Is Woolworths the new sponsor of MKR? Last night Tommy and Rach were seen shopping at Woolies.
Coles had been the show’s major partner since it began back in 2010.
7 would hope so because I think with the masked singer returning next week, MKR could go lower and be behind it.
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I thought that was obvious with the blatant flashes of the Woolies logo and in store signage.
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“Yes, mum”
Manu’s two words of wisdom for Adelaide’s Marcus
South Australia’s Italian mother and son, Sonia and Marcus, took the reins in tonight’s MKR with their instant restaurant: Nothing’s Off The Plate. But their attempt to pay homage to their family and love for each other was derailed when Marcus stopped following his mother’s instructions.
The cracks started to show when Sonia and Marcus started preparing their first course of the night, an entrée of Crumpets with Buttered Lobster, which had great potential but missed the mark. The lack of butter in the dish let them down, with Sonia requesting more when Marcus was plating.
Desperate to improve, the team returned to the kitchen to prepare their main of Squid Ink Linguine, but the wheels started to fall off again when Marcus forgot to separate the pasta sheets. Luckily, with some guidance from judge Colin Fassnidge: “Why don’t we flour all our sheets, dry them up, get enough flour there,” the team was able to save their pasta.
Unaware of what was unfolding in the kitchen, the guests at the dinner table were expecting a top-notch pasta dish. “She’s Italian, there’s no way in the world that Sonia can get this wrong,” Claudean announced.
As Sonia and Marcus returned to serve the main, their demeanour implied something was amiss. “Sonia looks defeated. It looks like they had a really difficult cook,” Nick and Christian said.
They had delivered a dry pasta, it needed more sauce. Judge Manu had his finger on the pulse when he said: “Like your entree, there was stress, and I can tell you now stress always end up in the plate. Always.”
Defeated by two average courses, Sonia was ready to throw in the towel until a pep-talk from Manu helped fire them up: “One of you needs to take charge in this kitchen and one of you needs to zip it and follow.”
Finally with Sonia in charge, the pair worked as a well-oiled machine in the kitchen to deliver a successful dessert. “Chef for this dish is mum. My role, my only role, was to make sure that chef could do her thing, “ Marcus said.
As Sonia and Marcus served their dessert of Margarita Bombe Alaska with a confident smile, the consensus around the table was success, with Victoria’s Tommy saying: “This is what redemption tastes like.”
Impressed, Manu called their dessert a “bomb” and Colin wiped his plate clean. “I actually put a little smile on my plate. It’s very rare you see that,” he added.
Despite a rocky start, Sonia and Marcus finished second on the leaderboard with a total score of 71/110. The judges awarded them a score of 43, including two 10s for their star-of-the-night dessert, and the guest teams gave them a score of 28.
Tomorrow night on MKR: Identical twins Radha and Prabha hope to make their mum proud by impressing judges Manu and Colin with their traditional Indian family recipes.
| Judges’ Scores | Entrée | Main | Dessert | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manu Feildel | 7/10 | 6/10 | 10/10 | 23/30 |
| Colin Fassnidge | 5/10 | 5/10 | 10/10 | 20/30 |
| Total Score | 43/60 |
| MKR Team Scores | |
|---|---|
| Tommy and Rach | 5/10 |
| Radha and Prabha | 6/10 |
| Coco and Pearls | 7/10 |
| Nick and Christian | 5/10 |
| Claudean and Anthony | 5/10 |
| Guest Score | 28/50 |
| Total Score | 71/110 |
MKR Continues 7.30pm Wednesday on Channel 7 and 7plus
Silent Assassins
Identical twins Radha and Prabha’s killer move lands them on top
Tonight on MKR, NSW’s identical twins Radha and Prabha did the unthinkable. Colin Fassnidge – the toughest judge to impress – was left in tears after the pair served their late father’s favourite dish in their Instant Restaurant: Radha and Prabha’s Royal Dhaba.
The twins had an important decision looming over their heads before they began cooking: “Tonight’s menu is going to be spicy. Really spicy. We know that there are guest teams there that don’t like too much heat and that’s playing at the back of our mind, like, do we dumb it down for them?”
