The My Kitchen Rules (MKR) kitchen has been filled with fiery rivalries this year, but some contestants are questioning whether the competition’s scoring system has become less about the food and more about personal feelings.
Following several controversial scores between teams, MKR contestants have exclusively spoken to Chattr about whether “revenge scoring” is playing a role in the competition — and not everyone agrees.
For Tiffany and Giancarlo, who found themselves at the centre of drama with Alisha and Deanne after the pair walked out of their instant restaurant, they believe the scores should always come down to what’s on the plate.
When asked by Chattr about receiving low scores from their rivals, Giancarlo simply responded: “Surprise, surprise.”
Tiffany said they had always planned to judge their fellow contestants purely on their cooking.
“We said from the very beginning we were always going to let the food do the talking. Doesn’t matter if you get along or not,” Tiffany told Chattr.
“If you’ve got an amazing plate of food that you’ve put in front of us, that you served up, put your blood, sweat, and tears into — that is what we’re going to judge. We’re not going to be judging on personalities or anything.”
She then addressed Alisha and Deanne’s scoring: “They said that they would do the same after I made that comment, and then they absolutely did not. So look, to be honest, are we surprised?”
Giancarlo agreed that fairness was key, saying contestants should be judged on the overall dining experience rather than their relationships with one another.
“We think this competition has to be fair, you need to be scoring based on the food, right? And the experience that you have around that food,” he said.
Tiffany said it was disappointing to see some contestants — namely Alisha and Deanne — had seemingly moved away from that approach.
“It was disappointing that the girls didn’t stand by their word and vote on the food. They definitely voted on personalities,” she said.
“I think honestly, the scores we gave them were quite generous because it was overcooked and raw and super garlicky.”
She added that cooking for a large group of people comes with challenges, particularly when it comes to consistency.
“I would have returned a couple of those dishes, if I’m being completely honest,” she said. “And so I think we were being quite fair.”
However, Alisha and Deanne defended their scores, suggesting their decision may have been influenced by more than just the food.
Alisha told Chattr exclusively that she did have some criticism about the dish, but admitted there may have been an element of payback involved.
“I did get a bone in mine, and I think the timing, it felt like the restaurant went for a long time, and maybe, yeah, a little bit of payback. Who knows?” she said.
“I think there might have been a little bit of a b*tchy move, maybe.”
Deanne also believed the scores they received from other teams were personal. “Oh, it is personal. Definitely,” she said.
“I think they wanted us gone very quickly. Like, it’s easy to drop out a team if you can score them quite low.”
‘There’s definitely a few grudges being held’
Krysten and Lucy also believe personalities have played a role in the way some contestants have approached scoring.
Lucy told Chattr she thinks certain rivalries have impacted the competition.
“I definitely think that personalities have influenced scoring a fair bit, which you can see quite clearly,” she said.
“Not for us personally, but there are definitely a few grudges being held.”
The pair also revealed that tensions have continued away from the kitchen, with contestants debating scores and comments in their group chat after watching episodes back.
Lucy said seeing the full extent of what other teams said about their food has been difficult.
“I think watching it back on TV is kind of shocking because you haven’t heard a lot of what everyone said,” she said.
Krysten added: “We haven’t seen the food critiques when we weren’t at the table or some of the reviews when people were giving their scoring, so it’s been really interesting.”
Lucy admitted that watching the feedback hasn’t always been easy.
“I think we kind of heard with our first Instant Restaurant that not many people loved the food, so watching it back and seeing the comments definitely stung a little bit,” she said.
The MKR teams are still fighting over the scores
It was also revealed that the teams are at war all over again after seeing what the other teams have scored them, with some contestants revealing there’s been drama in the MKR group chat.
“There’s a contestant group chat which a few people message here and there, but it’s still pretty spicy in that group chat. I’m not gonna lie,” Lucy said.
“People are seeing what’s been said behind their backs on TV and questioning that, which I feel like is beating a dead horse.”
Krysten added: “People still have unsolved problems with things that happened and they’re having trouble letting it go.”
Angus and Simon also opened up to Chattr about the drama that has unfolded between contestants as the season airs.
“It’s really funny because it’s like being back filming again. This group chat is like a microcosm of filming,” Angus said.
“People are airing their grievances and I think naturally, the kind of people that were cast are not those people to stand down, and it’s like we’re on autopilot back filming again.”
Angus explained that tensions have been sparked because contestants were never shown each other’s scores during filming.
“Because the scores were never revealed [to the teams], you don’t really know what people said about your food, so there have been a few micro explosions in the group chat and it’s actually gotten a bit ugly at some points,” he shared.
Simon said he believed some contestants were struggling to move on from moments that had already passed.
“It’s a little bit disappointing when people are saying the same things over and over and complaining about things that can’t be fixed and are in the past,” he said.
“Instead of making it a negative space, we should be making it a positive space, which some people fail to do.
“I basically don’t even talk in there anymore because there isn’t much point. They need to get over it!”
Looks like the drama from the MKR kitchen is still cooking up a storm!
My Kitchen Rules airs on Channel 7 and 7Plus.
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