Tommy Debenham and Rach McCann were eliminated during the amuse-bouche round of the My Kitchen Rules 2023 Semi-Finals; however, they believe they were at a huge “disadvantage”.
Speaking to Mediaweek before their elimination was aired, the best friends from WA said that being initially sent straight through to the Quarter-Finals came at a price, ultimately becoming their downfall.
“When we found out at the table we were so shook,” McCann said. “We were speechless, we didn’t know what to say. It was such a wonderful, exciting feeling. But at the same time, we didn’t know what it meant because everything was a secret about what the rules were.”
Further to this, McCann admitted that not spending time with judges Manu Feildel and Colin Fassnidge was also difficult.
“The judges do give so many really interesting and helpful critiques and I think you can learn a lot from that,” she said.
Tommy and Rach. Seven
Tommy and Rach call My Kitchen Rules “challenging”
Given they had to wait while the Gatecrashers and other contestants finished their Instant Restaurants, Rach admitted that the pair split time between getting some much-needed rest, as well as practising their cooking for their next round.
“We took a little bit of a break. It’s not easy, the competition is really challenging and there’s a lot of pressure,” she said.
“So it was nice to just have a little break and go home and be in our kitchen again and cook with each other and kind of reconnect with why we love to cook so much.”
Tommy and Rach. Seven
And while they missed their fellow competitors throughout the second leg, they weren’t too keen on how the other teams scored.
“I do believe that some other teams, perhaps, scored strategically,” she said. “But Tommy and I never did that. We were always fair and honest and we tried to compare each course or each meal to everyone else’s, and to what we were scored for ours.
“We always felt — and I think it’s reflected in the way that we scored through the competition — that we were really fair and honest. And always tried to give really honest and constructive feedback that it is a competition and there’s a lot on the line.”
My Kitchen Rules 2023 continues with the Grand Finale on Tuesday, October 3 at 7.30 pm on 7 and 7Plus.