Wichitans were all over reality television last weekend. So how’d they do?
Two reality shows. Two Wichitans. Two solid hours of entertainment.
Over the past week, two people with Wichita ties have appeared on new seasons of two different national competition programs, and so far, neither has been officially eliminated.
One is 31-year-old Ross McCorkell, a Wichita State University graduate and onetime regular on the local theater scene, who now is based in New York City and who is competing as his alter-ego Rosé on the 13th season of VH-1’s “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” The first episode aired last Friday.
The other is Chandali Gullick, a self-professed terrible cook and lifelong Wichitan who is among 14 new recruits on the 21st season of “Worst Cooks in America” on Food Network. The first episode of the season aired on Sunday.
Here’s a look at how the Wichita folks fared on each of the premiere episodes:
Ross McCorkell — a.k.a. Rosé: Not fully pork chopped... yet
This season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” a show that features seasoned drag queens competing against each other for the title of “America’s next drag superstar,” started off a bit different than usual.
Contestants were surprised by being asked to lip sync for their lives immediately upon arriving. At the end of each lip sync duel, host RuPaul gave one of the competitors “the pork chop” and asked her to “sashay away.” The other was invited to stay.
This didn’t turn out so well for Rosé, who went head-to-head with newcomer Olivia Lux — and lost.
But it wasn’t for lack of effort. Dressed in a giant pink wig and a bright pink bodysuit with jacket, Rosé — a self-proclaimed “incredible lip syncer” — gave it her all, twirling around the stage and even dropping into a dramatic splits mid-performance of Elle King’s “Ex’s and Oh’s.”
“I’m very competitive, and I don’t like to lose, but I usually win,” McCorkell told the cameras in a backstage interview before he’d transformed into Rosé, whom other contestants referred to as “New York City Drag Royalty.”
After losing the round to the less-experienced Olivia, a confused McCorkell joined the other non-winners on “The Pork Chop Loading Dock.” They were all debating whether they were really being sent home already when RuPaul had a change of heart, telling the bottom Queens that they could have another chance but only if they voted one of their own off the show.
That’s where the episode left it, so fans will have to tune in again this Friday to see if Rosé gets to stay.
Next chance to watch: See how Rosé fares when the second episode airs at 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 8, on VH-1. The Crown Uptown Theatre is also hosting weekly watch parties. Make reservations at www.crownuptown.com.
Chandali Gullick: Moves on to cook horribly again
Gullick, a married mom from Wichita who admits to nearly burning her house down more than once while trying to cook, did in fact showcase her lack of skill on the season premiere episode of “Worst Cooks in America.”
But, as it turns out, she’s not the worst of the worst. Her coach, celebrity chef Anne Burrell, decided to let her stay in “boot camp” for at least another week and sent another contestant home instead.
Donning a pink wig, Gullick chose to make her grandmother’s pork chops and applesauce for the first challenge, in which the contestants were asked to show what they could (not) do by preparing a favorite family recipe.
When she presented her completed dish to the judges, Gullick’s applesauce not only wasn’t sauce, it was made up of under-cooked slices of apples. Her pork chop wasn’t any better.
“Your pork chop, in addition to being under seasoned, overcooked, it has a terrible mouth feel,” Burrell told her, banging the hard-as-a-rock piece of meat on the table.
“Wow, I hit all of them,” Guillck responded.
Gullick fared better in the next challenge, in which contestants were asked to watch the pro chefs make an Asian takeout dish and then recreate it. Gullick’s rendition of beef and broccoli was not good, Burrell said. Her meat lacked brownness and therefore flavor, and the way she chopped her broccoli florets was just plain ugly.
But her dish wasn’t as bad as some of the others, so she got to stay.
Next chance to watch: Episode 2, titled “Farm-to-Table and Horse Racing,” airs at 8 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 10, on Food Network.
This story was originally published January 5, 2021 at 2:39 PM.
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