Star athlete from Akron pushes out of comfort zone as 'Worst Cooks in America' cast member

Micaela Minner of Akron is an elite athlete who formerly played pro softball for the Akron Racers. She is used to excelling and winning.

But that isn't the case when it comes to cooking, considering she had never even boiled water before she joined the current cast of Food Network's "Worst Cooks in America: Spoiled Rotten."

She's one of 16 "recruits" — who have never before had to fend for themselves in the kitchen — competing on the show's seven-episode 27th season, which premieres at 8 p.m. Sunday. The contestants go through a "culinary boot camp" with chef Anne Burrell and chef Tiffany Derry, who's joining Burrell on the show for the first time.

Minner, 38, who was constantly training or competing as an athlete, always had quick meals or protein shakes on the go. Her wife, Darcy Thompson, was the one who did the cooking at home.

Even so, why hadn't Minner cooked by her late 30s?

"There's a lot of heat; there's lots of sharp things. I'm very busy. I can't deal with that," she said by phone Wednesday.

For the holidays, Minner's go-to appetizer was always bacon-wrapped dates. She'd do the wrapping, and Thompson would put them in the oven.

"This is hot. The oven is also a torture chamber," Minner joked.

When her in-laws asked her if she ever cooked anything else, her honest answer was no. The one time she had tried to make fried rice, it was a disaster. That's because she didn't know that she had to boil the rice before frying it in the pan.

"They were dying laughing," Minner said of her in-laws, who, after hearing that story, suggested she audition for "Worst Cooks in America."

At first, she wasn't so sure. She and her wife own D&M Sports Training in Akron, where some 80 kids in pursuit of college athletic scholarships train with her every month. With these kids who look up to her, she has an intimidating, serious reputation. Did she really want to show her weak spot as someone who knew nothing about cooking?

"I don't know how to use a sharp knife," Minner said. "I had to get past the embarrassment."

Audition tape for 'Worst Cooks'

Minner sent in an audition tape talking about growing up in cowboy country in the small town of Sanger, Texas, where her mother always told her to get out of the kitchen when she was cooking. She talked about playing softball at the University of Missouri and playing professionally with the Racers from 2011 to 2012, where, in her second season, she led the pro league in hitting.

Yet, she had never boiled water.

"This could be my vessel to show my kids who suck really bad that you can be very bad at something, not have a clue, really be the worst hitter on your team. But with practice and focus ... and trust in the teaching, trust your coaches, and you can do anything," Minner said of swallowing her pride to pursue a spot on "Worst Cooks."

She didn't hear anything for two years. When she finally did, the show producers asked her if she could choose a recipe and send them video of her grocery shopping and cooking something. Her mission included cooking a protein, vegetable and starch, and they didn't want her to look at the recipe while she was cooking.

"It's a disaster. I get sidetracked," she said. "I burned everything because I didn't know what temperature to put the burners on."

When Minner was offered a spot as a cast member, she asked if the other 15 recruits had truly never cooked.

"You are gonna be shocked how many other people are just like you," the production staff responded.

What to expect on 'Worst Cooks in America'

On this season's "Worst Cooks in America," the contestants' boot camp includes training drills such as an army crawl, obstacle course and calisthenics. Minner couldn't say much about the show, but she did say her athletic ability came through during these drills.

Other challenges include a seafood-inspired game, a farm-themed competition and a supermarket speedway challenge. An episode even features the recruits boarding the S.S. Worst Cooks for yacht week, where they're challenged to throw a fabulous soiree. By the season's end, the most-improved recruit wins a $25,000 grand prize.

Minner's show bio says, "Watching her try to pronounce ingredients is almost as funny as watching her cook with them."

She didn't know cooking terms either, including the word "al dente," which producers spelled for her and asked her to pronounce.

"I think that was what was comical, is that I would say it like I knew it and it would be absolutely hilariously wrong," Minner said. "I have no shame. I'm very real. And I'm gonna laugh at myself because life's too short to be boring."

The rest of the cast — nearly all of whom Minner's stayed in touch with — is hysterical too, she said.

"It was so hilarious how bad we all were," she said.

'Worst Cooks' show is both fun, stressful

Being on the show was a lot of fun, but also extremely stressful, the Akron woman said. She thanks chefs Derry and Burrell for not judging her. Instead, they showed her understanding, patience and grace.

In an Instagram post Sunday, Minner described the show as a "cooking comedy special" that "combines my lack of cooking skills with a dash of hilarious disasters."

Her first challenge, re-creating a favorite takeout dish, bombed.

"My s*** was inedible," Minner said.

Minner, who called herself a "comeback kid," went from never having cooked to cooking with a bunch of people in one kitchen and being yelled at by chefs, all while on the clock and with a camera constantly in her face.

She had to exercise plenty of positive self-talk to get through it.

"Micaela, you have played in front of thousands of people. You have out-hit Olympians. You have experienced insane pressure. You can do this," she told herself.

Minner's softball background is ripe for puns when it comes to her cooking show experience.

"Brace yourselves for a culinary curveball and a sprinkle of softball/baseball puns – it’s gonna be a pitch-perfect disaster! ... Warning: My cooking might be as wild as my knuckleball," she posted Sunday.

Minner, who's still always on the go, has cooked once since she returned home from filming the show: for her wife on their sixth wedding anniversary in October. She made a meal from "Worst Cooks" featuring steak, potatoes, bacon, scallops and a mushroom sauce. It took three hours to make and turned out great, she reported.

"I do have confidence that I can cook, and I will cook again," Minner said.

Arts and restaurant writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Former Akron Racer faces cooking curveballs on 'Worst Cooks in America'