My Kitchen Rules 2025 has kicked off with a bang with the first cooking duo Justin Rolleston and Will Mataka taking centre stage.
The pair first met through their wives and became fast friends, bonded by their love of family, sport and food. The best mates were the first MKR contestants of 2025 to impress judges Colin Fassnidge and Manu Feildel, as well as the rest of the contestants, with their home cooking.
Everything we know about My Kitchen Rules’ Will and Justin
Some fans may recognise Will! He’s a former NRL player, who used to play for the West Tigers and Sydney Roosters and also represented Tonga in 2009.
Will brings a calm and collected energy to the kitchen and is inspired by his Tongan heritage, ready to craft dishes that reflect his culture.
Justin is a gym owner and foodie who gained an Instagram presence after creating videos for his gym clients. He’s described as “delightfully messy” in the kitchen, so is the chaos to Will’s calm, but is ready to shake things up by incorporating his South African heritage.
The two dads met over 12 years ago, forming a friendship after their wives introduced them. Justin describes the duo as “passionate and competitive, but in sync” while Will says, “Love one day, hate the next, but always committed to each other in the kitchen”.
What happened during Will and Justin’s cook on MKR?
As the first cab off the rank, the duo had a tough job in front of them, vying to impress the judges as wel as the other new contestants.
The best mates served up Ota Ika (Ceviche) with Taro crisps as their entreé, before spicing things up with their main of Red Duck Curry with Coconut rice. For dessert, Justin sourced it straight from his roots, with the duo opting for a Cape Malay Koeksister (South African fried doughnut) with spice syrup.
The entreé was praised for the texture, but the judges were looking for more “heat”, both awarding it a score of six. However, the curry took centre focus, with Colin calling it “near perfect” and Manu saying it was a “wonderful, ballsy curry”. Both judges scored the dish a 9.
The traditional dessert divided opinions, but Justin and Will’s total score from the judges was 42/60, with the teams giving them a score of 37, for a grand total of 79/110.
Watch My Kitchen Rules (MKR) 2025 on Channel 7 and 7Plus.
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