and only one is named America’s best home cook and wins as much as $250,000.

From firefighters and college students to corporate lawyers and stay-at-home moms and dads, these competitors are from all walks of life and share a passion and talent for food. In each episode, competitors are selected at random by a lottery ball “Cook Mixer” to come to the floor after the “Challenge Mixer” dictates what food-themed battle they will face. Each round is judged by top culinary content creator DiGiovanni and Food Network all-star Guarnaschelli, who will determine who stays in the competition each week and who is sent home.

“100 Cooks” premieres Sunday, June 7 (9 p.m. ET/PT), on Food Network and streams the next day on HBO Max. The premiere episode will also be available globally on DiGiovanni’s YouTube channel. Following the U.S. launch, “100 Cooks” will be localized and roll out in around 30 of WBD’s international territories, across networks, discovery+ and HBO Max.

“This is the kind of competition I live for – big energy, big stakes and 100 talented home cooks bringing everything they’ve got,” host Crews said. “Every challenge was unpredictable, every dish had a story, and the passion in that kitchen blew me away. Seeing their creativity up close was an incredible experience – and an absolute blast!”

In the supersized season premiere, Crews welcomes 100 of the best home cooks in America to the food world’s most unpredictable cooking competition. In this episode, over 50 cooks compete in five different challenges to impress judges DiGiovanni and Guarnaschelli. The challenges include best noodle dish battle, a rotisserie chicken face-off, an egg challenge, and best party bite competition. More than 20 cooks will be sent home, and the remaining amateur chefs will continue to compete for a life-changing amount of money.

In upcoming episodes, challenges include fast-paced food trivia contests, a spicy weeknight dinner battle, a bake sale bake-off and a one-pot dinner competition. In the season finale on Sunday, July 19, the final eight home cooks work to impress the judges over the course of three challenges: breakfast, lunch and dinner. In the end, only one will stand alone at the top of the food world and take home the life-changing cash prize.

“Thousands of people applied to compete on ‘100 Cooks’ and, along with Terry, Nick and Alex, we were amazed at the passion and skill they brought to the table,” said Betsy Ayala, president of Food Network. “The 100 cooks chosen blew us away and, while they don’t cook for a living, they all live to cook – and it shows in everything they served.”

For more, viewers can stay tuned to Food Network’s social pages to go behind the scenes with the show’s stars; get an exclusive set tour with DiGiovanni; and find out how Crews rewards himself with a massive cheat meal after a long week of healthy eating. Fans can follow along on social using #100Cooks and visit FoodNetwork.com to keep up with the competition.