My Kitchen Rules – Emma and Andrew Cook The Scientific Way

by Reality Raver

61 comments

1 Georgie { 02.10.12 at 12:12 am }

An orange sauce on the marron – that’s not fruit with seafood again is it?

Sam said she wouldn’t put a citrus sauce on marron, she’d prefer something oily. This coming from someone who served up a quarter of a jar of pea soup without the parmesan pillows and raw tuna without the aioli.

2 brain dead dave { 02.10.12 at 12:41 am }

So Peter makes mean mashed potato. He seems to excel at mincing.

3 Chunks { 02.10.12 at 12:50 am }

Aaaaaargh. What is with these people. Why do they keep cooking things they’ve never done before? The truffle was a ridiculous extravagance and I really wonder what it would taste like with orange. Guess it depends how sweet the sauce was. The worst disasters were the mashed potato – indeed how hard can you make it – and the using dried figs for dessert. Madness. Why didn’t they poach them awhile in some syrup instead? Please let one of the teams have some common sense. As for Peter, what an unlikeable twit. You can see why the producers picked that team.

4 Georgie { 02.10.12 at 7:03 am }

I have to say in Peter’s defence – I liked his hard line on the tears. Basically he said ‘if they can’t take the criticism they shouldn’t be on the show’.

He’s brutal in a ‘no bullshit’ kind of way – love it!

5 Isabel { 02.10.12 at 7:53 am }

You are right, RR, not an attractive man at all – let’s hope his cooking is his redeeming feature! Who’s the girl in that relationship ….

6 littlepetal { 02.10.12 at 7:57 am }

I like to watch to see how Peter stir the pot. Love the WA team. They are a loving couple. Sam is quite pretentious. Wonder how she will react to Princess or Princess to her. There will be a competition with those 2.

I thought this team should have scored slightly higher than Sam and Jillian.

7 Jason { 02.10.12 at 8:03 am }

Isabel: Are you asking who does the vacuuming, washing and ironing in the Peter and Gary relationship?

8 Georgie { 02.10.12 at 8:17 am }

Gary is the ‘ego stroker’, so I guess that makes Peter the ‘man’.

9 kleenex mum { 02.10.12 at 8:53 am }

Although the WA couple seem to be a happy go lucky funny couple, why would you put your self on national TV if you cant cook and, cry at the drop of a hat for being told the truth….. I just dont get it, they were very calm almost too calm i thought, did they forget who they were cooking for, i cook because my family get hungry but i think i could have done a better job than the these last two couples….

10 kess { 02.10.12 at 10:48 am }

I love this show.
And this phase is the very best, it’s awesome watching delusional people like this, gives me great insight, and a good laugh.
They are evil geniuses at 7, I bet they never even test these people to see if they can cook.
They just cast them from the resume and personality, and so we get to see people who cook just like you and me at home, but with a giant ego.
Somebody gave them a compliment for something they cooked once – and now of course with that huge ego they think they are chefs.
It’s hilarious watching them fail and face reality, just because what you can cook is edible that doesn’t make you a chef.

11 brain dead dave { 02.10.12 at 11:20 am }

Since Gary wears the hat (sans fascinator), I reckon he pitches and Peter catches.

12 littlepetal { 02.10.12 at 12:13 pm }

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/12858328/truffles-too-much-for-wa-scientists/

While Paton admits the menu wasn’t their usual style, Donnelly was just glad for the chance to experiment.

“It was fun playing with fancy ingredients because we usually don’t get to do that,” Donnelly said.

I think there is some truth to what the blogger mentioned on the Whirlpool website. The contestants were given recipes to cook. This explained why so many have problems with the dishes.

Sam and Jillian didn’t cook in Jillian’s house (producers think it is not good enough) They cooked in someone home in Sylvania.
That explained why Sam don’t know where the Asian grocery is.