Their fears did not alleviate when their entrée of Chicken 65 with Mint Yogurt had the judges gulping huge mouthfuls of water after tasting. “If they burn their taste buds, they can’t score us appropriately with the flavour that we’ve put in there,” a nervous Radha said.
Surprisingly, the critiques came in glowing. Manu said the chicken was “a perfect bite every time” and Colin thought what the girls did was very brave: “You cooked your food the way you cook it. Next course, don’t hold back on the chilli.”
“The silent assassins are no longer silent with this dish,” Nick added.
High on their success, the twins plated up their main of Lamb Rogan Josh with an extra serving of green chillies.
The gamble paid off once again as the dish received overwhelmingly positive feedback, leaving top scorers Tommy and Rach threatened: “The flavours in that dish just screamed, like, run away Tommy and Rach, we’re coming for you.”
Manu said he hadn’t had a Rogan Josh in an Indian restaurant in Australia as good as what the sisters presented.
There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when the guests learnt the emotional story behind the dish: it was Radha and Prabha’s late father’s favourite. An emotional Colin said: “How am I gonna do a critique now?”
Expectations were riding high for the team to continue their streak with a winning dessert, but despite two successful courses, their dessert of Jalebi with Rabri did not go to plan.
The reception to the dessert was dire, but the overall feeling from the guests towards the team’s Instant Restaurant was positive. Their score of 87/110, including three 10s from Manu and Colin for their entrée and main course, placed them on the top of the leader board.
Next week on MKR: After promising the judges and guests three tens, expectations are sky high from Coco and Pearls’ Instant Restaurant, but will the pressure of delivering on their promise prove too much for these feisty friends?
| Judges’ Scores | Entrée | Main | Dessert | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manu Feildel | 9/10 | 10/10 | 5/10 | 24/30 |
| Colin Fassnidge | 10/10 | 10/10 | 4/10 | 24/30 |
| Total Score | 48/60 |
| MKR Team Scores | |
|---|---|
| Tommy and Rach | 8/10 |
| Sonia and Marcus | 7/10 |
| Coco and Pearls | 8/10 |
| Nick and Christian | 8/10 |
| Claudean and Anthony | 8/10 |
| Guest Score | 39/50 |
| Total Score | 87/110 |
MKR Continues 7.30pm Monday to Wednesday on Channel 7 and 7plus
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Caught the first two episodes this afternoon. So glad to see the show coming back. From the preview, it looks like it would be just one round of instant restaurants, following by two cook-offs (for teams ranked 2nd to 5th), two semi-finals and the grand final.
With Spotlight coming on board as sponsor, the teams were provided with two bags of decorating materials, so they could set up their instant restaurants quickly.
I could believe Claudean used the wanker to describe Christian’s critiques in episode 1. Sure, Christian talked too much and went too technical, but it is wrong to use a rude word to rebuke what other contestant had said, and in front of other guests and the judges.
Tommy and Rach could have got a higher score if they had not used a garlic flower on their dessert. Had they tried the flower first?
The bickering between Sonia and Marcus derailed their cook but redeemed with the margarita bombe alaska after a pep talk from Manu.
All the recipes from this season of MKR can be found on the 7news website
Those Instant Restaurant decorations are obviously preplanned with producers and made to order or provided as specified by the contestants. The Spotlight bags are just there as product placement. Some of the products used could come from there but that doesn’t mean everything does. In the past, some contestants have cracked the sads when the decorations haven’t turned out exactly as they wanted, which strongly suggests that others are involved in creating them for the show.
I don’t think Claudene is as bad as she’s been made out to be. I find her funny.
Sonia however, is a nightmare. Poor Marcus.
Fifty shades of grim
Coco and Pearls’ glamorous MKR menu backfires
Tonight on MKR, feisty friends Coco and Pearls put their differences to bed, laying the red carpet and welcoming guests into their glam and sexy instant restaurant: The Boujee Foodies. But a risqué menu left more than a few red faces at the dinner table.
The guests doubted Coco and Pearls’ ability to work as a team after witnessing a fiery exchange between the friends during the last instant restaurant, when Coco’s promise to score three 10s from the judges did not sit well with Pearls.
Tension started to simmer in the kitchen while cooking their entrée of Champagne Pasta Roses, when Coco realised they were missing their timer. After a small argument, they decided to proceed without timing the dish.
