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My Kitchen Rules 2016: Meet the teams

4 teams from Victoria, and just 1 from South Australia -here's how the MKR teams break down for 2016.

2016 MKR group 1 contestants.  New series starts February 1 on Channel Seven

Seven has revealed its 12 teams for My Kitchen Rules 2016 -and this year’s “state by state” mix is not an even split.

There are 4 teams from Victoria, 3 from Queensland, 2 each from New South Wales and Western Australia and only one from South Australia. This year Tasmania and territories miss out altogether.

Manu Feildel and Pete Evans return as judges, with Colin Fassnidge, Karen Martini, Guy Grossi and Liz Egan as guest judges.

A “new judge” at the dinner table, is yet to be revealed.

Any twists such as “gate-crashers” or a third group is also undisclosed.

Here’s are various excerpts on the twelve teams this year.

The show premieres 7:30pm Monday February 1st on Seven.

GROUP 1

New South Wales – Monique & Sarah – Cops
Workmates Sarah, 26, and mum-of-four Monique, 33, bonded over their love of food in their stressful office. As police officers, work is serious and coming home to cook is a good relaxer for these two.
How opinionated are you?
Monique: We’re very honest because we’re also representing the NSW Police; it’s important within our work and what we do, to be honest people. We uphold the law, we are sworn to be truthful, so we’re carrying that through to our experience with MKR. If we like something we say so and if we don’t like
something then unfortunately we don’t like it.

Victoria – Mitch & Laura – Brother and Sister
Siblings Mitch, 21, and Laura, 19, may be the youngest cooks in the competition, but you won’t find many teens dishing up offal quite like these pair. Avid fans of nose-to-tail cooking, they are inspired by the great produce surrounding their rural Mornington Peninsular home. Both students, they are yet to decide where their future lies but the lure of the kitchen is hard to resist at times.
How do you feel being the youngest team?
Mitch: Maturity beyond her years. It’s interesting the way the judges and contestants look at us. They are kind of expecting us to be juvenile and quite basic with our knowledge I think. So being the youngest we’re trying to break those expectations.
Laura: We both love seeking knowledge. I love knowing about cuisines and techniques; it’s something I love to research and that’s why I watch so many cooking shows because it’s food for
my brain. I would prefer a Heston show than Facebook.

Queensland – Cheryl & Matt – Cougar and Cub
Hailing from Brisbane, sales/marketing manager Cheryl and student Matt are used to people misinterpreting their relationship. Mum-of-one Cheryl, 50, has been happily dating 26 year-old Matt for the past 18 months and says he won her over with his chicken Caesar salad.
What’s your vibe like in the kitchen?
Matt: When we’re 100 percent in sync we’re pretty good. I’m usually naked though!
Cheryl: We’re usually having a few drinks and listening to some music. Matt is pretty good at grabbing whatever is in the fridge and putting it all together. Being a student (he is studying HR), and having to make ends meet, he’s really good like that. He makes it taste so good and look so good. We laugh a lot.

South Australia – Rosie & Paige – Best Mates
Mum-of-two Rosie, 37, and best friend Paige, 34, love nothing more than a gossip in the kitchen. There they are happy to experiment with creating flavourful healthy food and with a wine in hand they can “solve the world’s problems”. The next step in their future is a wedding event company for Rosie, and a providore for Paige.
Are you competitive?
Paige: I am. It’s from my sister and brother. We used to have this game where we would see who could eat the biggest whole piece of food at the table. We’d be swallowing half a boiled potato. It’s sibling rivalry that’s just grown.
Rosie: I’m not competitive. I hate sport. It’s just too much pressure being in a team and needing to win. Why can’t everyone just be happy playing?

Western Australia – Anna & Jordan – Mother and Son
Anna, 55, was destined to have one of her four sons grow up to be her sidekick in the kitchen and Jordan, 23, is happy to take up the role. Although her young apprentice has a few of his own ideas on making Anna’s traditional Maltese and Italian dishes a tad healthier.
What’s an average dinner at your house?
Jordan: Well it’s always a four-course meal.
Anna: There is family night on a Tuesday and everyone is expected to be home. It’s the only time where we all sit together as a family now that they’re adults. And I’ll do a very big meal.
Jordan: My mum is a feeder. She gets satisfaction from people eating.
Anna: I love it.

Victoria – Gianni & Zana – Married Lawyers
Newlyweds Gianni, 27, and Zana, 24, don’t do things by halves. About to open their own law firm in Melbourne, these high achievers have the MKR title in their sight. And they aim to win it while educating viewers on traditional Montenegrin food.
Describe your relationship.
Zana: Although we have similar cultural values and we respect each other, we’re very different personalities. He’s very quiet, relaxed and nothing stresses him out. I’m so the opposite; I’m a stress head, I just have very high expectations and I’m very vocal and honest and I say it how it is. Gianni calms me. He’s actually changed my personality a lot.
Gianni: I like to think I’m pretty laid back. She pushes me. If it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t be doing this now even though I love to cook; I just wouldn’t have taken that step.

