Australia’s greatest dinner party My Kitchen Rules is returning to Seven and 7Plus on 9 September and with it comes an all-new twist in it’s familiar format.
Executive producer Ewa Dobrowolska told Mediaweek she believes the newest season features the strongest cast the show has ever had and explained what new things audiences can expect.
“We know our audience loves the instant restaurants. The idea of seeing people cook the dishes they know in their own homes is very relatable, so we have got more instant restaurants than we’ve had previously,” she said.
“The key new twist however is for the first time ever, guest teams will reveal their scores directly to the cooking team.
“Normally, when guests go to eat at a contestant’s instant restaurant, they give their score anonymously at the end of the meals. For the first time, contestants will have to face the cooking team and tell them straight to their faces what they scored.
“It’s one thing to go to a restaurant and then write a bad review online. It’s another thing to stand there in front of the cook and score their meal a four out of ten. It changes the dynamic a lot, which is really exciting.”
At the head of the table, celebrity chefs Manu Feildel and Colin Fassnidge team up again – as co-hosts, judges and mates – to search for the best home cooks in the country.
This season Manu and Colin are teased to be served some of the best home-cooked meals in the competition’s history as they travel the country to meet and judge Australia’s most passionate home cooks.
Manu will taste “the best dish I’ve ever had on MKR in 14 years” as one team earns the highest score in MKR history.
See also: TV Guide – My Kitchen Rules 2024 on Seven and 7plus
Only the best of the best will make it to Kitchen HQ where one team will win $100,000 and be crowned MKR champions.
2024 MKR teams:
• Rob, 38 & Liam, 37 – Competitive Brothers, Victoria
• Simone, 32 & Viviana, 31 – Modern Italians, Queensland
• Ash, 32 & Cassie, 32 – Young Mums, South Australia
• Danny, 47 & Sonia, 40 – Brother and Sister – Queensland
• Hannah, 31 & Lawrence, 35 – Loved-up Couple – Western Australia
• Mike, 54 & Pete, 48 – Fussy Friends – Western Australia
The cooking show genre is a tried and tested format across all linear channels, and when asked if Dobrowolska sees the genre evolving in the next few years, she said it’s hard to predict when the format itself if already so successful.
“I think what makes the show so successful is the same kind of key ingredients every year. It’s humour and a dash of drama that makes it work,” she said.
“We aren’t reinventing the wheel because it’s such a successful format that has been sold to over 15 countries around the world, it must be doing something right?”
In August, Seven’s distribution partner, Banijay Rights, the global sales arm of Banijay Entertainment, negotiated long-term sales agreements for My Kitchen Rules Australia with key overseas networks.
The networks included TVNZ in New Zealand, M-Net in South Africa, UKTV in the UK, DPG Media in Belgium, TVA in French-speaking Canada, SIC in Portugal, Talpa in the Netherlands and TV2 in Hungary.
See also: Banijay Rights commission international versions of My Kitchen Rules
Dobrowolska continued: “You don’t want it to completely change into something else because it’s what people know and love.”
The new season of My Kitchen Rules premieres at 7:30 pm on 9 September on Seven and 7plus.