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“Worst Cooks in America” Cast Member Joshie Berger Shares an Interview

Posted on: January 6th, 2011 by Amy Martin 3 Comments

Joshie Berger, a cast member of Food Network’s “Worst Cooks in America” recently answered a few questions for us about his passion to learn to cook and his favorite meals.

Joshie, 36, from Brooklyn, grew up in an Orthodox Hasidic household and only ate a limited range of Kosher and traditional foods. Now this lawyer has expanded his food options and wants to cook great meals for his girlfriend.

PhoenixBites Interview with Joshie Berger

Worst Cooks in America Contestant Joshie Berger 

Photo provided by Food Network

PhoenixBites: Of all your favorite meals, what one dish would you like to learn to master?

Joshie Berger: I’m just a huge chicken fan. Chicken anything makes me happy. But I would love to expand the manner in which I prepare it. I tend to only like paprika and other sharp spices and can’t even fathom anything sweet in there. I would love for that to change and for me to make something so delicious that my taste buds will have to admit that it works, even without spice.

PhoenixBites: Is there a person (chef, home cook, family member, etc.) that has inspired you to sharpen your culinary abilities?

Joshie Berger: My mom is by far the most talented cook I have ever seen. I am so mad at myself for not observing or asking more when I lived at home. She would literally open the fridge, with no game plan in mind, grab some items and whisk up dinner. She could take leftovers and add some things, change some things and wham – something new has been created. I was never able to eat at friends’ houses ‘cause their mother’s cooking always fell short and was abysmal.

PhoenixBites: Any advice you can give to our readers who may be beginners in the kitchen?

Joshie Berger: Do it. Don’t hesitate. Do it. An uncertain cook is a failure before he/she begins. Sure you will probably make many mistakes, but you will learn from them and eventually things will fall into place. You need that pep in your step, that semi-arrogance and the ‘I will own this’ attitude to get the ball rolling.

Set your DVRs! “Worst Cooks in America” airs on Sunday evenings at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network.

About the Author - Amy Martin

Author of Her Plate, Amy's love of food, cooking and all things culinary keeps her endlessly plotting what her next meal will be. Her pastimes include creating in (i.e. demolishing) her own kitchen and baking far more sweets than her tiny family could ever eat.

More Posts by  | Website  | Follow Amy Martin on Twitter

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3 Responses

  1. Food Network is the MTV of cooking. MTV USED to play music, now they’re entertainment ABOUT music. Food Network doesn’t teach anyone to cook, they create entertainment not instruction for the audience.

    It’s too bad, because they have a great opportunity to actually teach people instead of humiliate them and make them cry.

    Chef Todd Mohr
    WebCookingClasses.com

    • Mary Grace White says:

      That is just not true. I am a huge fan of The Food Network because I have learned a great deal by watching the likes of Emeril Lagasse, Chef Anne Burrell, Tyler Florence, Paula Deen, Michael Symon, Cat Cora, Ina Garten, I could go on and on. I am a better than average home cook,and yes, the Food Nework IS etertaining, but it is also very informative. Who wrote that teaching people how to cook should be boring. Because he is so entertaining, Chef Emeril Lagasse is in large part respondsible for The Food Network’s success and has created a legacy for those who follow in his footseps. Chef Anne Burrell has accomplished her mission twice and said that by far Joshie was the most challenging student that she’s ever had and his only regret was that he didn’t observe his mother more while he was living at home because as he said he would have known how to cook before leaving home. I didn’t feel that the recruits were any more humiliated by not being as successful as they would have liked than they were being in the position of being considered one of the Worst Cooks in America.

    • Sophie says:

      I disagree! I learn so much from this cooking show because they really cover the basics. The absolute, very basics. Advanced shows like Masterchef or what not are way too complex for me to learn from. They are fun to watch but not education to a beginner like me. From Worst Cooks of America I have learned the importance of knife cuts, confidence in the kitchen, how to make your own sausage for example, and a swathe of basic terms like “julienne” and “reducing” that advanced shows simply don’t take the time to explain and assume the audience already knows all of these things. It’s great to have both for sure, and I’m sure this basic cooking show feels degrading to the skills of an established cook like yourself, but it’s so educational to us very young cooks whose parents have not taught the basics!

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