MKR – Tues – Anna and Jordan cook

Anna and Jordan arrive home to a party that was not at all organised by the producers. They totally did not just leave their house, drive round the block and pull up out the front. Why does no-one else get a party? Other teams get a quick cuddle if they are lucky. Thank goodness Jordan is back in a nice shirt again.
It’s off to the shops and they are getting their fruit and veg at a greengrocer, not Coles. And their meat is from a specialty butcher but the blue swimmer crab comes from Coles (perhaps that was in the contract).

Menu
Entree
Gnocchi with mushrooms and truffle
Squid with almond tarator and citrus salsa (tarator is a type of soz)
Main
Black and white crab ravioli with a crab bisque
Suckling pig with apple and celeriac
Dessert
Rhubarb and ginger bombe Alaska
Vanilla panna cotta with espresso jelly and crostoli

It all sounds divine.
I can’t remember any team cooking a whole animal before so this will be cool to watch. Jordan says: “We’re lucky enough to have an outdoor kitchen with a commercial size oven.”
Anna and Jordan are multitasking like crazy in their two kitchens – they have so much to do. I can totally see Anna giving cooking demos or classes in the future. There’s a little light bickering, mainly because Anna won’t trust Jordan to do his job, which is the gnocchi. Surprised she didn’t do that one while he made dessert, which needs less intuition.
Here come the guests and Lauren is in a really nice dress, but then they show a confessional of her again mentioning the “two-fiddy-kay”. Urgh.
lauren dress

They love to put Zana in plunging necklines.

They love to put Zana in plunging necklines.

The guests are seated next door to the outdoor kitchen so are getting tantalising wafts of that piggy sizzling away. And here come Pete and Manu, to the strains of Dare by Gorillaz.

As the menus are read there are lots of happy smiles from the guests and I’m with the sisters – suckling pig all the way. Laura and Zana both think it’s a menu well within Anna’s capabilities. Poor Laura knows she’s on the chopping block and safe Lauren looks like the cat who’s got the cream.
Back in the kitchen Jordan is worried that Mama hasn’t assembled the bombe Alaskas yet – he seems to be in charge of time management. She listens but then, just as they are debating the best way to cook the squid, in comes Manu. I’ve never seen him come in so early before – are they trying to rattle them? Then, Jordan has gnocchi drama because they are so delicate and losing “pillowiness”, so Anna takes over. They do look delicious, though. There’s a bit of tension over cooking methods so Jordan takes over plating up while Anna cooks the protein, which is playing to each of their strengths. Plating done, they kiss and make up. “Come here – I want to apologise because I’m being a bitch,” Jordan says.

Time to chew


Manu tells them they need to work as a team and Jordan confesses “I’ve been a bit of a pain”.
“I would agree with that,” Manu deadpans. “I would never talk to my mum like this.” Anna says it’s all in the heat of the moment and “no offence taken.”
Manu had the gnocchi and loved the mushroom flavours and texture, but says the gnocchi – while delicious and caramelised – wasn’t right.
Pete loved the squid dish’s flavours but thought the tarator was too pasty. But it was still excellent.

Back in the kitchen
Jordan’s a bit down and has a little moment. “I just want it really bad,” he tells Anna, crying. Awww.

Poor boy.

Poor boy.

In the restaurant Lauren says the squid is a “flavour bomb” while Mitch and Laura critique the gnocchi harshly. No hairs, though.
Anna gets on to the crab while Jordan laminates the pasta, creating cool black lines with the squid ink-dyed pasta. Impressive – I thought they’d just do separate black ravioli and white ravioli.
Stripey!

Stripey!

They seem to have an electric pasta machine – I’ve never seen one before! Google says you can get one for about $250.
Anna and Jordan are bickering a bit about the pig, and how to achieve crackling without drying out the meat. And their pig juss is too salty for sauce, so Jordan has the great idea to add his celeriac and apple liquid, and it works. They plate up and the black stripes on the ravioli look like nori. Surprised they didn’t serve something green with the pork.

