“My Kitchen Rules” has smashed the hammer on “Thor” lookalike Rob and his mate Matt on Wednesday night after SA mother-and-daughter team Vicky and Celine impressed the judges with their Greek-themed Instant Restaurant “Kali Orexi.” Also, the third round is unveiled, with a secret group of new six pairs and a new judge taking over the series.

The Adelaide pair put their money where their mouth is on Wednesday. Confident from day one, Vicky and Celine’s critique to everyone was that there weren’t enough of lemon, garlic and olive oil, their three favourite ingredients. So when it was their time to cook, they made sure there were lots of those ingredients on every plate.

In between plate servings, the guests had a bit of fun together. Matt and Josh, separate teams both from VIC, had a competitive dance-off, with everyone agreeing that Matt showed off his enthusiasm in his choreography but Josh had more skills.

Entrée: Chargrilled Octopus and Broad Bean Salad with Red Wine Dressing

“It was a delicious start to a three-course meal,” chef Pete Evans complimented the entrée, adding that while the presentation of the dish wasn’t the prettiest one they have seen, it was the taste that they were after. The octopus wasn’t perfectly done as well, but it wasn’t off the mark.

French chef Manu Feildel agreed. “I enjoyed it, but the plating could have been better.”

Main: Lahanodolmathes with Avgolemono Sauce

Manu quickly surmised that the pair used corn flour for the sauce, which wasn’t the traditional way of cooking it. The mother and daughter admitted that they were impatient and tired, so instead of waiting for the sauce to thicken, they decided to add that ingredient. However, the cabbage itself was impressive, earning high points from the judges.

The unpronounceable main dish divided the guests. Some of the guests loved it, while others commented on its too lemony taste. As friends Sheri and Emilie thought, maybe married couple Carol and Adam didn’t like the dish because they wanted to stay on top of the leader board.

Dessert: Chocolate Baklava Cigars with Salted Caramel Sauce

By the third dish, Vicky wasn’t feeling too well anymore, so she let daughter Celine take over the preparation of the dessert. But despite preparing the caramel sauce many times before, Celine had trouble getting it right this time.

“I was very disappointed with the dessert,” Pete told them. The baklava was sickly sweet, he said.

The guests agreed, with all of them noting they couldn’t taste the chocolate in the baklava and the sauce was too overpoweringly sweet.

Scores

With the dessert Vicky and Celine’s only bad dish of the night, they had been expecting that its score wouldn’t fare too well. And they were right. Pete and Manu scored their entrée and main high, with Pete giving them 7 and 8 respectively, and Manu 8 and 4. The dessert, however, only got 3 and 4 from the judges.

Before the scores were revealed, though, the group were sent to another location so the elimination could proceed. Rob and Matt already knew from the judges’ critique of every dish served by the mother and daughter that their own didn’t fare well. Vicky and Celine got 36 out of 50 from the guest teams, which made their grand total score of 73, only 3 points lower than first placers Adam and Carol.

Unfortunately for Rob and Matt, this also ended their journey in the show. Both visibly sad but grateful for their time in MKR. Their fellow teams were also disappointed with the entertaining pair’s elimination.

Secret Round 3

After Rob and Matt’s exit, the first group were called in so Pete and Manu could announce the surprise that they’ve been teasing everyone that night. Fully expecting that there were only two groups of six teams each competing, all were shocked to learn there would be another round of six pairs. Pete and Manu wouldn’t judge the new group, though. That job is Chef Colin Fassnidge’s.

Colin’s Secret Round will kick off on Thursday.

Rose and Josh

The show’s first ever mother and son team had some highs and lows on Tuesday night. Rose and Josh’s Ecuadorian/Spanish-themed Instant Restaurant “Mi Cocina” served a high-rating entrée but it went downhill from there. They knew their main dish, the paella, wouldn’t make their guests scream “Hola!” but, with no choice but to serve it, Rose and Josh faced tough criticism from the judges and guests. Their apple and cinnamon empanadas for dessert wasn’t also something to rave about.

Nevertheless, the mum and son entertained their guests by holding a mini dancing contest, which Rob and Adam won. Rose and Josh also received high enough points to beat Sheri and Emilie and Eva and Debra. Their score of 66 put them in third place overall for the second group.