Dessert disaster for friends Tommy and Rach

On the season return of Australia's favourite cooking show, MKR, friends Tommy and Rach presented a beautiful menu to make Rach’s home state of Western Australia proud, but were let down by a secret ingredient in their dessert.

As the guests settled down in Tommy and Rach’s instant restaurant, The Saucy Spoon, everyone except Nick from Victoria was awed by their cute chemistry. “Slightly disappointed that Rachel is spoken for ‘cause she’s definitely my type,” he said.

When the entrée of Rottnest Scallops with White Puree and Tarragon and Miso Butter hit the table, the critiques were in for the competition’s first dish. The scallops were cooked to perfection, and despite the tarragon and miso butter lacking punch, judge Manu Feildel thought it was delicious.

Motivated by the feedback, Tommy and Rach returned to the kitchen to prepare their main of Crispy Duck Leg with Blackberry and Port Jus and Potato Gratin. Alarm bells rang when Colin visited them in the kitchen, making the cooking team nervous that they had overcooked the duck. They scrambled to work out a way to bring the duck back and decided on a homemade stock.

The duck was a hit around the table, with Pearls saying it reminded her of her home in Czech Republic. South Australia’s Sonia and Marcus said the dish was “excellent”.

Judges Manu and Colin were also fans of the pair’s main, with Manu calling it “MKR on a plate”.

High on their success, Tommy and Rach returned to the table to proudly serve their last course: Chocolate Coated Pear Ice-Cream with Cookie Crumb. The presentation wowed everyone on the table, but upon tasting, left the judges and the guests with a pungent taste in their mouths.

“Did you taste everything on the plate tonight?" Colin asked before handing them each a flower to taste.

As soon as they tasted the flowers, they realised their mistake. “It tastes like garlic. It’s a garlic flower,” an embarrassed Rach said.

The judges awarded Tommy and Rach a total score of 44, including a 10 from Manu for their main. The guest teams gave them a score of 34, bringing Tommy and Rach’s overall total to 78/110.

Tuesday night on MKR: South Australian mother and son, Sonia and Marcus are hoping to out their arguments aside to impress the judges with their hearty family recipes.

Judges’ Scores	Entrée	Main	Dessert
Manu Feildel	8/10	10/10	4/10	22/30
Colin Fassnidge	7/10	9/10	6/10	22/30
Total Score	44/60

MKR Team Scores
Sonia and Marcus	7/10
Radha and Prabha	7/10
Coco and Pearls	7/10
Nick and Christian	7/10
Claudean and Anthony	6/10
Guest Score	34/50
Total Score	78/110