Time to chew


As the mains are served Laura whispers to Mitch: “Smells like two-minute noodles”. Ooh – snarky.
Pete had the pork: “You took a huge risk cooking a suckling pig.” It’s another fake out. “I absolutely adored it… I won’t say it was a pretty dish but it was a bloody good dish.”
Manu liked the technique of the striped pasta and though the dish was really tasty, but the bisque was too thick.
Zana finds the bisque too rich but they are mainly interested in showing negative comments from the Curlies.

Back in the kitchen it’s dessert time and Anna gets on to the crostoli. I remember the twins made this last year. Then Anna has a blast wielding the brulee torch for the meringue. Will they cop flack for serving panna cotta in a glass? They would on MasterChef, where it’s all about wobbly bits. It looks good, though.

Time to chew


Pete pours the spirit over the bombe Alaska and Manu flicks the gas lighter on, but there’s only a small flame and everyone’s underwhelmed. He struggles to cut through the base of the dessert. And it turns out it’s because they froze their sponge with the rhubarb and ice cream, so it’s all rock hard. This must be a recipe they’ve never done before. “You’ve got this layer of icy fruit which isn’t pleasant at all, guys.” The meringue was good. Pete says it’s below average. Uh oh – a bombe.
Manu loved the flavour of his panna cotta and the espresso jelly. The crostoli was the perfect accompaniment. However, while Manu is ok with the dessert being in a glass the panna cotta is too thick. I can’t tell whether he said it should be “bouncing” or “dancing”. (Think they used too much gelatine.)
The Sisters are the only ones who’ve enjoyed everything tonight but they did luck out with their choice of textures. Even Lauren, who’s heaped praised upon the other dishes, hates the bombe Alaska. And, of course, Mitch and Laura are facing elimination and didn’t like anything.
So that’s two talented teams who’ve faltered under pressure – they could have done with a few of Lauren’s sudden death cook-offs to toughen them up.
Time to score, and Anna and Jordan should still beat Curlies score of 60.

Scores
Sisters 8; Carmine and Lauren 6; Zana and Plus One 8; Curlies 6. Total 28/40

Entree Pete 8 (squid), Manu 7 (gnocchi); Main Pete (pig) 9, Manu (ravioli) 9; Dessert Pete 4 (bombe Alaska), Manu 7 (panna cotta) . Total 72.

Tomorrow night it’s Zana and Gianni and don’t forget there’s another episode Thursday night, as there’s no MKR Sunday. Presumably we won’t hear Z and G’s scores until the Thursday so they can string out who’s made the semi finals. And what the heck is Manu holding up in the ad?

What eez eet?

What eez eet?



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74 Comments

  1. I’m hoping it’s just a fake-out (and knowing channel 7 the way we do, it’s probably much ado about nothing), but they haven’t really had much of a freak-out moment yet in all the time we’ve been watching them, so they’re due for one.

    I’m more concerned we’re gonna have to sit through another 90 minutes of Lauren’s American accent, while she glares daggers at all the teams she assumed scored strategically to give her a less-than-perfect score. Eugh.

    Did anyone else see the interview Lauren and Carmine did on Sunrise, where they apparently said they’d been bluffing their way into the finals and were actually great cooks who’d deliberately cooked poorly occasionally to throw off suspicion or something? Excuse me. *bashes head into concrete wall*

    • They won’t win. For most of the show I’ve thought that it would be Jordan and Anna vs Curlies finale. I guess I didn’t think the sisters would last on all the outdoor challenges. Now, I’m not so sure. They certainly look like they could win the lot. All the build up about a Zana vs Lauren final – who cares? I’m not a fan of either of them. It’s a rivalry made in the edit lab. Lauren may dislike Zana but I think Zana is oblivious. As long as two worthy teams make the grand final, I’ll be happy.

      • I would imagine that Zana just doesn’t care about Lauren much. Like, she’s little more than a blip on Zana’s radar. And being as narcissistic as Lauren is, someone not giving two hoots about her is probably the greatest crime they could commit.