Throng.com gave the away who are in the bottom 3 for Group 2

http://www.throng.com.au/my-kitchen-rules

13 nanaliz { 02.10.12 at 12:14 pm }

Isn’t it rude for a gentleman to wear a hat at the dinner table. The time between auditions, getting the notice that you are to be a contestant and filming would have to be fairly long time so contestants could get leave etc so why oh why aren’t they practicing dishes to come up with a good meal. OK most arn’t in their own kitchen but you would at least have jobs worked out etc. RR, I would love you to find out what is involed in the lead up to the shows being taped. Couldn’t agree more ‘kess’, definately some delusional people there.

14 littlepetal { 02.10.12 at 12:24 pm }

Posted by stunz on whirlpool:

Havent posted in here yet, but im going to as some of my friends are on this years episode so i can clear up some things for you all.

In the post-audition round the contestants give the producers 3 menus full of meals that they can cook. The producers will then ‘create’ a menu based from those 3 initial menus. The contestants get told the night before what the menu is and they have to practise. This is a pre-air audition for the show. Contestants are judged on how they mesh as a couple and the food quality.

The on-air rounds, (the tv episodes) are different.
Producers give the contestants a full menu, with recipes the day before shooting. Contestants are expected to learn the recipes, practise them all day, ready for doing a ‘final’ on taping day. Most of the time, they have never cooked that dish before.

You need to remember, this is television, channel 7 are quite well known for being brutal to contestants on reality tv shows (Beauty and the Geek especially, I had another friend on their too)

Few interesting pieces of information for you.
Contestents are forbidden from talking to the stars (Manu + the other dude) unless being filmed.
Some contestants dont get to cook in their own house. Houses are rented/studios if the contestants house isnt ‘good enough for television’. Being well off/rich/nice house also is a bonus for you in the audition process.
The 30second intro, introducing the teams (where all their family and friends are around ‘their house’ having dinner with them) took 2 days, both 1030-8pm to film. I know, i was there.

Maybe this is the format Channel 7 is using to create more drama. Yes, RR should investigate. If they are not careful Channel 7 is going to spoil a good show just like Masterchef.

15 Culinary Boner { 02.10.12 at 12:36 pm }

“Contestents are forbidden from talking to the stars… unless being filmed.”

Are they also forbidden from looking at these culinary deities, as in Imperial China?

16 brain dead dave { 02.10.12 at 12:42 pm }

It’s interesting reading but I’m asking myself how reliable “friends” who can’t honour a confidentiality clause are.

I suspect they’ve crawled from the same cesspool as anonymous posters.

17 Georgie { 02.10.12 at 12:48 pm }

It would be interesting around the dinner table between courses if the other contestants can’t talk to Manu and Pete. Maybe the judges wait it out somewhere else away from the plebs.

18 brain dead dave { 02.10.12 at 12:59 pm }

Flogging ze dead orse talking to Manu as is diction is orrible.

19 Culinary Boner { 02.10.12 at 1:02 pm }

Basil Fawlty: [to Manu] Stupidissimo! Continental cretin!

20 Culinary Boner { 02.10.12 at 1:03 pm }

Oops, that should Manuel

21 Culinary Boner { 02.10.12 at 1:05 pm }

“should be”

FFS, now I need a sub-editor almost as much a Reality Raver

22 Georgie { 02.10.12 at 1:36 pm }

Eez ed eec gating so uge eel need ze nu at soon.

And another ‘Culinary Deity’ taboo – the contestants are forbidden from eating with the judges too.

23 brain dead dave { 02.10.12 at 1:39 pm }

All that dry ice last night…..I thought I was at a Deep Purple concert.

Georgie, since marron live in freshwater,I’m not sure if they qualify as seafood. Hopefully,a food boffin out there knows.

Surely “blow job” can be communicated to Manu and Pete non verbally.

24 Mel { 02.10.12 at 1:41 pm }

I heard from a close friend is friends with a contestant that Manu is not actually french at all and that contestants are all Aussie expats living abroad that are brought in as actore on the show.

