My Kitchen Rules fans were left stunned last Tuesday after a dramatic twist turned the competition on its head, and now Anne and Maree are preparing to face the pressure like never before.
The much-loved mother-daughter duo will be going head-to-head with fellow bottom-two team besties Lol and Lil in Monday night’s high-stakes elimination cook-off.
But in a major shake-up to the format, it won’t just be judges Manu Feildel and Colin Fassnidge deciding their fate as for the first time, the rival teams will also have a say in who stays and who goes.
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“For the first time in this competition, your fellow teams will score your dishes,” Colin revealed in a bombshell teaser, sending shockwaves through both contestants and fans.
Maree revealed the new rule did raise some concerns.
“There are a couple of contestants that we haven’t built rapport with — Danielle and Marko, Mark and Tan — we haven’t had a lot of opportunity to get to know them,” Maree told 7NEWS.com.au.
“Yes, it’s a food competition but personality has a lot to do with it too and we knew Lol and Lil had been around them a lot longer than us.”
Maree acknowledged they couldn’t ignore the possibility some contestants might favour others simply because they got along better.
“All the contestants have something to lose,” she said.
Maree’s mother and teammate Anne agreed and said: “We just hope that they judge fairly on the look and taste of the food.”
While Lol and Lil appeared confident, describing Anne and Maree as “slower in the kitchen”, Maree was quick to back their own skills.
“Out of everybody to go to an elimination cook-off, I’m glad it’s them because I feel like we’re probably stronger cooks,” she said.
And Maree and Anne are staying true to themselves ahead of the showdown.
“We aren’t concerned,” Maree explained.
“In our heads we are like, we’ll just stick in our lanes and do what we do best, and don’t try to be anyone else.
“Just be Anne and Maree.”
When it comes to their kitchen confidence, Anne isn’t holding back either.
“Who are you calling slow?” Anne said with a laugh. “Don’t you know I do reformer Pilates five days a week.”
Maree agreed their years of experience would be their edge in the cook-off.
“I’m happy that it is Lol & Lil . We have a bit more experience in the kitchen than them,” she said.
“They might be a bit more innovative, but we have a bit more wisdom.”
Their journey to the bottom two came after a challenging first cook at Kitchen Headquarters, which saw the teams forced to pick a fridge at random to determine what ingredients they could use in their dishes.
Despite the high pressure, Anne and Maree said they embraced the moment.
“The whole experience was so fun, we had so much fun,” Anne said.
Maree admitted the adjustment from their home kitchen to Kitchen HQ was no small feat.
“That was a bit tricky. You go from an environment you’re really familiar with — in our kitchen at home, you know where everything is — and then you go to this massive kitchen, with everyone looking at you,” she said.
Anne added: “It was daunting I didn’t know where anything was!”
Their dessert — spiced rizogalo with berry compote — ultimately landed them in the bottom two but the pair stands by their dish.
“Mum and I have talked about this moment a lot and we’re both really proud of ourselves because we were really happy with what we served up,” Maree said.
“It tasted yum, it looked yum,” Anne added.
“In hindsight, I don’t think we would’ve changed anything,” Maree said.
Earlier in the competition, the pair won hearts with their Instant Restaurant Yia Yia Mary’s, which paid tribute to their Greek heritage.
“We had a lot of fun in our Instant Restaurant,” Maree recalled.
“There wasn’t a whole lot of nerves, it was just a bit of an honour to be able to present our food to Manu and Colin.”
Anne said creating a warm and welcoming experience was their top priority.
“We wanted them to feel like part of the family, because that’s what we do as Greeks,” she said.
“It was quite nerve wracking waiting for the comments.”
But Maree said they appreciated the feedback: “We took it all on board.”
Now, it all comes down to Monday night when Anne and Maree will go up against Lol and Lil in a history-making elimination cook-off.
My Kitchen Rules airs on Mondays and Tuesdays at 7:30pm on Channel 7 and 7plus.
