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My Kitchen Rules

Food, what food? MKR is all about clashing personalities from suburbia. Here we go again.

2015-01-31_0017Seven’s juggernaut food show is back with another cast of ambitious and cheeky duos ready to fling the knives at their dinner guests in the quest for $250,000.

Season Six of My Kitchen Rules is promising a new “secret ingredient” twist, more instant restaurants than ever (dear God!) and a surprise guest ringing the doorbell. The show is also using the branding “Real people. Real food,” which is not too far removed from MasterChef‘s “Ordinary People. Extraordinary Food.”

But while one show prides itself on aspirational food, the other is unashamedly dinner party fare. Both have their place on TV menus. In the Reality genre it’s never the cuisine that will decide if a show lives or dies.

The 12 teams, divided into two groups, arrive at MKR headquarters, generously branded by one team as “the greatest home of cooking.” Another team bizarrely adds, “We grew up watching MKR and now we’re actually here!” Seriously?

But there is variety amongst the teams predominantly Anglo cast: there’s the Texan and his daughter from the “Bloo Mountains Noo South Wales”, two “chicks” from Mt. Isa, Feisty Foodies from Perth, Vic Socialites, Competitive Canberrans and High School Sweethearts from South Australia. The latter couple describe themselves as “I’m the fire” / “I’m the logs” / “I’m the can” / “And I’m the lid.” I have no idea what they smoke in South Australia.

The Victorian socialites are the not-Real Housewives of Melbourne, shopping in Toorak and loving all things French -look out, Manu. They may well be being primed to be early villains. They even admit to being snobs. I figure they are smart enough to know how the show works by now so don’t come back crying about negative social media please.

For a cooking show MKR spends an inordinate amount of airtime on character -but it is a formula that has worked incredibly well.

First to cook are Mt. Isa cousins Jac and Shaz, ay? Yes there’s a lot of “ay?” at the end of sentences and those that lack it are substituted by an incessant upward inflection. And we’re not in Melbourne, ay?

“Can’t wait to get these city slickers up to Mt Isa,” says Shaz. Did she just say city slickers?

“It’s basically the biggest night of our lives.”

Often with MKR I find one can skip the preliminary duties of shopping for ingredients and decorating the home restaurant. The real drama begins when the guests arrive. The first dinner party entails plenty of first impressions that will serve as set-up for the series. There are brash claims, awkward reactions, and game-faces all put through the Reality wringer of highlighting by astute producers.

The episode is full of the show’s trademark story moments: Manu is dreamy, one woman is already starstruck, at least one dish every episode is on the brink of an abyss and all hope is lost.

“It’s a disaster,” declares one.

“You gotta own it babe,” her teammate responds.

But then I remember MasterChef drives all the way to the same cliff edge, if without ever hearing Matt Preston telling them to own it, babe.

MKR is unashamedly suburban, despite its opening episode in western Queensland, ay? It’s a recipe that has notched up bumper ratings, controversies and headlines (question: have any past contestants actually gone on to run their own business?).

This is not a show out to challenge you, but to hiss the villain and cheer the hero. You can make a drinking game out of the times Paleo Pete Evans smiles while swallowing anything with sugar, dairy and grains.

Seven’s entree lacks surprise but still has a way of filling you up. Whether that’s a good or a bad thing is up to you, ay?

My Kitchen Rules returns 7:30pm Monday.

14 Responses

  1. TV stations really must wean themselves off this rubbish “reality show” formula TV. Just the promos for this or any other cooking show are enough to put me off! Quite frankly, one cooking or(supposed) reality show is a thousand too many!

  2. Oh, the pain, the pain of it all!!! I can’t understand why people watch this … it is the same predictable “fake reality” year after year! Bores me senseless!

  3. I agree, each episode is waaaayyyy to long and dragged out, every female is called Babe (ugh), and we know who we’re going to hate within 3 minutes. Frizzy head, overacting to the nth degree, and her rather more restrained girlfriend.

    It really is same old, same old. I dislike these judges, they’re not a patch on those on Masterchef, but everyone seems to treat them like gods, all squeally excitement as they arrive at the hallowed kitchen. Give me a break.

    However, I will dip in from time to time !

  4. Has nobody at Channel 7 ever had to wait waaaay toooo long at a restaurant? It can take the edge off, even completely ruin a dining experience. Well, that’s what My Kitchen Rules is doing. I was prepared to check out the new batch of wannabes, but at not quite an hour in I just lost my appetite and went to eat elsewhere. I won’t be back.

  5. It’s like Christmas morning! Cant wait to open my MKR prezzies. Who cares what its about,as long as its entertaining. Bring on the Baywatch babes…… It’s a most wonderful time of the year!
    Merry MKR everyone!!

  6. Bring it on can’t wait but they should just have instant restaurants and eliminate the team with the lowest score once all the teams have have had thier instant restaurant then they have another instant restaurant and the lowest scoring team is eliminated and so on and i am sorry but the nasties are what makes the show so good it’s like watching a good bitch on a tv show like the freak in prisoner or pat the rat in sons and daughters

  7. First few series were good but the focus on the nasties in recent series has spoilt the show. Same old same old. I’ll pass and check out the new formats Ten have invested in – I’m A Celeb, Gogglebox and Shark Tank.

  8. It’s strangely addictive, even though everything you said is true. It’s all about the contestants and their relationships. Not looking forward to seeing the format stretch itself out more than last year.

  9. I actually don’t mind this show. I just wish seven would realise that they’re doing themselves no favours stretching each episode out to at least 90 mins and finishing at ridiculous times like 9:13 before they start a drama. Imagine how much happier your audience would be and better rating your dramas would be if MKR were tight 60 min episodes finishing at 8:30 and then having Downton Abbey on or Winter or HTGAWM? Sadly I can’t see this happening anytime soon.

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