25 Georgie { 02.10.12 at 2:04 pm }

bdd – the freshwater vs saltwater distinction for seafood would also affect freshwater barra, trout, bass, cod, crayfish etc.?

26 brain dead dave { 02.10.12 at 2:18 pm }

I suppose salmon and mussels,too . Haven’t got a clue. Food boffins….opportunity knocks.

27 Culinary Boner { 02.10.12 at 2:23 pm }

It all fits under the generic category of “stuff you don’t beat to death at the abattoir’ in my opinion, and this is the Coles aisle I’d be looking for it in.

28 nanaliz { 02.10.12 at 2:31 pm }

The more I think about the whilpool bull, the more examlpes I can think of that show competitors own recipes.
1. Jennifer used Mum’s recipe for that deep fried barra mush and used only salt like her Mother. She was asked by the judges about the origins of her dishes.
2. Tom and Carla obviously didn’t follow any recipe for their soap cheesecake.
3. The army boys wouldn’t have used fruit with their seafood if given a recipe.
OR
Perhaps there is a giant conspiracy to give certain contestants crap recipes with no hope of working. Even Ch 7 wouldn’t do that I don’t think.

29 Georgie { 02.10.12 at 2:43 pm }

CB – Lmao.

Don’t be so sure about being spared a beating. A lot of fish get clubbed to death on the decks of fishing trawlers. Their other option is to slowly die of asphixiation.

Then you have your poor crustaceans that get dropped from a low height into a steaming pot of boiling water. In fact I was a bit concerned about the marron last night, as the mad scientist cut it in half lengthwise, from what looked like a lovely greenish live position.

30 Andrea { 02.10.12 at 2:45 pm }

After reading comments from littlepetal I’m a bit disappointed in how this show is made. I believed that the contestants actually lived in the homes filmed in, and that the recipes were their own creations.I did wonder why they seem to stuff up the recipes but now I can understand why they are unfamiliar with the kitchens, and where to buy their ingredients etc. Surely it would be better to see them in their own kitchens as they really are, and cooking their own favourite menus that they are used to? I guess this wouldn’t make exciting tv. As for Manu, I can hardly understand him! If hes not really French, then what is he?

31 brain dead dave { 02.10.12 at 2:52 pm }

I remember Julie Goodwin struggling to kill a fish in Honkers on Ma$terchef. It really should have been done as quickly as possible.

The Hawkesbury Valley Abbatoir is an evil place. How badly does one need a job to participate in that?

Mad scientist big noted himself last night by bunging the marron in the freezer first. It’s bit like stoning or crucifixion to me. Same result.

32 Leop { 02.10.12 at 2:57 pm }

Mel, is your friend Princess? She asked Manu if he was French – duh!

If the Whirlpool poster (probably a camera man or goffer, stated those ‘facts’ how come they are advised to practise all day and then when we see the show, they say ‘I’ve never cooked this before’ doesn’t make sense…….
And I wouldnt say Pete or Manu are ‘stars’ merely Chefs who got a lucky break appearing on MC (Manu but not Pete, who had his own Women’s Weekly cooking segment) – laughed when Jillian opened door and said to camera ‘international chefs’ what a hoot

33 Culinary Boner { 02.10.12 at 3:02 pm }

Georgie, you are right. The inhumane despatch doesn’t just apply to the commercial slaughtering of land animals. For fish a club would be better the asphyxiation. When I was a young’un fishing with a spear gun or a rod breaking their necks would be the way to go. I remember reading a Neil Perry wankpiece a few years ago stressing the importance – eating quality wise – of line-caught fish, quickly despatched over netted and ‘suffocated’ ones that had ’tissue trauma’. I thought the smiling scientist’s method with the marron was fine. It’s the quickest and most effective and again keeps the flesh in better condition than the boiling water treatment. Giving the amount of cuts he was getting I hope he mainly does theoretical science rather than dangerous or complicated experiments.

34 Georgie { 02.10.12 at 3:05 pm }

bdd – I must have missed the freezer bit. So being half frozen before you get cut in half is an advantage is it?

