Tonight, MKR returned to Perth as Mike and Pete hoped to improve on their first Instant Restaurant and impress the judges with their classic Italian menu. After a successful entrée, things went downhill at Twisted Lemons, with Mike and Pete receiving a score of 70 out of 110.
The fussy friends are, however, safe from elimination as Janey and Maddie remain at the bottom of the leaderboard with two more teams yet to cook.
As the guest teams arrived, Mike and Pete invited Lawrence and Janey to extend an olive branch to each other in the hope to ease the ongoing tension. There was strategy behind their peacemaking as Mike acknowledged: “The tactic behind the olive branch tonight is that they accept the peace. Everyone’s going to have a great time. Therefore, when it comes to scoring, everyone’s going to be happy!”
The Gnocchi with Burnt Butter Sage entrée was “a delicious start of the meal” according to Colin, scoring an eight from both judges. In tears after the feedback, Mike shared: “Mike 2.0, likes to cry, likes to show his emotion and he is a lovely guy.”
Their main dish of Eye Fillet with Polenta Chips and Brussels Sprouts was hit and miss with praise for the “perfectly cooked” eye fillet, but disappointment in the other elements lead to a six from both judges.
A beautifully presented dessert of Drunken Pear with Vanilla Ice cream was Mike and Pete’s lowest scoring dish after Mike’s ‘splash’ of Aperol Spritz was more of a ‘glug’ leading to a bitterness in the sauce they couldn’t overcome.
Despite the rather forced extension of an olive branch between Janey and Lawrence, the tension boiled over at the table as Janey and Maddie discovered what was said when they were in the kitchen hosting their Instant Restaurant last week.
The mother and daughter team were sceptical about Lawrence’s sincerity and told the table they feel the score for their Instant Restaurant was too low. Janey was convinced they were judged unfairly by Lawrence, on personality rather than their food.
Lawrence admitted he called their dishes “arrogant” and doubled down declaring they overexaggerated their abilities and that’s the very definition of arrogance. Janey and Maddie left the table needing a moment outside to regroup before returning knowing the war of words with Lawrence is far from over.
