As this year’s hotly contested My Kitchen Rules grand finale looms, one former competitor has lifted the lid on what really goes on at Kitchen HQ. Tasmanian Mick Newell, who appeared on the 2013 season with son Matt, blasts that not all is what it seems on MKR. ‘It’s unfair,’ the 52-year-old complains. ‘Some contestants can’t even heat baked beans.’
OK! further investigates some of Mick’s shocking claims.
1: CASTING CHARACTERS
MKR’s not just about the food – the cooks’ ‘characters’ drive the storylines, too. From day one, Steve Flood has embraced his ‘playboy’ image, while Ash Pollard and Camilla Counsel have played up to their ‘posh girls’ role. ‘I actually prefer a barbecue to a degustation menu,’ Ash tells OK!. ‘But if MKR want to cast us as the socialites I’m not complaining.’
2: PLATING UP SHAMS
Time delays and studio lights don’t create the best environment for foods like ice-cream or fish, and Mick claims, ‘professional chefs helped some of the contestants [plate up].’
3: HAND-PICKED CONTESTANTS
Mick says producers look for entertainment factor rather than skill when casting the cooks. ‘Matt and I didn’t apply,’ he says. Instead a friend recommended them, and ‘next minute we’re on the show’. Steve had a similar experience, telling OK!, ‘It wasn’t like “send me a form”. There was a little bit more encouragement from the producers [for us to apply].’
4: AND… TIME STANDS STILL?
Mick also claims the infamous digital clock is often paused to give contestants time to plate up. ‘I was very upset because when you’re playing for $250K and one team has more time to finish than the other… it’s unfair.’ You mean Kat’s meltdowns were for nothing?
5: COPYCAT COOKS
Few meals cooked on MKR are contestants’ original dishes. ‘I’d say 90 per cent of the recipes you see are from books,’ claims Mick. ‘You spend a lot of time learning things by rote,’ agrees Eva Lean from this season. ‘You go into a cook with everything memorised.’
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