35 Georgie { 02.10.12 at 3:13 pm }

CB – that sounds right. My partner fishes for tailor and he kills and bleeds them as soon as he lands them so as not to spoil the delicate flesh.

36 brain dead dave { 02.10.12 at 3:15 pm }

It’s considered that putting them in the freezer anaesthetises them as far as I know.
We’ve seen live lobsters cut in half on Ma$terchef and J Goodwin struggling to decapitate a fish on Ma$terchef. Boner’s right that clubbing is the kindest way to do it. European Carp for example can survive for hours out of water.

37 Georgie { 02.10.12 at 3:18 pm }

nanaliz – I think Steve and Helen from group 1 made one of their Grandmother’s dishes.

Sam and Bella from series 1 also made a lot of their polish family recipes.

38 Culinary Boner { 02.10.12 at 3:33 pm }

Sammy & Bella = Quality Food from Quality Chicks

Most of this year’s lot seem incapable of quality cooking at their level, and at times I think I’m watching Come Dine With Me.

39 Izobel2 { 02.10.12 at 4:27 pm }

Without all the fun though CB! Come Dine with Me is a laugh! MKR is great to watch but not fun most of the time.

40 Moonstruck { 02.10.12 at 10:48 pm }

There will be time enough to cook recipes they don’t know when MKR progresses.
I think the dishes/recipes are theirs but the producers have mixed and matched the suggested menus to come up with a new one that they give them the night before.
It’s bad enough they may be cooking in a strange house/kitchen using an unfamiliar oven but to also be preparing dishes they are unfamiliar with would make this show a joke. Some of the contestants from previous seasons would have said something.
As for not allowing them to speak to Manu and Pete that sounds like a load of c**p. the best way to have plenty of material when editing is to keep the cameras rolling all the time.

41 sue N { 02.11.12 at 11:19 am }

I for one, simply do not understand how their score could have been lower than the girls the night before- simply ridiculous!!!!!

42 Moonstruck { 02.11.12 at 12:10 pm }

Anyway, it probably was their recipe and they just wanted somebody else to pay for the Truffle while they got cook/experiment with it.!!!!!!!

43 nanaliz { 02.11.12 at 12:43 pm }

The article below seems to be getting read a different way by some. I read it that they give producers a selection of menus of their own dishes and then they are told the night before what dishes from those selected what they will cook. They should in my opinion know how to prepare all those dishes selected including timing etc. If not cooking ing their own house get to know the shops in the area you will do the show from. Also make sure alll seasonal ingredients are available when taping is due or don’t put in your menu selection. It is called prep. I wander why some are on the show as they sure can’t cook. See link below for info from producer about menus.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/lifestyle/a/-/article/12840619/catty-cooks-cop-critical-caning/

44 littlepetal { 02.11.12 at 7:09 pm }

nanaliz- I agree with you. I read it the same way as you. Recipes were the contestants recipes but producers mixed them around and got told the night before what they have to cook.

It’s only the blogger from whirlpool gave a different version. The above process is only for the audition.

I still find it hard to believe that they are cooking something new at the instant restaurant because they need to lie as they cook. Like saying ‘I have done this thousands of time and it always work; it’s my grandma’s recipe; etc.’

But they also made very silly mistakes which shouldn’t have happened if they have cooked those dishes before. Army creamed the mixture for the pastry instead of using the food processor; Sam baked the agar agar mixture instead of putting the mixture into the fridge; Tom using like 1/2 cup of lavender instead of just a couple of teaspoons. I am confuse now but I am watching the coming episodes in a new light-to see whether they do know what they are doing or not?

I think last series was different. They were cooking their own recipes.

45 brain dead dave { 02.11.12 at 8:22 pm }

Something to clarify from the mad scientist the other night. It is female pigs that have traditionally been used to dig up truffles. I think he got it the other way round from memory but can’t be 100% as the show is not being encored any longer.

