Food Network’s Worst Cooks in America Season 27 alum Leona McTaggart joins host Renée Michelle Merrifieldand special guest host Joel Alvarado for a reunion filled with cooking stories, cocktails, friendship, creative projects, heartfelt memories, and wonderfully unpredictable studio chaos. Leona looks back on her experience competing on Worst Cooks in America, including the pressure of cooking against the clock, learning new techniques, working with a team, and navigating a cast filled with unforgettable personalities. She and Joel revisit the friendship and playful “show-mance” that began during production, along with the memorable moments that made Season 27 such a fan favorite. The conversation also honors the late Chef Anne Burrell. Leona reflects on Anne’s direct but caring mentorship, the importance she placed on listening and learning, and the lasting influence she had on the contestants she invested in. Leona shares the emotional memory of speaking with Anne only days before her passing and explains why her guidance continues to mean so much. After returning home from the competition, Leona purchased many of the appliances and tools she had used during production and began developing her own recipes. That creative momentum led to her cookbook, Luscious Lunches with Leona. Leona explains that many of her signature “luscious” recipes incorporate spirited ingredients such as vodka, wine, rum, or brandy. The cookbook also includes drink recipes, fresh appetizers, pet-inspired creations, and personal touches connected to the people and animals she loves. Her next book will expand beyond recipes into lifestyle entertaining and the art of tablescaping. Leona believes a meal should be more than something that fuels the body—it should be a full experience created through beautiful presentation, thoughtful décor, inviting place settings, and memorable hospitality. She also previews several upcoming ventures, including a streamlined makeup line designed around coordinated shades people will actually use and her role as Dizzy Burd in Joel’s upcoming children’s series, Orange Chicken Kingdom. Joel shares how his viral orange chicken moment on Worst Cooks in America inspired an entire creative universe featuring original characters, music, costumes, comedy, and educational storytelling. Leona, Renée, Joel, and other members of the IN the Loop family are all becoming part of the Orange Chicken Kingdom. After the ABC / WRTV broadcast portion ends, the extended livestream continues with behind-the-scenes reality television stories, cast memories, cooking competition pressure, fan encounters, filmmaking adventures, Indianapolis sightseeing, upcoming television projects, and an increasingly unfiltered “slice, sticks, and dice it” studio remix. Follow Leona at facebook.com/LushLeona to learn more about her cookbook, request a signed copy, and follow her upcoming books, makeup collection, television appearances, and creative projects. Watch more interviews and Indiana entertainment at INtheLoop.tv.
