Round two of MKR kicked off tonight, with mother and son Caz and Fergus becoming the first gatecrasher team to host. Their Instant Restaurant, Tunes and Spoons, combined a love of food and music.
Around the table, the original teams – Modern Italians Simone and Viviana, fussy friends Mike and Pete and lovebirds Hannah and Lawrence – got to the know the new gatecrashers: kitchen queens Janey and Maddie and married Germans Robert and Andrea.
The Twice Baked Leek and Cheese Souffle entrée was “cooked perfectly” according to Manu but lacked a fresh element to cut through the sweetness. Most of their fellow teams enjoyed the dish but Janey and Maddie proved they’ve come to the table with high expectations, as Janey was labelled a “food snob” by Hannah and Lawrence.
While the dishes simmered in the kitchen, the heat continued around the table, with Lawrence and Janey butting heads after he noted: “I hope your arrogance is pure confidence.”
Back on the menu, Caz and Fergus’ main – Pinenut and Pistachio Toothfish Vichyssoise – was served to lukewarm reviews, lacking flavour and seasoning. Fergus wasn’t happy with the dish, admitting to the judges that some of the elements were rushed as a result of tension in the kitchen.
Needing a knockout dessert to finish the night, Caz and Fergus rallied with a Miso Caramel Cheesecake with Shichimi Togarashi. They were praised for the use of miso in the dessert, but Manu wanted “more miso into the caramel sauce and more caramel sauce onto the dessert.”
After a stressful but successful night, with the “building blocks of a great menu” according to Colin, musician Fergus – who has supported Ed Sheeran on tour – declared cooking onMKR much harder than playing an arena tour.
A new-and-improved, self-professed ‘Mike 2.0’ also emerged tonight: promising to only put food in his mouth moving forward, not his foot.
