My Kitchen Rules on Channel 7: Hot Mess lives up to its name as Alisha and Deanne score 68 – South Australian friends Alisha and Deanne gave their Instant Restaurant the name Hot Mess, then lived through a smoke alarm, a pudding disaster and an argument over their plates. Yet they recovered to win the round’s first eight from a judge and finish on 68 points.
The result leaves the pair behind Krysten and Lucy on 72 and Angus and Simon on 70 in the current My Kitchen Rules leaderboard. Their night was chaotic, but the lamb main showed how quickly a strong dish can lift a score. For viewers following the competition on Channel 7 and 7plus, the six-point gap to the leaders is now the important outcome.
Alisha and Deanne described themselves as “classy bogans” and leaned into that personality when they named the restaurant. Their three-course menu was seared scallops with burnt butter and cauliflower purée, lamb backstrap with crispy potatoes and salsa verde, and sticky date pudding with butterscotch sauce.
Scallops start a plate debate
The first trouble came at entrée. Alisha lost track of which scallops were cooked, leaving an uneven result on the plates. Guest Jane, a food stylist, was more distracted by the colourful melamine crockery. She argued that its design took attention away from a dish that could have looked beautiful on simple white ceramic.
Lucy challenged Jane’s view, suggesting that an emphasis on the whole aesthetic sounded more like interior-design judging than a food competition. Jane countered that presentation could not simply be ignored. The exchange turned a discussion of scallops into a wider argument over how much crockery should influence a score.
Manu Feildel and Colin Fassnidge concentrated on the food. Manu liked the flavour combination but noted the inconsistent cooking. He awarded five out of 10; Colin gave six. The entrée therefore provided a modest start, and the team needed their main course to land.
Smoke alarm, then the round’s first eight
As Alisha cooked the lamb backstrap, smoke from the grill set off the alarm. Deanne tried to keep the waiting guests amused, joking that their conversation was so boring the kitchen had to set off an alarm. Meanwhile, larger plastic plates revived Jane’s objection to the restaurant’s presentation.
Despite the distractions, the lamb delivered the night’s best response from the judges. Manu praised the cooking, seasoning and tangy salsa verde. Colin enjoyed the salsa and crispy potatoes. Manu scored the main seven, while Colin gave it eight — the first eight awarded in the round.
That score mattered because it converted a difficult service into a genuine competitive chance. The pair had not solved every problem, but the main course showed they could recover when the cooking itself was strong.
Sticky date pudding hits the floor
The dessert threatened to undo that comeback. Alisha’s sticky date pudding, a recipe connected to her grandmother, collapsed and spilled batter onto the floor. Alisha was upset by the failure, while Deanne observed that the kitchen had become a literal hot mess.
They salvaged enough to serve dessert. Manu found the pudding soft, moist and true to the classic style, awarding seven. Colin thought it needed cream or crème fraîche to balance the sweetness and scored six. Their dessert therefore added 13 points despite the kitchen mishap.
Across the three courses, Manu awarded five, seven and seven for 19 out of 30. Colin’s six, eight and six gave him 20 out of 30. The judges’ combined score was 39 out of 60.
Where Alisha and Deanne stand
The guest teams added 29 out of 50. Angus and Simon gave seven, Krysten and Lucy six, Mary and Golden six, Jane and Shane five, and Tiffany and Giancarlo five. With the judges’ score, Alisha and Deanne ended on 68 out of 110.
That places them at the bottom of the tight current table: Krysten and Lucy lead on 72, followed by Angus and Simon on 70. The recap also shows how the judging split developed. Jane’s criticism of the plates dominated the table talk, but the judges’ strongest score came from the lamb on those same colourful dishes.
Alisha looked back on the smoke alarm, the fallen cake and the flour-filled kitchen as evidence that the team had at least made it through. Next, Italian couple Tiffany and Giancarlo will serve a menu that moves from Italy to an unexpected Japanese detour. My Kitchen Rules continues at 7.30pm Tuesday and Wednesday on Channel 7 and 7plus.
For more TV Central My Kitchen Rules coverage, read our preview of Alisha and Deanne’s Hot Mess restaurant. Australian viewers can catch up on the programme at the public MKR page on 7plus.