Teams are to go another round, this time in the Ultimate Instant Restaurants. It is double the courses, and double the ‘steaks’ in the lead up to the MKR final four. It is time for teams to showcase what they have learned throughout the competition.
Apparently, Drasko and Bianca learned little from their first Instant Restaurant Round, and again choose an overly ambitious menu. They produce a three page shopping list alone, with unusual ingredients which makes the shop difficult. They become further impeded by bad traffic on the way home. The three-hour MKR clock clicks over in their empty kitchen as they are still stuck in their car on the road. They arrive home still needing to dress their restaurant, and start cooking with just over two hours left of their prep time.
For one of their two entrees they are preparing Bianca’s Pho Bo with Homemade Rice Noodles. Bianca is ambitiously making her own rice noodles. Her first batch sticks to the glass bowl, and are hence more glass noodles, but not in the intended way. The second batch is more successful, and she manages to plate an elegant looking dish. Pete says it is a clean little starter to a three-course meal. He picked up the spices, but the beef stock needed more time to develop. He wants their main to step it up a notch.
For their second entrée they are preparing Seared Scallops with Chestnut Veloute. Manu says it is a good dish to start. The veloute was a bit light on the chestnuts, the scallops were a little overcooked, but the pancetta added a nice saltiness to the dish.
Back in the kitchen, they have not even started on mains. Pete enters the kitchen to boost their moral, but on learning how much they still need to do, he can not hide his concern, which does nothing to boost their confidence. Drasko reacts by micro managing Bianca, which never ends well.
For main one they are serving Veal with Truffled Pine Nut Puree and Crispy Zucchini Flowers. Drasko is of course sous vide-ing the meat, because that is apparently the only way he knows how to cook meat. On tasting Manu says it looks amazing, the flavours are subtle and strong, but the veal needed more caramelisation. He says he is blown away by the creativity they display for amateur cooks, but they need to go back to basics and nail them before being more experimental. He adds that he believes Drasko has the potential to be a great chef.
Their second offering of main is Tea-Smoked Quail with Mushroom Cream. The cream goes into the foam canister too hot, and they do nothing to address it. On serving, the cream splits. Nothing is going right for them, and when the guests receive their main, it is three hours after entrée. On tasting, Pete says he loves the smoked element to the quail, the cream however does not work, and overall it is a small entrée, not a main. Seems like the quail has failed for another team, and Pete reinforces that what they are looking for is delicious food, not tricky food.
On to desserts, and they are making First Date Lemon Tart, the dessert they had on their first date. Bianca makes the mistake of putting the oven on grill, and the lemon tart filling does not bake. They decide they will have to serve it deconstructed. On tasting, Pete says the tart is very tart, and there is something strange going on with their sorbet. He calls it a disaster. Apparently their first date was not a disaster, even if their dessert has been.
For dessert two they are making Chocolate Delice with Mandarin Caviar. Manu says it looks beautiful, but the delice has not set. The mandarin is great, but he was expecting more from the dish.
Time for the scores. The guests score 19/40, Manu gives them a 7 for entrée, an 8 for main and 5 for dessert. Pete gives them a 7 for entrée, a 4 for main and a 1 for dessert. Overall they score 51/100 for the evening, which puts them straight on the top and bottom of the leader board. It is a very precarious score for such a point in the competition, and may see their Wild Pasture's Ultimate Instant Restaurant put them out to pasture in the competition.
