Tag: My Kitchen Rules

The addition of British home cooking queen Nigella Lawson to MKR’s judging team has been a huge hit, with viewers praising her grace, class, beauty and cooking insights.

But they are also blown away by her age, with many fans revealing they thought she was about 20 years younger than she actually is.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Nigella Lawson on Sunrise

Watch My Kitchen Rules on Channel 7 and stream it for free on 7plus >>

Lawson turned 62 in January this year – a fact that some fans are having trouble understanding.

“Can someone explain to me how Nigella Lawson can look so stunning ALL THE TIME?” one MKR viewer wrote on Twitter.

“She (is) 62yo and looks 42.

“What kind of witchcraft is she performing!”

“Gosh I didn’t know her age she’s a stunning human,” one follower answered.

“She literally has looked the same for 20yrs!

“Look at her neck, not a single wrinkle – I’m telling you, forget what ppl tell you, endulge (sic) in butter and cream and sweets, and chocolate and lush velvety rich sauces – and live and look like #QueenNigella! ”

“If I don’t age like Nigella Lawson, I don’t want to get old at all,” another observed.

Another simply wrote: “Nigella Lawson is 62. I refuse to accept this.”

Lawson said her trick to looking youthful was staying out of the sun – and eating “lots of fats.”

“I think what ages a face most is disappointment and a lack of enjoyment,” she once said.

“So I try to do what I love.”

Lawson has been famous for a lot longer than many people realize, however.

She shot to fame in the 1990s with her first cookbook and her TV career began in 1999 with the show Nigella Bites.

She’s since amassed a legion of fans who love the pleasure she takes in cooking and eating food.

“Not only is she a bona fide food-lover & relatable to all us home cooks but it’s her personable nature, positive energy, insightfulness & unique way with words that makes her so endearing,” one MKR viewer wrote on Twitter.

“Oh Nigella just brings so much warmth to this new season of MKR!” another noted.

Others have noted the nice rapport between Lawson and long-term judge Manu Feildel.

Speaking to 7Entertainment, Feildel said he was “thrilled” to be working with Lawson, whom he described as a “lovely” person.

Feildel said while he was a trained chef and Lawson a home cook, they both felt the same way about what made a great meal.

“We’re pretty much on the same page when it comes to that, actually,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a home cook or if you’re a chef – I think if you love food, you know what’s right and what’s wrong.

“I might know a bit more about technical ways of cooking something, but at the end of the day, the judging is pretty much about putting a fork of food in your mouth and you either like it or you don’t.

“It’s that simple.”

MKR continues on Channel 7 and 7plus Monday to Wednesday nights at 7.30pm.

For more engaging TV content, visit 7Life on Facebook.

Dad and daughter duo Peter and Alice, from Chewton in Victoria, were the first contestants on the new season of MKR to plate up to judges Manu Feildel and Nigella Lawson – and they were understandably excited.

Peter runs a café, Alice works there too, and together they’ve been cooking the dishes they were about to serve up for years and years.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: MKR duo present disastrous dessert

Watch My Kitchen Rules on Channel 7 and stream it for free on 7plus >>

They were using Alice’s grandma’s tried and tested recipes, guaranteed to please – what could possibly go wrong?

Remove a lot, as it turned out.

As the affable duo welcomed the other contestants into their home, the setting seemed perfect: sweet vintage flourishes on the dining table, a room full of cute collectables and curios, and a homey retro vibe.

This year’s MKR theme is good home cooking, and Peter and Alice had devised a simple but delicious-sounding menu that fits the theme.

They were so warm, hospitable, funny and expressive that you couldn’t help but immediately like them and want them to do well.

Although their entree was not a huge hit with the judges, they were redeemed with an excellent main meal, and then it all fell apart with a disastrous dessert.

“There is nothing on my face but sheer terror,” Alice said as a “poker-faced” Nigella and Manu tasted each of their offerings.

“They don’t give away anything!”

‘lots of pressure’

The entree, Sunday Roast croquettes with Grandma’s relish, failed to impress either judge.

“First to cook tonight,” Manu said. “It’s a big deal, isn’t it?”

“Lot of pressure,” Alice nodded. “Lot of pressure.”

Manu said he didn’t really get the “Sunday roast” feel from the croquette – questioning the dad and daughter’s choice to use braised beef cheeks.

“So, the meat was not roasted, then?” Manu asked.

“When I read roast, I got something different.

“I would have put more spice and seasoning in there as well.

“So I think the idea of ​​it is magical, it’s fantastic, but I think you missed the point.”

Nigella agreed, saying the entree needed more seasoning, something that would make the diner think of Sunday roast stuffing.

The relish also didn’t hit the mark with either Manu or Nigella, with the sweet/sour balance not quite right.

The pair were crestfallen, agreeing that the idea was great, but the execution faltered.

Manu’s pep talk

It took a kitchen pep talk from Manu during the cooking of the main to drag Alice out of her deep funk after their first effort failed to impress the judges.

Manu’s interjection worked, and Alice and Peter then pulled out a stunning main course, parmesan crumbed lamb cutlets with minted peas, silverbeet and salsa verde.

This meal was a hit with both the judges and the other contestants, reinstating their confidence in the kitchen.

It was destined to be smooth sailing from there, right?

Dessert would be a breeze, rounding off the night with a bang after a shaky start.

Wrong!

desert disaster

Peter and Alice decided on one of Grandma’s favorite desserts, a delicious lemon pudding, for the final dish of the night.

But Alice’s grandma used to bake the lemon delicious in a casserole dish; Peter decided to add a retro touch by individually baking each dessert in a vintage teacup.

“It has to be this soft, silky sponge and then this beautiful, rich lemon custard beneath,” Peter explained.

It was meant to be fluffy and spongey beneath the surface, a “step down from a soufflé.”

But when Manu and Nigella tapped into the teacup and through the top layer, there was just a soupy, watery, unappetizing mess below.

Peter had underestimated how long each dessert needed to bake for, assuming that the crispy top meant it was cooked all the way through.

What they put on the table was runny, watery, and as one contestant claimed, “inedible.”

Manu told the devastated duo that if he’d been served that dessert in a restaurant, it would have immediately been sent back.

Everyone is gutted for the pair, who had been so welcoming, so nice, and so on-point with the previous plate.

But it was clear that the pressure of being the first team to plate up to Nigella and Manu got to them; their timing was all wrong and they hadn’t presented a cohesive menu.

Peter was particularly dejected, saying he’d cooked the lemon delicious hundreds of times, but on the one night where it was really important to get it right, it hadn’t come off.

“This is a pudding I’ve made every week for 30 years,” he said.

“I have to make it once, for 12 people, and it’s a disaster.”

‘Heartbreaking’

Nigella told the pair she was “sorry” the disaster happened on the wrong night, saying the dessert fail was “really heartbreaking.”

“It’s not your fault,” an utterly deflated Alice said.

“No, I know, but I wanted to see you with a smile back on your face,” Nigella replied.

“It was our last chance of redemption,” Alice said later.

“And unfortunately, we just didn’t get it right.”

MKR continues on Channel 7 and 7plus Monday to Wednesday nights at 7.30pm.

For more engaging TV content, visit 7Life on Facebook.