A Brooklyn gal is No. 1 on the “Worst Cooks in America.” And that’s a good thing!
Rachel Coleman, 23, won the Food Network reality show — and $25,000.
“It’s pretty awesome,” Coleman told this paper. “It doesn’t sound like that much money until you find out you’re going to get it and then it sounds like a lot!”
She has no plans to blow the cash. Instead, it will be a much-needed nest egg.
“I’m not buying anything crazy. I’m going to use it to make my life a little easier. I’m not going to be at zero dollars at the end of the month,” said Coleman, who lives in Bushwick on the border of Williamsburg.
She’s also going to purchase a new pair of eyeglasses, throw a party for her friends and buy a ticket to the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas.
“I went to the festival last year,” she said. “I couldn’t afford it this year so I’m really excited I can afford it now.”
Coleman secured her win during the show’s difficult final challenge, which required her to cook three complicated dishes back to back.
“We didn’t get a break,” she recalled. “We had never done nonstop cooking like that before. It was exhausting but cool and empowering to do that.”
Coleman gained important skills thanks to her time on “Worst Cooks in America,” during which she was trained by Anne Burrell, star of the Food Network’s “Secrets of a Restaurant Chef.”
“It was life changing,” Coleman said. “It definitely improved my self-esteem and made me feel I can do things I wasn’t able to do before. Now, if a challenge arises, it’s easier for me to deal with it.”
“Worst Cooks” may be over, but things are just heating up for Coleman.
She plans to continue writing (she manages a music blog at www.popjew.blogspot.com) and scheduling concerts. She’s currently lining one up for the SXSW festival.
“Now that I’ve done this, I feel like I have so many opportunities,” she said. “I’m going to sit back and think about which opportunity I want to pursue.”
The sky’s the limit for this Brooklynite.