As the critiques came in, their hopes to serve a perfect entrée crashed: the pasta was raw.
The dish piqued Manu’s interest but he questioned why they would take a risk on something they hadn’t cooked before, calling the pasta a fail.
Colin was also left unimpressed and said the team went for style over substance: “A rose is something that blossoms. This is a rose bulb.”
Sonia and Marcus, who were at the bottom of the leaderboard, beamed: ”There is definitely hope for us because that wasn’t a great entrée.”
Back in the kitchen, Coco tried to shake off the disappointment of their entrée and focus on the main, but the pressure got to Pearls after a lacklustre critique.
Despite a stressful cook, the judges were happy with the team’s main of Crispy Pork Belly with Braised Red Cabbage and Mash.
Colin thought the dish was a step up from their entrée and had much better flavours, but admitted the stress found its way on the plate.
Confident from the judges’ feedback on their main, the team served their desert – Coco Pearls – with a bit of theatrics and blindfolds. “It was like a very Coco and Pearls moment, very glamorous, little bit raunchy, a little bit sexy, a little bit 50 shades,” said Rachel.
The guest teams did their best to enjoy the mysterious dessert, but some found it inedible. "I think it wasn’t easy to eat. I don’t wanna use the word slop, but like just tasted like one big overly sweet goop,” said Marcus.
Manu criticised the team for their size of dessert, saying it was really heavy, sticky and not very pleasant. Colin thought the blindfold added a bit of fun to the evening, but the actual dish was a mess.
Two disappointing dishes later, the friends found themselves on the wrong end of the leaderboard with a combined score of 50, a far cry from the three 10s Coco promised.
| Judges’ Scores | Entrée | Main | Dessert | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manu Feildel | 5/10 | 7/10 | 3/10 | 15/30 |
| Colin Fassnidge | 4/10 | 7/10 | 3/10 | 14/30 |
| Total Score | 29/60 |
| MKR Team Scores | |
|---|---|
| Tommy and Rach | 4/10 |
| Sonia and Marcus | 4/10 |
| Radha and Prabha | 5/10 |
| Nick and Christian | 4/10 |
| Claudean and Anthony | 4/10 |
| Guest Score | 21/50 |
| Total Score | 50/110 |
Tomorrow night on MKR: Food maestros Nick and Christian talk a big game, but can they knock Radha and Prabha off the top of the leaderboard with their modern Australian cuisine?
MKR Continues 7.30pm Tuesday and Wednesday on Channel 7 and 7plus
The twist that has been promoted in the past couple of nights is that there will be a second round of instant restaurants, featuring another group of home cooks. It starts next Monday, September 18, with the first three teams named.
Round 2 kicks off with barbecue champions, Aaron and Chris. While around the table, everyone is getting to know “Childhood Friends” Amber and Mel, and “Lithuanian Sisters” Patricija and Brigita.
Keep an eye out on Instagram this week as the teams reveal themselves.
How is that a twist? Isn’t that what they do every year?
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A tall order
Food maestros fail to walk the talk
Food maestros and hospo housemates Nick and Christian talked a big game, but struggled to put their money where their guests mouths were in tonight’s MKR.
The competition heated up at the fifth instant restaurant, as Coco and Pearls – sitting at the bottom of the leaderboard – hoped the boys stumbled. “I want them to fail tonight. I’ll say it like I want their demise in order to have a second chance,” Coco said.
When Nick and Christian presented their menu to the guests, their risky entrée of Kangaroo Tartare with Saltbush and Potato Crisps divided the table, with some finding it daunting. Once served, it was a huge hit.
Colin thought the entrée was a “clever start and full of flavour”, but expected some more potato crisps on the side. Manu, on the other hand, couldn’t fault the dish and called it “top notch”.
The boys were thrilled with the feedback from the judges and felt the top of the leaderboard was within reach, but their main of Chargrilled Swordfish with Jalapeno and Corn Salsa and Nduja Butter left mixed reviews.
The guests collectively agreed that the food maestros had failed to reach the culinary heights they had promised.
The swordfish was missing char and seasoning, but what disappointed Manu more was that the boys didn’t taste the dish before bringing it to the table: “You are in the business, yeah? Hearing this from you is upsetting.”
