FOOD NETWORK KICKS OFF 2010 WITH A HUGE NIGHT OF CULINARY COMPETITION!

"Super Chef Battle" and "Worst Cooks in America" Premiere Sunday, January 3rd Beginning at 8pm ET/PT

NEW YORK � December 9, 2009 � Food Network is kicking off 2010 with a fierce night of culinary competition on Sunday, January 3rd at 8pm ET/PT. First up, Super Chef Battle: An Iron Chef America Event, featuring Mario Batali, Bobby Flay, Emeril Lagasse and White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford, who embark on a culinary challenge of national importance. Then at 10pm, the Worst Cooks in America attempt to go from kitchen zeros to kitchen heros.

Super Chef Battle: An Iron Chef America Event

Premieres: Sunday, January 3rd at 8pm

Food Network stars Mario Batali, Bobby Flay and Emeril Lagasse travel to the White House to take part in an unprecedented culinary competition in Super Chef Battle, a special two-hour episode of Iron Chef America. With a special guest appearance by First Lady Michelle Obama, the chefs join White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford to receive their challenge: create a meal for America using The White House Kitchen Garden's produce as their secret ingredients. The judges include: chef and best-selling cookbook author Nigella Lawson; Olympic gold medalist Natalie Coughlin; and actress, author and designer Jane Seymour.

For more information on Super Chef Battle, visit: www.foodnetwork.com/superchefbattle.

Worst Cooks in America

Premieres: Sunday, January 3rd at 10pm

Twelve of the worst cooks in the country attempt to transform from kitchen zeros into kitchen heroes in the new Food Network series Worst Cooks in America. Under the tutelage of premiere chefs, Anne Burrell and Beau MacMillan, the "recruits" split into two teams and face a series of high-pressure challenges that test their newly-formed culinary skills. Each week the two teams get narrowed down until the final two recruits face off in the ultimate challenge: prepare a three-course, restaurant-quality meal for a panel of food critics that thinks the dishes have been prepared by chefs Anne and Beau. On the line are the chefs' professional reputations and $25,000 for the newly-crowned kitchen hero!

For more information on Worst Cooks in America, visit: www.foodnetwork.com/worstcooks.