The Week That Was: Part 1

Welcome to the first edition of 'The Week That Was', a weekly blog recapping the highlights and lowlights of MKR.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you click on the name of a dish you’ll be instantly teleported to its recipe. MAGIC!

And What A Week!

From soldiers who cook to scientists who attempt to, the second week of MKR had it all.

First up were David and Scott, the soldier mates from Queensland. Thus far – much like Switzerland - they’ve remained fairly neutral and come across as two likeable blokes, (which, it turns out, they are). But the real question is, would these veterans of countless global conflicts be able to cook up a dessert storm? (That’s a Gulf War reference you can take to the bank!)

Your Mission, Should You Choose To Accept It...

The boys of 'Diggers Rest' served up a Red Claw Salad for entrée, Surf & Turf for the main, and a Mango and Macadamia Nut Flan (replete with Australia-shaped Mango!) for dessert. Unfortunately, they only hit one of three targets. The entrée was reviled due to its clashing flavours, the main similarly reviled due to its overcooked steak and arid presentation, but the dessert was a last-minute hit, (well, except for the Princess, who, of course, loves to complain).

So, a score of 64 for our Soulja Boys.

Mission: Failed.

Soldier* boys.

Thomas & Carla: Will their walk match their talk?

Next up were Thomas and Carla. The Melbournites have been widely critical of the other teams in group 1 and this was their chance to show that they’ve got the skills to back up their elitism.

Their restaurant's name was 'Grazed' and its theme Polo, (i.e. the one where rich people play golf on horses, not the one where ab-solutely gorgeous swimmers amorously wrestle underwater whilst throwing a yellow sphere around). As such, guests were served a Pimms cocktail upon entry, (there were no horses present, however).

Their entrée was Wheat Beer with Mussel Soup, the main a Lamb Kofte with Homemade Roti and the dessert a Lavender and Blueberry Cheesecake. All sounds great, right?

WRONG!

Problem one was their lack of time management skills. After the entrée, it was almost three hours before guests received their main. Three hours!!! The guests, not to mention the judges, were seriously unimpressed. I mean, you could’ve read 4 novels (and written one) in that time. You could’ve watched James Cameron’s Titanic 245 times (probably, though someone may have to check the maths). You also could’ve gazed unblinking at 2 pictures of Ryan Gosling’s face (as the average person gets lost in his eyes for around 75 minutes per picture).

In any case, when the main fiiiiiiiiinally came, the dinner guests breathed a collective sigh of relief. At least the main was delicious though, right?

WRONG!

The judges unanimously denounced the disappointing dish, with Pete calling it naught but “boring meatballs”. Oh well, if they nail dessert then they’ve had 2 out of 3 successes, and things couldn’t get much worse, right?

WRONG!

The dessert was an unmitigated debacle. Pete said their Lavender and Blueberry Cheesecake tasted like soap, and Manu said “This is the worst dish I’ve ever had.”

The worst dish.

He’d.

Ever.

Had.

They got a final score of 46.

Lol.

Here Comes A New Challenger!

Introducing group 2! Six new teams of potential MKR champions! There’s Victorian sisters Carly and Emily, WA scientists Emma and Andrew, South Australian mates Nic and Rocco, Tasmanians Megan and Andy, Queensland academics Peter and Gary, and tonight’s instant restaurateurs Sam and Jillian.

These two are potential in-laws - Sam is Jillian’s son Grant, you see – but their true shared love is cooking. Entrée at the 'Food Republic' (btw I checked, it's not a real country) was Pea Soup with Parmesan Pillows (presumably in case you get tired), the main course was Sesame Encrusted Tuna with Pan Fried Potato and dessert was a Bombe Alaska.

A Bombe Whatlaska?

I know right? This was a left field dessert choice for Sam and Jillian, with most of the contestants not having had it for years (if they’d even heard of it). But this meringue-based, ice-cream filled dessert was to be their saving grace...

But first, the entrée. Due to bad luck/bad preparation/bad cooking skills (you choose), Sam and Jillian failed to complete the parmesan pillows, and thus served a lonely jar of pea soup. Sam wept as Pete and Manu delivered their damning verdict: the soup wasn’t green enough, the dish was one dimensional. Ouch.

The main course’s reception wasn’t much better either. They neglected to serve the Aioli they’d promised, and the dish was widely criticised for being dry.

But finally, their pièce de résistance: The Bombe Alaska. The obscure dessert lit up the competition, (quite literally), as they set the pretty little ball of taste on fire, delighting their dinner guests. Both judges gave the dessert a 9, and Manu even managed to slip in a “Bombe appétit!” pun, (get it?!)

A final score of 65 for our sexy shire girls. Not a bad result considering the calamities that were their entrée and main!

Enter: The Scientists

Last up this week were affable scientists Emma and Andrew. We were all expecting great things, because that’s all cooking is right, a science? Well, lovable though they were, the Western Australians’ MKR experiment - in their quirky restaurant 'Obscura', wasn’t exactly a major success.

Their entrée was Baked Marron with a Truffle Salad, the main a Venison and Beer Pie, and the dessert Fig Galettes, (with liquid nitrogen ice cream, no less!). An ambitious menu, and perhaps too ambitious for these two, as they had all manner of problems in the kitchen. For example, before they’d even got into the swing of things, Andrew cut himself. No, not intentionally, (at least not yet).

The entrée was moderately well received. The main? Not so much. Their disastrous mashed potato caused them problems, and their venison reportedly didn’t taste like venison, (which is odd, seeing as it is venison). The dessert too was a disaster, with the only real positive being the taste of the liquid nitrogen ice cream.

Their final score? 62.

Enter: Dr. Evil

In group 1 we have The Princess, and this week we were introduced to group 2’s resident catty contestant: Peter, a.k.a. Dr. Evil. This malevolent 44 year-old lawyer delighted in criticising the efforts of the other teams. He was spitting out venomous barbs at every opportunity, such as calling Emma and Andrew’s mashed potato “terrible”. “I mean, how hard can mashed potato be?!”

What’s Coming Up!?

Next week we get to see the rest of group 2 cook. Italian boys Nic & Rocco will step into the kitchen to see if their can do their respective Nonnas proud, Megan and Andy will be flying the flag for Tasmania (do they have flags in Tasmania? Do they have appliances in Tasmania? Do they have electricity? Write in and let us know.), Carly and Emily will try to better this week’s Victorian nightmare and Peter and Gary will have the opportunity to either prove they can cook, or prove that they’re numpties*.

*SPOILER ALERT*

Here’s a spoiler for next week: Peter is actually impressed by something. What is it? You’ll have to tune in to find out. See you next Monday at 7:30pm, only on 7!