Anna Sorokin Is Starring in a New Dinner Party-Themed Reality Series

Matt Lardie
Matt Lardie
Matt Lardie is a freelance writer based in Durham, NC. He has previously written for publications like The Kitchn, Bon Appetit, Robb Report, and Wine Enthusiast, as well as serving as a past judge for the both James Beard Foundation Awards and the World Cheese Awards. When he's not eating he can be found at home with his husband, pets, and far too many houseplants.
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published Jan 26, 2023
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Anna Delvey Sorokin at an event in 2014
Credit: Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images

Anna Sorokin — the faux-socialite personality behind Netflix’s Inventing Anna (and who was recently behind bars at the Orange County Correctional Facility in Goshen, New York) — has announced a new show aimed at rehabilitating her tarnished image.

Sorokin, widely known as Anna Delvey, was released from an immigration detention center last October, after having been released early from prison in February 2021. Sorokin served two of a four- to 12-year sentence for crimes that included grand larceny, theft of services, and stealing a private jet. As Delvey, Sorokin hoodwinked New York society into believing she was a wealthy heiress, but in reality she scammed her way into money, hotel rooms, clothes, and more.

This week, the former socialite announced that she has partnered with Butternut, a lifestyle media company helmed by former Food Network president Courtney Week, to create a new unscripted reality series named Delvey’s Dinner Club. The soon-to-be series will see the fraudster hosting dinner parties from the East Village apartment where she is currently under house arrest.

If you’re thinking you missed the part of the Netflix series where the fake heiress flexed her cooking skills, you didn’t. Sorokin won’t be cooking herself for this new series — instead, the plan is to bring in private chefs to cater intimate dinner parties with artists, socialites, journalists, and others. A press release promise’s conversations about “Anna’s experience with the criminal justice system, her strategy to rebuild her image, and her plans for the future.”

It’s unclear whether former “friends” like Rachel DeLoache Williams (bilked of nearly $60,000 while on a trip to Morocco with Sorokin) will appear on the show, or will even be able to stomach Sorokin’s attempt to improve her reputation despite showing zero remorse for her actions. 

To be fair, though, Sorokin isn’t the only convicted felon using food as a means to reenter society. Lifestyle maven Martha Stewart famously served time for insider trading and, since her release, has gone on to become explosively popular, most recently releasing two new cooking shows this fall. And Mario Batali, who in 2019 divested from his restaurants amidst wide-ranging accusations of sexual harassment and assault, was recently found to be the money behind a new bakery in Michigan.

Sorokin’s hopes for public redemption might lie in whether or not she can pull off the perfect dinner party, but it remains to be seen if the American public even cares for a seat at the table.

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