Teams for ‘My Kitchen Rules’ 2015 revealed
My Kitchen Rules (MKR) is back and Network Seven have released the details of what they are spruiking as their biggest mix of teams yet.
Whether this is justified or not remains to be seen – the new season premieres on Monday, February 2 – but so far the most exciting contestants are a mother and son duo, the youngest ever contestant in the show’s history, a deaf woman, and a cousin of the famous Hemsworth brothers, Chris and Liam, all making the grade.
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The new teams of home cooks – who are in the running to win $250,000 – also includes socialites, high school sweethearts, families, best friends, farmers and newlyweds.
All the contestants look confident and all bring a secret weapon to the table, whether it’s the perfectionist cousins from Mt Isa, Jac and Shaz, or charismatic Western Australian couple Kat and Andre.
Manu Feildel and Pete Evans return to host and judge this season, as well as regular guests Colin Fassnidge, Guy Grossi, Karen Martini and Liz Egan.
Here are the teams lining up to win in 2015:
Group 1:
Party animals – Jac and Shaz
Relationship: Cousins
Ages: Jac is 42 and Shaz is 43.
Professions: Jac owns a Mt Isa fashion boutique and Shaz works at the local court house.
State: Queensland
Key quotes:
“You’ll often hear Shaz before you see her,” Jac says.
“I don’t think we’re typical mumsy mums you know. We like to party. We’re the party mums,” says Shaz.
High school sweethearts – Annie and Lloyd
Relationship: Partners
Ages: Both 23
Professions: Lloyd is a media student and Annie is a fashion retailer.
State: South Australia
Key quotes:
“Homebody is the perfect word to describe us,” says Lloyd. “I get a bigger kick out of being the host than the guest. Usually when you invite people over to your house you want to give them a good experience, but really, selfishly, I’m kind of interested in doing it for me,” Annie says.
“You know we do have two different minds, but I can almost have a conversation in my head without Annie needing to say anything because I know what she would say to anything I would say. So I can like work it out without needing to have that verbal exchange and I think that speeds things up,” Lloyd says.
Hot heads – Kat and Andre
Relationship: Engaged
Ages: Not disclosed
Professions: Andre is a car salesman and Kat is a former stand-up comedian.
State: Western Australia
Key quotes:
“We are pretty volatile people,” Kate says. “We tend to be quite reactionary. But we sort things out really quickly afterwards.”
“Kat’s skill set is definitely better in the kitchen than mine for sure. She knows flavours and techniques and many bigger words than I do,” Andre says.
Francophiles and socialites – Ash and Camilla
Relationship: Best friends
Ages: Ash is 28 and Camilla is 23.
Professions: Ash is an events manager and Camilla is a law student.
State: Victoria
Key quotes:
“I think I’m one to seek out adventure, seek out challenges, and I thought this would be great. And I know Camilla loves cooking as much as I do and I think we work well together,” Ash says.
“I actually have no patience, like just day to day, zero patience,” Ash says. “And dessert requires patience and somehow I can find patience for dessert.”
Texan BBQ masters – Robert and Lynzey
Relationship: Father and daughter
Ages: Lynzey is 23, Robert’s age is not disclosed.
Professions: Lynzey is an occupational therapy student and Robert, a Texan native, is a retired arts teacher.
State: NSW
Key quotes:
“I spent most of my life as a cowboy in Texas. It’s a great life and my dad used to say, ‘Anything you can’t do off the back of a horse is not worth doing’,” Robert says.
“We cook a lot of steak and seafood,” Lynzey says. “I like to make some different sauces and I always try to make something nice for dessert. But I typically try to keep things on the healthy side.”
Ultra ambitious – Gina and Anna
Relationship: Mother and daughter
Ages: Gina is 48 and Anna is 25
Professions: Gina owns a school uniform business where Anna also works.
State: ACT
Key quotes:
“We have big plans for the food industry,” Anna says. “Restaurants. Plural. I want an empire.”
“I’m happiest when I’m in the kitchen. It relaxes me. On Sundays I love cooking up a storm. Unless my pavlova doesn’t rise high enough and I throw it out and start again. It stresses me out if I can’t do it again because I won’t serve it if it’s not right,” Gina says.
GROUP 2:
Competitive cooks – Carol and Adam
Relationship: Recently married
Ages: Adam is 45 and Carol is 47.
Professions: Carol is in events management and Adam is a tennis coach.
State: NSW
Key quotes:
“As a former tennis player, I’m highly competitive,” Adam says. “It doesn’t matter really what it is, be it a board game, a game of tennis, anything to do with going against Carol. That’s how I am. And Carol is just as competitive.”
“I love desserts; that’s what I mostly cook. And my mum didn’t really like desserts so whenever she had dinner parties it got to the stage where I would just do the dessert for her,” Carol says.
Asian-obsessed foodies – Eva and Debra
Relationship: Workmates
Ages: Eva is 32 and Debra is 26
Professions: Marketing.
State: Western Australia
Key quotes:
“My mum will never ever give me the recipes. She’ll be like, ‘Stand in the kitchen, watch me cook it’ and that’s how I’ve learnt. It’s by look, it’s by feel, smell, taste,” Eva says.
“Dad doesn’t have a recipe really, it’s all in his head. But it’s not like you measure things, it’s all by taste. Especially with Asian cooking, you’ve got to balance the flavours,” Debra says.
Greek goddesses – Vicky and Celine
Relationship: Mother and daughter
Ages: Celine is 20 and Vicky is 49.
Professions: Vicky works at a flower market and Celine is a student.
State: South Australia
Key quotes:
“Even if the dish isn’t pretty you’re going to overlook that because it has the flavour,” Vicky says. “There’s no point in it looking pretty if it’s not going to taste good. So we’re about flavour above everything else.”
“We’re a big deal in Adelaide. There’s not a lot of people who don’t know us,” Celine says. “We would say we’re celebrities.”
Soul sisters – Sheri and Emilie
Relationship: Lifelong friends
Ages: Sheri is 22 and Emilie is 24.
Professions: Emilie is a photographer and Sheri is a disability support worker.
State: Queensland
Key quotes:
“I’m lucky to have one ear that’s working so that gets me through life,” says Emilie, who has been deaf since birth but now has 80 per cent hearing in one ear.
“Our grannies definitely taught us everything we know about baking,” Sheri says.
Laid back lads – Matt and Rob
Relationship: Friends and business partners
Ages: Both 31
Professions: Oyster farmers.
State: Victoria
Key quotes:
“I spend basically all my free time on weekends fly fishing,” Rob, who is the famous Hemsworth brothers’ cousin, says. “I like to trek around the ocean, estuaries and rivers up in the mountains. I like everything that it involves: kayaks, boats, rafts, hiking.”
“We want to try out a number of different recipes and see what’s popular and what works and hopefully from there we can get into a permanent spot – an oyster bar is the dream,” Matt says.
Conventional allies – Rose and Josh
Relationship: Mother and son
Ages: Josh is 19, he is the youngest ever competitor on the show, and Rose is 48
Professions: Rose is an education support teacher and Josh is a student.
State: Victoria
Key quotes:
“Mum will bring her traditional cooking and those techniques and I think I’ll bring innovation because of my age,” Josh says.
“Growing up he was always like my little helper. But then as he got older he started cooking his own meals and we always cook together now,” Rose says.
My Kitchen Rules premieres on Channel Seven on Monday, February 2, 2015.
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