On Monday night, Queensland mother-and-daughter duo Krysten and Lucy opened the My Kitchen Rules competition at their Gold Coast hinterland instant restaurant, Puggles.
The close-knit pair revealed the name was inspired by the baby platypuses that live on their 5ha property.
But sharp-tongued NSW food stylist Jane was quick to share her opinion on the title.
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“It doesn’t mean anything to me. I didn’t understand the relevance, there is no reference to food,” Jane said.
“I didn’t really get it as a word, I’m not really a fan.”
Jane quickly positions herself as the expert at the table but her refusal to properly taste the meals is branded as ‘disrespectful’. Credit: Seven Before Lucy and Krysten could unveil their menu, the night began with a surprise at the table when judge Colin Fassnidge revealed he already knew Jane, having previously worked with her.
Their secret connection immediately had the other contestants questioning whether it was fair.
But Fassnidge made it clear there would be no favouritism.
“A score’s a score. It doesn’t matter if I know you. You’re all fighting for your own position in this competition,” he said.
Stylish foodies Jane and Shane from NSW quickly established themselves as the table’s dining experts.
Queensland mother-and-daughter duo Krysten and Lucy opened the MKR competition at their Gold Coast hinterland instant restaurant, Puggles. Credit: Seven Drawing on her career working with chefs and fine-dining restaurants, Jane warned she would find it difficult not to judge the presentation as well as the food.
“You eat with your eyes, so how you plate a dish is very important,” she said.
Krysten and Lucy, meanwhile, had already identified their biggest competition.
“I think as we met people and found out what they did, I was probably most worried about Jane and Shane in terms of competition because she’s a food stylist,” Krysten, 50, told 7NEWS.com.au.
“So I’m like, we’re just really in her wheelhouse.”
Jane and Shane from Blue Mountains, NSW. Credit: Seven Lucy, however, believes loved-up couple Tiffany and Giancarlo are keeping their “cards close to their chest”.
“I just thought they were, like, hiding some crazy cooking talent,” Lucy said.
Krysten and Lucy said they were “super excited” to cook first, but the reality of plating up in front of cameras and expert judges quickly dawned on them.
“I feel like we went in super, super confident and quite quickly realised that we’d bitten off a little bit more than we could chew,” Lucy, 23, told 7NEWS.com.au.
Despite their close relationship, Lucy and Krysten had never cooked together before entering the competition.
“It was kind of a surprise as to how we would act in the kitchen together, but I think we both complemented each other with our different styles of cooking,” Lucy said.
“We know each other really well so, if the task is set, it’s going to get done and you don’t have to second guess it,” proud mum Krysten said.
“I don’t have to look over Lucy’s shoulder because I know how capable she is.”
Their bold three-course menu featured beef tartare with quail egg and truffle flatbread for entree, paella for main and a mango and coconut sweet rice croissant puff for dessert.
But the pressure intensified during the main course when Fassnidge entered the kitchen mid-cook and questioned how long the oversized prawns had been cooking.
Colin interrupts the cook, with this advice eventually ‘saving’ the dish. Credit: Seven “I was actually, like, so taken aback, not only to have Colin Fassnidge in our kitchen,” Lucy said.
“But then he came in all guns blazing and I started feeling quite defensive over mum because she’s the best cook I know.
“And he was questioning her ability.”
Krysten quickly removed the seafood before it overcooked, later admitting: “I think we’ve saved it from outright disaster.”
The pair revealed the stressful moment eventually became a running joke between themselves and Fassnidge.
After a shaky entrre and main, self-taught baker Lucy rose to the occasion with a technically ambitious dessert that judge Manu Feildel declared “definitely the best dish of the night”.
The pair secured the season’s first leaderboard score, with 72 out of 110.
While they were happy with their final score, they were unimpressed to see some contestants, in particular Jane, had barely touched their meals, describing it as “disrespectful to the cook”.
“They’re so hard to read but I really feel like they love the concept of food more than the actual food,” Krysten said.
“Lucy and I love food, and we love to taste new flavours and there’s a real passion for it.
“And I feel like sometimes their (Jane and Shane’s) passion was for the style, not the substance.”
Jane and Shane didn’t hold back with their critiques, but Krysten warned the pair that anyone yet to cook needed to remain “really humble”.
“You haven’t been there yet and so I feel like they are potentially a little over-confident,” Krysten added.
“I can 100 per cent honestly say that Lucy and I absolutely would never strategically score, but I can’t guarantee other people don’t take personality into effect in their scoring.”
Alisha and Deanne from South Australia aren’t holding back. Credit: Seven Jane and Shane’s refined approach quickly put them at odds with South Australia’s self-described “boganic besties”, Alisha and Deanne.
As Jane critiqued garnishes, plating and consistency throughout the meal, the divide deepened, with Deanne asking: “Are there some food snobs at this table? Absolutely. Only a couple.”
And it appears the tension is only just beginning.
Tomorrow night, fireworks will go off at the table when one team walks out — but will they return to the table and the competition?