Tonight, MKR’sUltimate Instant Restaurant round kicked off as Rob and Liam’s dinner party dished up ultimate drama, while a shock twist left contestants floored.
In the end, the brothers from Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula scored a disappointing 57 out of 100: a fall from grace given their last appearance in Kitchen HQ as guest judges.
The pressure was on for Rob and Liam, tasked with serving two entrees, two mains and two desserts before guests choose which they would eat. With eyes on the MKR title, contestants admitted their menu choices were based on strategy. Mike and Pete chose the riskier dishes, wanting to score honestly despite potentially harsher reviews; while Janey and Maddie picked what they thought was the best food to see who their best competition is.
Colin scored his entrée of Beef Cheek Tacos with Smoked Cheese Sauce and Pico de Gallo a seven, noting the chewy taco shells didn’t work. Before the judges had critiqued the tacos, Janey’s left Liam fuming after she interrupted service asking: “why did you give us two tacos each and compromise on the quality of the tacos?”
Janey continued, admitting the shell was “like trying to eat cardboard.”
Liam acknowledged: “Immediately I kind of just saw red. Have some respect.” Janey doubled down: “We are here to judge the food. It’s not a personality contest, it’s about the food.”
The second entrée of Morcilla Spring Rolls with Red Pepper Sauce and Charred Chorizo Crumb scored a six from Manu, who observed: “something was missing on the plate.”
Rob and Liam’s main dishes were hit and miss with an “inconsistent cook” on the Peri Peri Woodfired Chicken with Chargrilled Corn and Garlic Aioli leaving Mike with raw chicken. The second main dish – Sticky Pork Ribs with Charred Sprouts and Chimichurri – was praised by Colin scoring an eight out of 10 despite lacking in sauce.
Rob and Liam’s downward slide continued with dessert. The Passionfruit Bavarois with Lime Sorbet and Tequila drowned with an intense sour lime flavour scoring a five from Colin. The Churros with Pistachio Mascarpone Cream and Liqueur and Chocolate Sauce was “not well executed” and scored a lowly four from Manu.
At the end of the night, Manu and Colin revealed a shock twist leaving some contestants squirming. It was open scoring; meaning contestants revealed their scores at the table in front of their competitors for the first time. Liam admitted: “We get to hear everyone’s scores and if they lowball us, we are low balling back.”
Rob and Liam thought their score of five was fair from Caz and Fergus and Mike and Pete but declared Janey and Maddie’s five “unfair” given “they got all the best dishes of the day.”
Rob reflected: “Hopefully we get to cook again and bring it back up to where it needs to be.”
