Producers of reality TV cooking series My Kitchen Rules must be spice rubbing their hands together in sheer delight.
On Sunday night Bek and Ash from Western Australia scored the lowest ever on MKR history with 26.
Then, the following night, Tim and Kyle from South Australia achieved the highest score ever on MKR history, at 100.
They were episodes seemingly made in TV promo heaven, and they happened to air one after the other.
I mean, who would have thought it? The worst team so far on the show would be followed by the best team on the show?
And that a member of each of those teams has been busy flirting with each other and are rumoured to be dating?
Be still my beating pork loins.
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I mean, how could Bek and Ash have stuffed up so badly? The dishes they chose weren’t overly complicated and they were chosen to be on a reality TV cooking show.
Could it be that something fishy is going on, something far fishier than the Goldband Snapper they completely ruined?
Fishy is right, according to Steph Mulheron, one half of Steph and Dan who walked away with the competition in 2013.
She said that instead of being able to choose their own menu for their Instant Restaurants, the menus are chosen by producers.
The process starts with each team submitting dozens and dozens of recipes.
Bek and Ash, “flirty roommates” from WA receive the worst score in MRK history. Article continues…
“A lot of teams just copy and paste from the internet, and then submit them. Not knowing that they [producers] choose a three-course meal out of everything you’ve sent through. And then you get told about it at 6am on the day.”
“That’s why some teams will say ‘I’ve never cooked this before’ and you’re yelling at the TV ‘but you’re on MKR!’”
That means that if teams want to practice, they have to practice the many recipes they’ve already submitted, and simply keep their fingers crossed producers will choose a menu they can easily do.
As Tim and Kyle managed to pull of on Monday night.
Tim and Kyle, “pub mates” from SA pull of the best score in MKR history. Article continues…
Viewers of MRK seem pretty savvy when it comes to such goings on behind the scenes of the popular Channel 7 show, with one user commenting that Tim and Kyle must have practiced their menu many, many times to be able to pull of the highest score ever of 100.
Although others seem more naive, attributing the girls’ failure due to “stress” and the boy’s triumph to “relaxing in the kitchen”.
And while viewers of MKR are clearly enjoying the show as they always have, choosing to suspend disbelief despite overwhelming evidence that not is all as it seems, it would be worth watching the show with one eye open.
Or both eyes open.
Or with a grain of coarsely ground sea salt.
Because there’s not a lot that is “reality” about reality TV today, particularly on cooking shows.
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