Tonight, in MKR’s final Instant Restaurant, Lithuanian sisters Patricija and Brigita put their cuisine on the map. But their traditional menu proved polarising around the table, making them the second team to get eliminated from the competition.
Patricija and Brigita’s no-nonsense approach throughout the competition had the judges and the guest teams intrigued as to what the night had in store, with Chris exclaiming: “They are my dark horses of the competition.”
When the sisters presented their traditional Lithuanian menu, nobody at the table – including the judges and culinary connoisseurs Nick and Christian – knew what to expect, as none of them had tasted Lithuanian food before.
“I’m a bit at odds of where we’re gonna go tonight. There’s an air of mystery about you two, you’ve held your cards very close to your chest. So, I’m very intrigued to see what we get tonight,” Colin said.
The team’s entrée, Lithuanian Šaltibarščiai (Cold Beet Soup) with Potatoes and Dill, was received well by most of the guest teams. But the warm feedback soon turned frostier than the soup itself, when Manu revealed the sisters used packet beetroot. “The beetroot is the main component of this dish. And they’ve not cooked it in a cooking competition,” Christian exclaimed.
Colin liked the entrée and said there were two personalities on the plate: the warmness of Brigita and the coldness of Patricija. Manu thought the dish was “a nice surprise”, but he wasn’t happy that the team didn’t use fresh beetroot.
Patricija and Brigita’s main of Vedarai (Potato Sausage) with Bacon Sour Cream Sauce was the most polarising dish of the night. “This is not a pretty dish by any means, but it’s one of our most heartiest, tastiest dishes that we are serving tonight,” Brigita said while plating the dish.
While Claudean and Chris loved the dish, it was a miss from the judges.
Manu found the potato filling too dense, but thought the sauce “was addictive and really yummy”. Contradicting him, Colin called the sauce “a disaster”.
Hearing the feedback, the sisters returned to the kitchen with mixed feelings to plate their dessert: a recipe by their mum. Nervous, Patricija said: “If I get the cake wrong, mum will not be happy.”
Their dessert of Medaus Tortas (Honey Cake) turned out to be a crowd pleaser. Both Manu and Colin enjoyed the dish but thought the portion size was huge.
Patricija and Brigita’s two polarising dishes, followed by an impressive dessert, made Amber and Mel nervous at the bottom of the leaderboard: “I think it’s gonna be very close, I’m not ready to go home,” Mel said.
At the end of the night, Patricija and Brigita ended up with the same score from the guest teams as Amber and Mel: 23 out of 50. Unfortunately, after the judges’ scoring, the sisters were two points short of Amber and Mel’s score of 61/110, and were eliminated from the competition.
Quarter Final at 7.00pm on Sunday, 1 October on Channel 7 and 7plus