46 littlepetal { 02.11.12 at 10:38 pm }

Further development from the blogger at whirlpool. He/She posted a retraction on whirlpool website:

‘I would like to apologise to everyone in this thread.

The views i have expressed here in previous comments were my own and not true to word. The comments I have made claiming to know individuals were fabricated.
Im not affiliated with anyone on this show or any other Channel 7 show.
I have no information whatsoever about how the show runs or operates.

Again, I apologise for my deceit to readers of this forum.

I have herringed for all my posts to be removed as they are not factual.’

So we can conclude that some of these contestants just can’t cook.

47 brain dead dave { 02.11.12 at 10:51 pm }

I thought I smelled a rat. Thanks for posting this wanker’s retraction, littlepetal.

I actually do know someone who works on this show. Everyone who works connected to this show signs a confidentiality agreement. I did try to elicit some info on last years series and was furnished with absolutely nothing, Which is how it should be.

48 Moonstruck { 02.11.12 at 11:48 pm }

Thanks for printing the retraction Littlepetal.
The producers may like to make it hard for the contestants but what he was writing would have made it a joke as I said earlier.
The reasons they mess up is they have to cook for 12 people, they may be cooking in different kitchen, and they have way too high an opinion about their cooking skills. Anyway if they didn’t mess up it wouldn’t make for good tv.

49 Georgie { 02.12.12 at 12:02 am }

I suspect some contestants choose extravagant dishes to impress the judges instead of choosing something easier and doing it well.

50 brain dead dave { 02.12.12 at 12:09 am }

“Ze Veshemite sandwich wis truffles entree was too dry and ze Shiko Roll man course …..eet was underkooked. Eet was ‘orribull”

51 Georgie { 02.12.12 at 12:19 am }

Not that easy FFS – something trickier like scrambled eggs on toast!

52 brain dead dave { 02.12.12 at 12:26 am }

Yeah, toasting a bun was too tough for Dani on Ma$terchef last year.

53 Georgie { 02.12.12 at 12:36 am }

Now be fair, a lot can go wrong when you’re toasting a bun. The phone can ring or something interesting can come on the tele and you completely lose focus.

54 sue N { 02.12.12 at 12:46 am }

Georgie-pmsl

55 nanaliz { 02.12.12 at 10:05 am }

Thanks, Little petal, for letting us know about the retraction. Well I suppose someone had their 15secs on whirlpool. There were just too many clues that it was bull. I still think there is a spot of delusion in ability of some of the contestants. Lets face it further into the show they will have to cook something without a recipe and in a strange kitchen so if they can’t cook their own recipes, WHY ARE THEY THEIR??????

56 kess { 02.12.12 at 5:25 pm }

Why are they there?

Isn’t it obvious, for our amusement.
7 have put some who can cook, and some who just imagine they can cook an dhave big fat pretentions and egos.
And that equals, brilliant TV

57 littlepetal { 02.12.12 at 6:19 pm }

To bring ratings to Channel 7 is another reason. I don’t think Channel 7 is interested to find the best home cooks but to pick those that have entertainment values (even at the expense of humiliating the contestants)

58 brain dead dave { 02.12.12 at 11:27 pm }

My Kitchen Gruels is what we’re getting.

I’m loving it.

59 Georgie { 02.13.12 at 11:48 am }

Lol – spot on bdd. I don’t think ‘demonstrated cooking ability’ was in the Selection Criteria this year, which will make it easier to seperate the dross. I’m loving it too, so much crash and burn is very entertaining.

60 nanaliz { 02.13.12 at 2:14 pm }

We are all as bad as ch 7 because we want to watch those contestants crash and burn. Oh dear!! Great fun really. Decided 3 catagories of contestants picked.
1. Delusional but boring.
2. Good cooks.
3.Entertaining and must have villian in team (cooking ability not necessary)

61 Lisa { 02.23.12 at 9:25 pm }

I’m wondering if Andrew has ever been assessed for Dyspraxia..

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