    • And is it just me, or does it seem like every single dish in every single episode has involved fennel in some capacity?

  2. As someone who’s paid probably a little more attention to Jordan than the rest of the audience … even in the opening segments where he and Anna are just cooking in the kitchen, he seems stressed. Like, they both seem a lot shorter with each other than usual (because it’s true, we haven’t really seen a blow-up between them, not until today).

    • Something else I thought was interesting … Anna and Jordan have a outdoor kitchen (with an oven large enough to cook an entire pig) but did you see the huge double-sided fridge in one of the back rooms of the house, that even had glass doors?

      I get the feeling the family house was designed for entertaining and feeding large groups of people.

      • Anna had a fab-looking pantry in one of the background shots. The house looked like it was in a newer suburb so perhaps they got more bang for their buck. Google tells me it’s Ashby. WA readers, what kind of area is that? And i just read this: Anna owns a post office in North Perth and Jordan is a property valuer in Perth.

        • I read an interview where Jordan said he’d studied at University and got a corporate-type job (which he didn’t really like much, ergo, pushing to be on MKR), but property valuer, eh?

      • I did see that fridge and I drooled over Anna’s kitchen setup. Those ovens! That fridge! The electric pasta machine!

        Yes, she must do loads of entertaining, no wonder she’s so capable.

        WIndsong did you catch Jordan’s twin at the start? There’s almost two of them! Apparently not identical twins but they look bloody close. It made me think of you.

        • Yes, I did notice Jordan’s identical twin brother there with the family greeting his mother and brother on their return.

          They do look very close. I had some … interesting thoughts about that, heh.

    • He was a little irritating tonight, but then so was Anna. But the show ramped up the drama ridiculously. Sending Manu in there to create conflict, when A and J were actually discussing opposing views in a very logical way. And then Manu’s pompous “I would never talk to my mum that way” – I thought that was rude.

  3. Sorry Laura. We are tired of you saying your menu is more complex. Unfortunately you didn’t execute it to be perfection.

    • Did you hear what she said when Anna and Jordan brought out the ravioli?

      “Smells like two minute noodles.”

      Holy crap, Laura. Tone *down* the bitchiness just a little, okay? Yikes.

    • The producers did a good job of painting Laura badly in this ep, including repeating Zana’s ‘desperate’ comment about four times. I found Lauren’s over-cockiness far more unacceptable, her arrogance and condescenion knows no bounds, and she over-praised everything so that she could keep Mitch and Laura down.

    • Everyone, except sisters said it was an easy menu, one Anna and Jordan would be used to cooking frequently.

      • Even though Laura said it was easy to cook a suckling pig, she then when on about undercooking, overcooking, some parts too dry etc. In other words it is not that easy.
        Have no problems for any teams to cook to their strength .

  4. I hope Jordan is dressed less ostentatiously tonight. His silks looked nice last night, but he was missing a horse under him.

    It’s a shame that the producers/writers/publicists have decided that MKR is better as a mini soap opera with occasional bouts of cooking, rather than vice versa. As a cooking comp, it would be getting interesting now anyway; as a soapy, it is just dragging and we are pining for the end of this frigging drama.

    • I wish I shared your confidence, but I think the judges will mark them harshly (particularly on the desserts), so I know I’m a little nervous. If they score higher than the Curlies, it won’t be by much.

        • I’m not gonna lie, I’m still annoyed that Lauren and Carmine are still here at the expense of so many other likeable teams.

          • She wouldn’t care. She played the game well. She will ask to to go and have some haterade

      • You were right, Windsong, harsh marking from the judges. This menu was far above L&C but not above the sisters.

        L&C scored same as so-called stategic scoring by the curlies.

  5. I feel for the Curlies as they have been very good until thier last cook. But they need to learn to be gracious in defeat. …but that comes with age. I think they are great….thier parents have given them a great foundation for thier futures.

    • I think Mitch is being gracious in defeat, it’s Laura that is finding it all a bit hard being on the bottom and sadly it is showing right through.
      I really can’t see Zana doing bad enough to score below them but then again what was that dreadful looking thing Manu was holding up?