The feedback was a kick in the gut for the team, who vowed to never repeat their mistake.
With their fate riding on dessert, the boys were confident they could still gun for the top spot, but didn’t bank on their cake coming out wet and too sweet.
Nick and Christian’s dessert of Sokolatopita with Orange Crème Fraiche was a total flop before even making it out of the kitchen.
Too late to bake a new cake, the team had no choice but to serve the half-baked dessert. “Walking this dish out, I’m not proud of what we are putting down in front of our guests,” Christian said.
The judges and guest teams all agreed the cake was a wet mess.
After two flop dishes from the team, Coco and Pearls saw a glimmer of hope. But despite a low combined score of 28 from the guests, Nick and Christian placed above Coco and Pearls with a score of 66/110.
| Judges’ Scores | Entrée | Main | Dessert | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manu Feildel | 10/10 | 7/10 | 2/10 | 19/30 |
| Colin Fassnidge | 9/10 | 7/10 | 3/10 | 19/30 |
| Total Score | 38/60 |
| MKR Team Scores | |
|---|---|
| Tommy and Rach | 7/10 |
| Sonia and Marcus | 6/10 |
| Radha and Prabha | 4/10 |
| Coco and Pearls | 6/10 |
| Claudean and Anthony | 5/10 |
| Guest Score | 28/50 |
| Total Score | 66/110 |
Tomorrow night on MKR: After critiquing harshly across five instant restaurants, married battlers Claudean and Anthony hope to avoid elimination by impressing judges and guests alike.
MKR Continues 7.30pm Wednesday on Channel 7 and 7plus
A slice of humble pie
Three new teams enter the competition as Coco and Pearls bid goodbye
Tonight on MKR, married battlers Claudean and Anthony escaped the elimination by a whisker after failing to impress the judges and guests with their authentic, family home cooking.
Dubbed “pasta queen” by the judges, Claudean’s harsh and vocal critiques in the first five Instant Restaurants had set sky-high expectations for their own Instant Restaurant, the last of the first round. “I think Claudean and Anthony have to deliver a good pasta dish tonight. She has criticised all the pasta in the past,” Manu remarked.
“Now the tables have turned and I can’t wait to see what it’s like when the shoe’s on the other foot,” long-time rival Christian added.
An otherwise smug Claudean and Anthony suffered from nerves when they started cooking, but were confident that their traditional menu of classic Italian dishes would speak for itself.
The team proudly served their entrée of Ricotta, Spinach and Mushroom Ravioli with White Wine Sauce, which was very well received by the judges, but failed to pack a punch with the guests who felt the sauce was a bit heavy and rich.
Manu called the dish top-notch, but admitted burnt butter, sage and pine nuts for the sauce would have been a better choice. “That would’ve elevated this dish to a 10,” Colin agreed.
When Claudean mentioned she made the ricotta from scratch, Manu said: “I take my hat off to you then.”
The team got ahead of themselves during the preparation of their main, Osso Bucco with Anchovy Gremolata and Polenta, leaving the meat overcooked. Unimpressed with the plating, the guests were further disappointed when they tasted the overcooked meat and under-seasoned polenta.
While Claudean took the judges’ remarks about the overcooked meat well, she controversially disagreed with their critique of the polenta: “That’s just the way we eat it.”
All hopes for success hung on the team’s dessert – Ant’s Choc Hazelnut Fiore Di Latte Gelato with Crostoli – which, unfortunately, did not set. Claudean and Anthony raced against time to get the dessert out before it melted any further, but failed in their attempt.
Colin said: “Unfortunately I gotta judge what I got and I got one third of something that worked and the rest didn’t.”
“I don’t think you’ve finished on a high note like we expected,” Manu added.
In a nail-biting finish, Claudean and Anthony managed to escape the elimination by scoring 53/110, three points more than Coco and Pearls, making the latter the first team to get eliminated from the competition.
At the end of the first round of Instant Restaurants, Radha and Prabha fast-tracked to the Semi-Final after securing first place on the leaderboard. Tommy and Rach, the second team on the leaderboard, fast-tracked to Quarter-Final.
