My Kitchen Rules SA: Nicole and Zamatonga eliminated!
My Kitchen Rules SA:
Nicole and Zamatonga crumble under Instant Restaurant pressure
Tonight on My Kitchen Rules SA, foodie
friends from Durban, Nicole and Zamatonga, became the second couple to
be eliminated from the series. The best friends, who have not been shy
to share their opinions around the previous Instant
Restaurant tables of their competitors unfortunately missed the mark
right from the start of their evening. The final score from their fellow
contestants and celebrity judges David Higgs and J’Something came to a
disappointing total of 51 out of 100 – a discouraging
8 points behind “meat guys” OG and G who occupied the bottom of the log
after their big cook last week. With that, OG and G were safe, while
Nicole and Zamatonga had to bid an emotional goodbye to the competition.
This means that Jamandi and Machiel, Charnell and
Kerry, Brent and Andrew and OG and G will be joining Bruce and Claudia,
Liz and Leanne, Lani and Louzel and Rein and Rowan as the eight pairs of
contestants moving into the next round of
the competition: MKRSA Kitchen HQ, cooking for the grand prize of R1
Million!
Nicole and Zamatonga kicked their Instant
Restaurant – appropriately named “Coast” – off to a very positive start
but the wheels started coming off early in the evening. Their starter of
ricotta and basil ravioli with napolitana and a touch
of cream fell short of expectations from a flavour point of view.
Moreover, Nicole and Zamatonga decided to add bacon to the dish, which
was well received but the judges could not understand why the ladies –
who are also the youngest team in their group –
would put a vegetarian starter on their menu, only to add meat to it.
“There was a very one dimensional flavour profile. Also, the bacon
definitely helped the dish, but was it a clever idea not to include it
on the menu?” judge J’Something told a visibly deflated
Nicole and Zamatonga.
Back in the kitchen to prepare their main meal of
sous vide chicken medallions stuffed with feta and coriander, served
with sweet potato and peppadew pesto, Nicole realised that she did not
buy enough cream for their sauce. “I’m trying
to innovate, but it’s not really working,” she admitted to an eternally
optimistic Zamatonga. “I fear this dish is going to be too dry,” Nicole
lamented. With stress levels peaking in the kitchen, judge J’Something
came to check on the girls and ended up consoling
an emotional and very teary Nicole ahead of the mains being served, as
she was still reeling from the negative feedback of their starter. As
expected, the response to their main meal – which they served without
sauce – was not particularly positive.
“I don’t know if choosing to sous vide your chicken
was the best choice,” judge David Higgs told them. The rest of the
contestants agreed, with all of them feeling that their chicken was too
dry. “I really feel for them,” Brent confided
in his partner Andrew. “I wanted them to succeed after their first
dish…” he added. With only one more course left to give themselves a
fighting chance of staying in the competition, Nicole and Zamatonga
returned to the kitchen to serve their adventurous dessert
of a nougat and pistachio ice cream cake, which had a ricotta base
instead of a custard one.
“This was creative! I really enjoyed what I saw on
my plate,” J’Something raved. Both judges felt that the ricotta lent an
unusual texture to the dessert which they weren’t expecting, but
overall, Nicole and Zamatonga had redeemed themselves.
Unfortunately, their surprising dessert was not enough to ultimately
save them, however.
Next week the Top 8 pairs from both groups will
enter the impressive MKRSA Kitchen HQ for the first time! What will
their challenge be, and will one more team be eliminated?
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