  6. Laura 2 years ago.

    No wonder she is such a good cook at such a young age.

    Laura’s 2014 high school yearbook entry confirms that she’s held aspirations to be a world-class chef and restaurateur for several years.

    • That is what I came here to write. A personal comment about the way Jordan speaks to his mother was way out of line, especially considering some of the borderline psychotic behaviour that has gone on before now.

      You’re a chef, Manu, not a psychologist. Confine your remarks to the food.

    • That actually really bothered me too. The two of them have one moment of snapping at each other in mild frustration, and Manu gets to lecture Jordan on how to speak to his mother?

      Um, okay. Drasko treated Bianca like dirt, last year, and he now has a job with Colin. And did anyone intervene this year when Dee spent most of her episode showering her husband with a constant stream of abuse? Even beyond that, Manu’s good relationship with his other mother doesn’t give him one iota of insight into other family relationships that he has no clues or context for beyond a very short amount of time.

      Yeah, it bothered me too.

      • Manu’s pious comment annoyed me too…. your mother’s on the other side of the world Manu, easy to be nice all the time when they’re not in meddling distance. Jordan didn’t even say anything nasty, he was just a bit short and flustered. We’ve seen worse.

        The producers might’ve fed him the line but he should’ve left it out.

  7. You know what I am thinking? We all know Laura has some good cooking skills and techniques and her ambition is to be a world best chef. You have to start somewhere from the bottom up. Masterchef would be her first option. But MC standard is pretty high now.

    With MKR, the cooks are not that great and she believes she can win this. So she got her brother to enter as brother and sister team. I hope she will follow her dreams and start working as an apprentice.

    • Yeah you could see Laura on MC. She probably applied to everything going.

      Seriously at 19, just do an apprenticeship and learn the trade properly. That intensive training will never be wasted and she’d be all of 23 when she was done. It’s not worth skipping that in the hopes of becoming the next Poh or whathaveyou. Unless you want fame more than a long successful career I guess.

  8. Manu: Eye’ll av ze know-key

    Anna: no one’s ever cooked a whole pig in this competition.
    Yes in THIS competition but over on network 10 at TBL we had a family of Samoan’s who roasted multepull pugs on sputs on a deeeyley beesis bro. Cue the orgasmic eye roll from Johnee. Now he’d guv ivryone a run for their money, being able to bbq the shut out of anything wuth legs.

    So glad Anna and Jordan made it through. They have been solid throughout the comp and it would have been another shocker had they left.

    • Yeah, we’ve not only seen the Auvales literally pig out on TBL, poor vegetarian Deb was forced to impale a much larger specimen on Ma$terchef. It wasn’t a good night to be a baby pig or baby squid…. they’ve gone to a better place than an awful cooking drama.

  9. Laura and Mitch’s comment about Jordan possibly sabotaging Anna’s skill by trying to take over, was spot on. If they hadn’t been in danger of elimination they would be praised for their insight (which turned out to be entirely correct) instead the edit used it against them.

    • I wouldn’t pay too much attention to what the judges and contestants say. Many of the lines are scripted. Also there is so much we didn’t see or hear.

    • I think the sour looks on the faces of Mitch and Laura said more than enough.

      Sitting there looking like Kyrgios and Lleyton Hewitt after losses.

  10. Following our discussion after the sister’s cook about asian food, I have to say that this is MY type of food! Apart from the apple with the pork (hate that) I would have scoffed this menu down, and then gone back to eat the other options. Yummy yummy.

  11. Wait til you gice see the latest Ma$terchef promo featuring Jowl$y in the worst pink suit eva seen in the history of Ma$terchef. Manu needs to step it up.

    • Did you notice this season is going to be the best ever. Even the Dessert King Reynold is being dethroned !!!!

      They have also fulfilled their obligation to please the India market as they are a hugh MC fan. Best Indian food ever. Jimmy, Sarah Todd and Rishi are all forgotten.
      I have to say promo have some amazing food and plating. There must be some help somewhere

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