The remaining three teams – Sonia and Marcus, Nick and Christian, and Claudean and Anthony – set out for second round of Instant Restaurants along with three new gatecrasher teams: Aaron and Chris, Amber and Mel, and Patricija and Brigita.
| Judges’ Scores | Entrée | Main | Dessert | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manu Feildel | 7/10 | 6/10 | 4/10 | 17/30 |
| Colin Fassnidge | 7/10 | 5/10 | 3/10 | 15/30 |
| Total Score | 32/60 |
MKR Team Scores
Tommy and Rach 4/10
Sonia and Marcus 5/10
Radha and Prabha 4/10
Coco and Pearls 4/10
Nick and Christian 4/10
Guest Score 21/50
Total Score 53/110
Leaderboard
Radha and Prabha 87/110
Tommy and Rach 78/110
Sonia and Marcus 71/110
Nick and Christian 66/110
Claudean and Anthony 53/110
Coco and Pearls 50/110
Next week on MKR: Round two of Instant Restaurants kicks off with BBQ champions Aaron and Chris, and a new rivalry between the OGs and the gatecrashers heats up.
MKR Continues 7.30pm Monday to Wednesday on Channel 7 and 7plus
It’s out of the frying pan and into the fire… We’re going around the country again… with some newbies. Introducing the MKR Gatecrashers pic.twitter.com/gW8kSANSrO
— MKR (@mykitchenrules) September 13, 2023
A similar format will also apply in the second round of instant restaurants. The team at the bottom of the leaderboard would be eliminated, the top team fast-tracked to semi-final, with the three remaining teams joining Tommy and Rach in the quarter-final.
Manu and Colin’s surprise
Three brand new teams enter MKR
Celebrity chefs Manu Feildel and Colin Fassnidge have added a surprise ingredient to the MKR recipe: three brand new teams of home cooks vying for glory from 7.30pm Monday, 18 September on Channel 7 and 7plus.
Meet the gatecrashers in the attached media kit, as they describe their team dynamic and reveal their reasons for competing on MKR.
At the end of first Instant Restaurant round, twins Radha and Prabha fast-tracked to the Semi-Final after securing first place on the leaderboard. Friends Tommy and Rach came in second and secured themselves a place in the Quarter-Final.
The remaining three original teams – Sonia and Marcus, Nick and Christian, and Claudean and Anthony – as well as the gatecrashers will set out for a second round of Instant Restaurants before the finalists battle it out in Kitchen HQ.
In the attached kit, international superstar Nigella Lawson – joining as a judge in MKR Kitchen HQ – shares the markers of a good home cook as well as her most recent food discoveries in Australia.
MKR is produced by ITV Studios for the Seven Network.
My Kitchen Rules Airs 7.30pm Monday to Wednesday on Channel 7 and 7plus
With MKR doing better in the ratings than The Block this season, I bet Seven are sorry they only introduced three gatecrasher teams instead of doing a full six teams in the second round, as they had done in the past. They must have done this to save some money and shorten the season.
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I think a shorter season is good, you don’t want viewer fatigue just when the ratings might be favouring the show & the Block already goes for soo long and that could be what’s contributing to their lower ratings
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Agree but the Instant Restaurant rounds are the most popular and highest rating so would be better to have more of those and less of the Cook Off rounds.
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Synopsis of the first four instant restaurants in round two
Monday 18 September
Round 2 kicks off with barbecue champions, Aaron and Chris. While around the table, everyone is getting to know “Childhood Friends” Amber and Mel, and “Lithuanian Sisters” Patricija and Brigita.
Tuesday 19 September
Round two of the competition continues with Claudean & Anthony back in the kitchen to redeem themselves from their last cook. The pair set out to show the Gatecrashers they are a team to watch out for.
Wednesday 20 September
Tonight, Childhood best friends and Gate Crashing team Amber and Mel, cook up a storm in the NSW Blue Mountains, hoping that cooking Lebanese cuisine will earn them a spot at the top of the leaderboard.
Thursday 21 September (VIC/SA/WA/TAS/NT) / Monday 25 September (NSW/ACT/QLD)
In Melbourne, it’s the battle of the OG’s vs the Gate Crashers, as housemates Nick and Christian are hoping to redeem themselves with their second cook at their Instant Restaurant, 3181.