My Kitchen Rules New Zealand

MKRNZ is back and this time round Pete & Manu from the Australian series will be at the Judging table. This series is all about the celebration of everything that is great about New Zealand, the people, the place and the produce. At stake this series for the six pairs of home cooks competing, is a $100,000 grand prize and Title of MKRNZ 2017 Champions. But to reach the final they will have to survive a series of gruelling culinary challenges. First up are the Instant Restaurant rounds. All six teams must transform their dining rooms into instant restaurants and a cook three-course meals in their own kitchens to be tasted and scored by the two judges and five rival teams. The five rival teams will score the entire meal out of 10 points and then the judges will score each dish out of 10. At the end of the instant restaurant round the lowest scoring team will be eliminated, so the pressure is on from the start. The first team to cook are Rotorua Soul Mates Tash & Hera. Tonight they have planned a menu based around their Maori Heritage and drawn inspiration from their families. Entrée; Paua Two Ways. Main; Seared Lamb Rack on Smokey Kumara Puree with Spiced Dukkah and Miro Berry Chutney. Dessert; Mini Pavs with Kiwi Kawakawa Cream. It’s the first time that the other five teams will meet each other and when the Judges arrive there will be a special announcement as the team with the highest Instant Restaurant score will receive a huge advantage, so the stakes are now even higher.

After the first instant restaurant in which Rotorua Soul Mates Tash and Hera set the benchmark with a score of 67, the competition now turns to Auckland where Childhood Buddies Jaryd & Ben are hosting the second instant restaurant. Friends since they were 5 years old, these two mates share a love of football and food. Super competitive, their mission as a team on MKR is to show that blokes can cook. Their 3-course menu shows cases local produce; Entrée; Beet Cured Salmon with Pickled Cucumber and Herbs, Main; Fillet of Beef with Cherry salsa with seasonal veges. Dessert; Chocolate Brownie with Homemade Coconut Ice Cream and Tempered Chocolate. Dressed in matching black shirts and red braces, and with an instant restaurant theme of a 1920’s ‘speak easy’ New York bar, these two best friends are out to please.

With Rotorua soul mates Tash & Hera still sitting on top of the scoreboard, the competition heads to the capital, Wellington, where Hairdressers Teal & Sophie will be hosting the third instant restaurant. Partners in life and work, these two are a formidable team and already have the other teams in the competition picking them as the ones to beat. Their 3-course meal is based around Teals Heritage. Born in Cambodia, his family fled to Vietnam where he lived as a boy. In the late 70’s, his family again fled and became refugees in New Zealand. Food and the flavours of his homeland have been ever important to Teal and this reflects in his menu. Entrée; Banh Xeo with Mums Secret Recipe Sauce. Main; Beef Pho. Dessert; Tapioca Delight with Cassava and Banana. It’s an ambitious menu with copious amounts of prep to do and as the night pans out, it’s a roller coaster ride in the kitchen for Teal & Sophie. Will their menu be too polarising and can they live up to the high expectations?

With the first 10 of the competition, Wellington Hairdressers Teal & Sophie amounted a huge score of 77 and proudly sit on top of the scoreboard. Now it’s the turn for the youngest team in MKR, Auckland students Charlotte & Maddie. These two millennials, are the new generation of foodies, who live and breathe everything food related. What they may lack in experience, they compensate in enthusiasm and creativity. They want to prove that even they are young, they have what it takes to win, and also that young people can cook, and cook well. Their 3-course menu reeks creativity and youthful fun. Entrée; Coconut Shrimpy with a Mango Dressio. Main; Macadamia Nut Crusted Snapparoo Stuffed with Mr Crabs and a side of coco rice. Dessert; Green T Panna cotta with a Bacon Crumb, Chocolate dirt, and a dash of fineapple While the girls are busy in the kitchen, the other teams are in awe of their instant restaurant, ‘Fresh’. However the conversations turn to the competition as things heat up between the last two teams to cook. As the dishes from Charlotte & Maddie start to come out, will their beautifully presented works of art taste as god as they look?

With Teals & Sophie’s score of 77 keeping them on top of the scoreboard and Charlotte & Maddie’s score of 54 seeing them on the bottom, its time now for the much anticipated instant restaurant of Wanaka Newly Weds Chris & Bex. They have shown around the instant restaurant table that they have a huge food knowledge and now it’s time to see if they can cook as well as they talk. Their menu draws its inspiration from the local produce around their beloved Wanaka. Entrée; Chicken Liver Parfait with Caramelised Onions and Beer Bread. Main; Kumara Gnocchi with Lamb Ragout, Fig and Aubergine Salad. Dessert; Central Otago Cherry and Almond Cake with Cadrona Rose’ Ice Cream. With this ambitious menu, the competition ramps up as the other competitors are influencing the table with nit picking comments on the food, resulting in accusations of strategic voting.