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GROUP 2

Queensland – Alex & Gareth – Miners
Best mates Alex and Gareth are almost each other’s shadows. From Mackay, they live together on the Sunshine Coast and both work in fly in/fly out mining jobs. And these 25-year-olds have both been saving in the hope of chasing a food dream in the near future. Will MKR be the ticket they need to get them out of the mining industry and into their own restaurant?
What’s your food dream?
Alex: We have been saving money from our jobs in the mines so that we can open something of our own and we’re kinda hoping MKR will help fast track it. Like a bar and grill type of atmosphere, where you meet your mates and serve food that we like cooking.

New South Wales – Luciano & Martino – Italianos
Luciano, 49, was one of the first people Martino, 48, met when he moved to Australia 11 years ago. After dancing the night away at Mardi Gras, they became instant friends and began throwing Italian dinner parties showcasing authentic dishes for their lucky friends. Now as they approach 50, they are ready for a big change and cooking just might be the answer.
Do you only cook Italian?
Luciano: We cook it well because we know it, but we do other cuisines as well. But we are so familiar and so confident with Italian. I could cook you a dish a day for a year and still I wouldn’t double up on a dish, it’s so varied.
Martino: People think there is only one kind of lasagna which there is not, there is about 20 types.

Victoria – Tasia & Gracia – Sisters
Siblings Tasia, 26, and Gracia, 24, can fight like the best of sisters, but they say it only fuels their passion in the kitchen. After growing up in Indonesia, India and Australia, these homely cooks have very big international influences on their cooking style. Just don’t tell anyone they fear they can’t cook rice without a rice cooker!
What are your weaknesses in the competition?
Gracia: My stress levels get to me a lot. I think because I’m so used to being organised and I love to be organised, I plan everything to the detailed minute. I have lots of timers in my kitchen and they all go off at different times. And I overthink things before they happen.
Tasia: Outside the kitchen, people think I get panicked really easily and I get really stressed.

Queensland – JP & Nelly – Lovebirds
For Nelly, 25, it was love at first sight when she met her new boss JP, 30. Luckily, after leaving the job love blossomed along with a healthy appreciation of nutritional food. Now “tea obsessed” Nelly wants to wow the MKR dining table with her tea-infused menu along with some help from her beau, who just happens to be the son of a French chef.
Why do you have what it takes to win?
Nelly: We’re always adapting, always keen to learn and I think that we can do so many different things. We’re not just stuck in one style of cooking.
JP: I think the main thing is we work really well together. Regardless if it’s cooking or other things, we work really well together.
Nelly: Yeah, we bounce really well off each other. Where I’m lacking he can pick it up and vice versa.

Western Australia – Nev & Kell – Tradie and Cleaner
After meeting each other two years ago, Nev and Kell found they shared a passion for food. Nev, 48, a control room attendant, thinks it’s the “duck’s nuts” to be on MKR. No need for prize money, he would’ve done it just for the apron says cleaner Kell, 44.
How do you cope under pressure?
Kell: I cope with pressure really well. Nev, on the other hand, sometimes he needs to take a step back and take a breath. He loses it and I bring him back to where he needs to be.
Nev: I want it to be perfect so I’m a bit hard on myself. Like doing anything, if you’re going to mow the lawn, you’re not going to half mow it.

Victoria – Jessica & Marcos – Fitness Friends
Facebook is to thank for Jessica and Marcos following their food dream and applying for MKR. Childhood friends, they lost touch after Jessica, 30, moved. But these old Sydney school friends reconnected online and discovered their shared love of healthy eating after Marcos, 29, also migrated to Melbourne. Now they’re ready to rattle the competition with their raw and nutritious menus.
What kind of food will you be dishing up?
Marcos: We basically try to balance everything out and cook something that pleases everyone but that is also pretty damn good for you.

12 Responses

  1. I won’t be watching for the fourth season in a row. MKR has become a tabloid selling schmuckfest which is a shame coz the first couple of seasons were good. Can’t wait for Masterchef.

  2. How come after so many seasons there still hasn’t been a team from the Northern Territory? On Masterchef there have been contestants from the NT, so it seems there are people there interested in cooking. I find it odd that they still haven’t been able to find a team from there.

  3. It’s weeks before it starts. Don’t need to know yet.
    Memo Ch 7: you don’t need to put people in stereotypes, we are not 3 years old. We can work it out.

  4. An innovation! Do I see a new stereotype cliché in there amongst the usual tradies, best mates, siblings, ethnicios, and yuppies? Have they ever had a ‘Cougar and Cub’ before?

  5. I still won’t be watching. Not even the rumour that Rachel Khoo is coming, or the endless promos every ad break wi get me to watch.
    It’s MasterChef for me.

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