Stacey Loper has an important job, helping families in Alabama deal with grief. But as the Hoover therapist and counselor will be the first to admit, she can’t successfully make a casserole, grill a steak, bake a cake or fix breakfast for her family.

Household chores are not in her skill set, especially when they involve the kitchen. But Loper just might add culinary wizard to her resume, after participating in a Food Network reality series. She’s one of 16 contestants on “Worst Cooks in America: Spoiled Rotten,” which debuts on Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. CT.

“Stacey has a graduate degree, but can’t figure out how to make a meal by herself,” says Loper’s capsule biography for the show. “She cares for others in her career in mental health, but at home her husband and family cater to her every need. She doesn’t cook, clean or do laundry — but knows it’s time to start making a change and gain some culinary knowledge in boot camp.”

“Worst Cooks in America,” in its 27th season, takes a group of competitors (known as “recruits”) and puts them through a culinary boot camp led by some demanding chefs. Challenges posed to the recruits during the season are meant to train the fledgling cooks in various culinary skills, and test their mettle when the going gets tough. Eliminations throughout the season trim the list of contestants until a winner emerges to claim a $25,000 prize.

Seven episodes have been filmed in advance for Season 27. Chefs Tiffany Derry and Anne Burrell are running the boot camp. A trio of judges — Matt Abdoo, Adrienne Cheatham and Michael Jenkins — decides who stays and who goes throughout the season.

Loper will face competitors from across the United States, including three from other Southern states. Here’s the full list of contestants:

• Stacey Loper (Hoover, Alabama)
• Erika Coleman (New Orleans, Louisiana)
• Carrington Gilbert (Houston, Texas)
• Elena Catlin (Wesley Chapel, Florida)
• Joel Alvarado (Indianapolis, Indiana)
• Avi Boodram (Christiana, Delaware)
• Frankie Cena (Burbank, California)
• Leona Chapman (Cresaptown, Maryland)
• Steve Crawford (Los Angeles, California)
• Costa Georgopoulos (San Pablo, California)
• Cathy Jacobson (Vernon Hills, Illinois)
• Micaela Minner (Akron, Ohio)
• Jesse Money (Malibu, California)
• Chelsko Thompson (Seattle, Washington)
• Serious Williams (Chicago, Illinois)
• Ebie Wright (Los Angeles, California)

“In the supersized premiere, a fresh group of recruits enter culinary boot camp — and these competitors are spoiled with a capital ‘S,’” according to a Food Network press release. “Accustomed to dining out and delivery apps, these 16 recruits have never successfully cooked a meal in their lives. Anne and Tiffany are ready to transform these coddled kitchen novices into competent home cooks, but first they need to see what they are working with.

“To give them a firsthand look at their cooking skills or lack thereof, the recruits must recreate their favorite takeout dish. For the main dish cook, the competitors must replicate Anne and Tiffany’s take on a steak and potato dinner. Then teams are selected, and the two least successful recruits are sent home.

“In upcoming episodes, the recruits board the S.S. Worst Cooks for yacht week, must throw their own fabulous soiree and spin the wheel in Meal of Fortune. In the double-episode finale on Sunday, Feb. 4, the two most-improved recruits put their culinary skills to the test and serve a three-course restaurant quality meal to a panel of food experts for a blind taste test.”