Tonight, MKR’s Ultimate Instant Restaurant round saw Simone and Viviana serve their most ambitious menu yet. A rollercoaster of dishes saw their scores range from four to a perfect 10.
Dessert saved the day, and the modern Italians landed safely at the top of the leaderboard with a total score of 68 out of 100.
Tonight’s menu included Prosciutto and Melon Cheesecake or Crostini di Polenta for entrée, Pappardelle with Duck Ragu or Risotto with Scampi and Stracciatella for main, and Tiramisu or Sfogliatella Ricca (pastry shell filled with custard) for dessert.
Mike, who pulled no punches, admitted: “Of course I want them to fail. It’s a competition.” Mike stated there wasn’t room for two Italian teams in the final, confident he and Pete would prevail over Simone and Viviana.
Maddie called out Rob and Liam on their strategic scoring at the last Ultimate Instant Restaurant hosted by Caz and Fergus. Still, Liam stood firm, declaring: “I regret nothing I said at the last Instant Restaurant. I believed it, so I said it.”
Maddie retorted: “I think we agreed to disagree. What can we say?”
Judge Manu Feildel scored the entrée of Crostini di Polenta a nine, admitting: “We’ve had a lot of polenta in this competition. This one is the best we’ve had.” In contrast, the Prosciutto and Melon Cheesecake entrée was below par, with Mike calling it “crap.” Judge Colin Fassnidge scored the dish a lowly four.
Simone and Viviana were confident the mains were their strongest dishes, but after setting the bar so high at the last Instant Restaurant, Manu was disappointed in tonight’s pappardelle.
“I’m going to start by saying the ravioli that you cooked for us last time was probably in the top three best pasta dishes I’ve ever had in my life. Two different people cooked this. I felt that the pasta was maybe too al dente. The ragu could have cooked together a bit more, a bit longer, a bit more seasoning, a bit more love,” admitted Manu, scoring the dish a six.
Colin had “such high hopes for the risotto”, but after praising the flavour, the undercooked rice left him underwhelmed, scoring the dish a five. Mike jumped in to declare he makes a much better risotto.
After tough feedback on their mains, the pressure of the competition overwhelmed Viviana. “I need a minute”, an emotional Viviana acknowledged: “This challenge is destroying. It destroys your mind.”
Simone professed: “We’re not professional, amore, we’re home cooks. This is hard.”
After their stumbles, Simone and Viviana’s dessert skills shone bright. Colin’s “elegant” tiramisu scored a nine. Manu scored his Sfogliatella Ricca a 10, calling the dish “a work of art.”
