The third and secret round of “My Kitchen Rules” has begun on Thursday, with only Irish chef Colin Fassnidge for a judge. For the first team, competitive WA couple Drasko and Bianca set up the pace, starting later than usual.

The engaged couple, who both quit their jobs, with Drasko following his dream of becoming a chef, had to scour the whole of Perth just to acquire all their ingredients for their dishes. Not willing to concede or settle for anything less, the duo sacrificed cooking time, arriving at their home with barely two hours left to prepare their Instant Restaurant “Wild Pastures.”

They didn’t even worked harmoniously together. The time constraint, coupled with Drasko’s unwillingness to listen to Bianca and his stubbornness to do as he pleased, became points of contention for the couple. They were civil and a bit sweet about it during argument, but one would wonder how they really react to each other in the kitchen when there aren’t cameras to film them.

Entrée: Barbecued Marron with Thai Green Mango Salad

The marron, which Drasko and Bianca had to buy from another part of Perth earlier in the day, was thankfully cooked well, at least according to Colin. But whatever praise Colin gave the marron was overshadowed by the negative comment he gave the Thai green mango salad, which he said had taken over the dish when it should be the marron that was the star.

The other guests weren’t so kind in their reviews. While Colin already has a reputation of being strict and unyielding, the guests appeared to be out for blood, with most looking unforgiving in their critique unlike the first two groups. Some thought their marron was undercooked, while others echoed Colin about how the salad stole the spotlight away. Some of them, though, boasted that they could do better.

Main: Venison with Celeriac Puree and Witlof Salad

When Colin visited the kitchen, he warned Drasko and Bianca that unless they would serve the venison medium rare, they would just ruin the whole dish. The venison was medium rare, and therefore had passed Colin’s standard. Drasko, once again doing as he pleased, added sauce on the venison, making the whole plate look sloppy and Bianca frustrated. Nevertheless, it earned praises from the chef judge.

Dessert: Sour Apple Parfait with Apple Marshmallow and Salted Peanut Shards

The parfait was delightful, but the marshmallow was “wishy-washy,” according to Colin. The peanut shard could have been thinner as well. Bianca, who repeatedly told Colin not to douse the marshmallow in more sugar, blamed her partner in the end for not listening to her and therefore making the marshmallow overly sweet.

Scores

Being the only judge in the round, Colin’s score is doubled so the overall score is also 110. He wasn’t too happy with the entrée, so he gave it a 5, but he found the main and dessert pleasing enough to warrant a 7 each, bringing the total judge’s score to 38.

Their fellow teams appeared to be out for blood, but only one of them gave Drasko and Bianca a mediocre score of 5. One of them scored the couple a six, but the rest all gave a fairly high 7.

Here are the scores given by each team:
Lynn & Tony: 6
Jane & Emma: 7
Rob & Dave: 7
Katie & Nikki: 7
Will & Steve: 5

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