‘Cooked Sisters’ Jessica & Nicole joined Martin & Eddie, Larcé & Jabu and Azraa & Waven into the Challenge Round of My Kitchen Rules SA this week (Sunday 2 October, 18:00 on M-Net Channel 101), pipping Mark & Mbali to secure the final spot.
The sisters opted to share their Madeiran heritage, cooking from a hand-written recipe book left to them by their Avó (grandmother) – but adding their own modern twist. Their starter was a version of Caldo Verde (Madeiran green soup); main Avo’s Peixe com Natas
(Gran’s Fish Dish with Creamy Sauce) and dessert a Madeiran-style Queijada (baked cheesecake) with Bolo de Mel (honey cake) Ice Cream.
Nicole led the charge in the kitchen with Jessica happy to play ‘support staff’, admitting she isn’t handy in the kitchen – indeed, she was often banned from the family kitchen for superstitious reasons, since she’s left-handed.
As the contestants settled into the sisters’ Instant Restaurant, ‘Food Envy’, Nicole said she was happy to not have to face Mark & Mbali, who they had to beat to stay in the competition.
Their soup starter drew mixed reviews from the judges, with J’Something saying the chouriço overpowered the other subtle flavours and David finding that they’d over-blended it and made it too ‘gloopy’. Larcé enjoyed the heat and Azraa complimented the home-made bread, but Martin agreed with J’Something’s assessment and said all he could taste was chouriço.
The criticism sent Nicole spiralling in the kitchen and it was up to Jessica to get her back on track with a few sips of water and some sage advice. When their main was served, J’Something praised the flavour they’d packed into the dish, but felt they’d veered too far away from the traditional version of the dish. David felt that the sides they served made no sense on the plate but praised the ‘unbelievable’ layers of flavour they’d managed to pack into the fish stew. Mark felt certain elements of the dish were undercooked – Martin also picked up on that with the rice – but Waven praised it as ‘gorgeous’ and ‘spectacular’.
David found their ice cream overly sweet and J’Something had small criticisms around the ratio of pastry to cheese mixture and the balance of the dish. Larcé said she didn’t find the cake sweet at all and Martin praised the ice cream, but Mbali was left with a soapy taste.
The final contestant scoring round saw Azraa & Waven and Larcé & Jabu score them a 7, with a 6 from Martin & Eddie and a 2 from Mark & Mbali, to give them 22/40.
J’Something and David awarded their meal a joint score of 40/60, for a combined total of 62/100 – enough to beat Mark & Mbali’s 58 and send the duo home. The first group of contestants has a few weeks off before the Challenge Round as the second group aims to impress the judges – and each other – with their Instant Restaurants, starting with husband & wife team Tim & Shereez in Gqberha, next week.
My Kitchen Rules SA is produced by Picture Tree and proudly sponsored by Nederburg. The series is available on DStv Premium on M-Net (Channel 101) every Sunday at 6pm, as well as live-streamed on the DStv App, and is also available on DStv Catch Up after broadcast. Visit the M-Net Website for exclusive show content and join the conversation on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, using #MKRSA.