Even with double 10’s from the judges, its still wasn’t enough for Chris & Bex to knock off Teal & Sophie from top of the scoreboard. Now the competition moves to Christchurch for the final instant restaurant where Food Friends Heather & Mitch are attempting to knock off Teal & Sophie for the top spot and claim the advantage. These two great friends love food & entertaining and have been the most vocal around the instant restaurant tables, stating how good they are, how unthreatened they are and much they are going to ‘Nail It”. So can they walk the walk with a menu like this? Entrée; Pickled Pork Tongue, Cider Braised Pig Cheek, Crispy Tail. Main; Wild Venison, Liquorice, and Manuka Smoked Beets with Labna. Dessert; Bomb Alaska, Vanilla Berry Compote, Pineapple and Mango Sorbet, it certainly seems they can. But will this polarising menu take them to the top or will the pressure of going last be their downfall? As it’s the last instant restaurant, there is a lot at stake, as the lowest scoring team and the end of the night will be eliminated from the competition. As well it revealed that the team with the highest score will get a free pass straight to the final round. It is also announced that the remaining four teams will battle it out in two sudden death cook offs.

With Charlotte & Maddie eliminated from the competition and Teal & Sophie safely into the final round, it’s time for the first of two Sudden Death rounds. To start, Rotorua soul mates Tash & Hera will cook off against Wanaka newly weds Chris & Bex. This year on My Kitchen Rules there is no Kitchen HQ and the sudden death cook offs will happen in real commercial kitchens, and the teams will be cooking next to each other, in the same kitchen. For this episode they are cooking at the infamous ‘Hunting Lodge’. To up the anti, the teams are cooking a 3-course dinner for 16, including the stars from New Zealand’s most popular soap, Shortland Street. Will Chris & Bex’s menu of; Entrée; Rabbit Roulade, Spicy Sausage, Pancetta, Cauliflower Puree, Carrot Chips, Pumpkin Sauce with Sweet Spices, Main;Aged Beef with Roasted Garlic Chips, Bone Marrow Sauce, Fondant Potatoes, Pea Puree, Dessert; Chocolate & Peanut Butter Mousse with Salted Peanut Honeycomb, take top spot? Or is Tash & Hera’s menu of; Entrée; Sandy’s Parengarenga Crayfish Tails, Coriander, Garlic Butter with Sisters Secret Sauce and Tempura Karengo Tio, Main; Mums Muriz Kai Snapper with Crispy Skin on Risotto Dessert; Bangin Mangan, Manuka Honey Herbed Poached Pears with Crumb and Vanilla Mascarpone see them through to the next round? The pressure is on from the start as they have only 2 hours to get their Entrée out. The kitchen is small, hot and not only are they being scored by the judges and the other remaining teams, the ‘Shortland Street’ actors will be scoring their menu’s too. At the end of this episode one team will be eliminated and one team will be joining Teal & Sophie in the final round.

It’s the start of the final round and only three teams are remaining. Wellington Hairdressers Teal & Sophie, Wanaka newlyweds Chris & Bex and Christchurch Foodie Friends Heather & Mitch are battling it out in the toughest challenge yet. Their task is to cater a wedding at the beautiful Orakei Bay, for 80 guests, serving Canapés, Entrees and Mains. This is no easy feat and they can’t let the judges, themselves or the Bride & Groom down on their special day. It will be an eight- hour service, which will see the teams pushed physically, mentally and emotionally. The menu’s have never been more important as not only do they need to be perfect but they need to be out on time.

It’s the MKR Grand Final where Newly Weds Chris & Bex are head to head against Christchurch Foodies Heather & Mitch. A tantalising final as two extremely competitive teams will battle it out for bragging rights. The final is held at Gusto Restaurant in the sky City Grand. Gusto is a top 50 New Zealand Restaurant run by world renowned Chef Sean Connolly. For the final, the contestants will be put to their paces as the judges are after restaurant quality dishes. They are tasked with cooking four courses, an Entrée, a Fish dish, a Meat dish and a Dessert. They need to plate 20 dishes per course for family, friends, ex contestants, guests and a VIP tasting panel.