Tonight’s Ultimate Instant Restaurant saw mother and son team, Caz and Fergus, dodge the drama at the table and take on their most difficult cook so far.
Serving two entrees, two mains and two desserts, they ended the night with a total score of 62 out of 100. The pair were deflated, but happy to be safe from elimination, with three more teams yet to take the ultimate challenge.
Tonight’s menu included Scallops Squared or Chicken Liver Parfait with Fig Chutney for entrée, Slow Roasted Duck Massaman or Steak Frites with Café De Paris Butter, Bone Marrow and Green Salad for main and dessert of Strawberry and Mascarpone Meringue Cake or Little Blackberry Puddings with Crème Anglaise.
Manu chose the parfait for entrée and praised the dish, scoring it a seven, but noted it needed more salt. Colin’s scallops were “perfectly cooked” achieving their highest score of the night: an eight.
Caz and Fergus took a risk serving their duck massaman on mashed potatoes which confused the judges and guests. Colin praised the “beautifully cooked” duck but criticised serving it alongside mash as, “there was no texture.” Manu’s main of steak frites was a disappointment: an overcooked steak with no crust bringing his score down to a five.
Dessert was a mixed bag; Colin’s blackberry pudding fell short in the creaming of the eggs. Manu praised the flavour of his mascarpone meringue cake but needed a crispier meringue.
The table talk got spicy when contestants addressed the MKR-first open scoring. After brothers Rob and Liam’s last Instant Restaurant saw their scores crash and a major clash with Janey, Liam confronted her. Rob and Liam felt Janey and Maddie were strategic with their score. Simone and Viviana agreed Janey and Maddie’s score was low, while Pete told Janey she can be “abrasive.”
The mother daughter team stayed firm on their scores for Rob and Liam. “It’s only one point really. You need to get over it,” Janey retorted.
Tonight, all teams scored Caz and Fergus a six, aside from Rob and Liam – who maintained their Instant Restaurant food was superior and scored a five – which didn’t go unnoticed by Janey and Maddie.
“Interesting that Rob and Liam at the start of tonight accused mum and I of strategically scoring. Look who’s being strategic now,” noted Maddie.
