My Kitchen Rules SA Comes Home

Heavenly Halva Sends Kirsten & Detlev Stratospheric

Father & daughter duo Kirsten & Detlev raced to the top of the Group 2 leaderboard on My Kitchen Rules SA this Sunday (30 October, 18:00 on M-Net Channel 101), thanks largely to a helping hand from a heady halva ice cream that had both contestants and judges buzzing.

Their menu was inspired by Detlev’s mother’s German and Turkish experiences, based on her autobiography ‘Sauerkraut & Turkish Delight’ and served in their Instant Restaurant bearing the same name.

Their menu comprised:

  • Starter: Chargrilled Broccoli with anchovy & tahini sauce,
  • Main Course: Beef Roulade with Rotkohl (Red Cabbage) & Spätzle (noodles), and
  • Dessert: Goat’s Cheese Borek (pastry pie) with toasted Pistachio.

They deliberately left some surprise elements for each course off the menu – and it would be those elements that ultimately boosted their scores.

Judges David Higgs and J’Something arrived to find the other contestants already in festive mood and expecting a tasty – and efficiently-served- meal. Once the judges had tried the starter, David said that he’d tasted the saltiness from the anchovy but wanted more anchovy flavour – and that he’d been concerned about the simplicity of the dish by its description, but that the addition of a sesame cracker had shown additional technique that he’d appreciated. J’Something said he enjoyed everything on the plate, but felt that the dish was missing a ‘wow factor’. Self-proclaimed anchovy-haters Abraham and Michelle were delighted to not taste anchovy in the dish, while Tim enjoyed the delicious crunch in the dish and the acidity provided by a splash of lemon.

As they waited for their main course, conversation turned to the R1 million prize that awaits the winning duo in a few weeks. Shaeem & Mas-ud said they’d come in with a plan and were mindful of the people who’d made sacrifices to allow them to participate. Refilwe said she wasn’t afraid to admit that she’d all but given up hope of making it to the Challenge Round after their disastrous low score last week – but Shaeem said that if he were in the sisters’ position, he’d be that much pickier when it came to scoring the final two Instant Restaurants, with R1 million on the line.

The main course arrived after a spätzle spat in the kitchen saw the first batch of noodle mixture binned and a second one made fresh – and thinner. The course drew criticism from David for the roulade being slightly dry – though he admitted it was a challenge to cook the inside while keeping the outside moist. He enjoyed the rotkohl though and felt it brought the dish together. J’Something said the rotkohl was a highlight, with a beautiful depth of flavour and a delicate balance of sweetness and acidity. Tšepang said the cabbage ‘kept calling’ to her, but Shaeem declared it the worst thing he’d ever tasted. Tim wasn’t impressed with the spätzle and Mas-ud questioned the dish’s status as a ‘competition dish’ – but Abraham said that if the dish was representative of German cooking, he couldn’t wait to visit the country.

It was the dessert that sent Kirsten & Detlev to the top of the leaderboard – mostly on the strength of one of those off-menu surprises in the form of Kirsten’s halva ice cream. David said the presentation was lovely and that the play of sweet and savoury was a match made in heaven. J’Something said that most people hadn’t had much luck with homemade ice cream in the competition, but that this one was ‘near-perfect’. As Tšepang savoured the flavour of the ice cream with her eyes closed, Shereez whispered to Tim that she’d score them a 10/10 for the ice cream alone. Tim said he’d enjoyed it but had eventually detected a bitter aftertaste, but Refilwe said she’d gladly take a ‘skaftin’ of the dessert.

Although the chance for ‘tactical scoring’ had been discussed, the meal had impressed everyone enough that the contestants all gave the duo their due, with 8/10s from Abraham & Michelle and Tšepang & Refilwe and 7/10s from Tim & Shereez and Shaeem & Mas-ud for a score of 30/40.

David felt their main had lacked the anchovy punch he’d been expecting and scored it a 6, but enjoyed the main enough to score it an 8 – despite it being a little dry – and awarded the much-praised dessert an 8. J’Something reiterated the lack of ‘wow factor’ in the starter but still scored them a 7, praised the presence of the main course with an 8 – and saved the best for last in scoring the ‘authentic and slightly sweet’ dessert a 9, for a score of 46/60 – to give them a total of 76/100 and send them top of the leaderboard, above Shaeem & Mas-ud (74); Tim & Shereez (68) and Tšepang & Refilwe (53).

Next week, Abraham & Michelle have an opportunity to write themselves into the next chapter of My Kitchen Rules SA with the final Instant Restaurant – hoping to better Tšepang & Refilwe’s score to claim a spot in the Challenge Round.

Come 11 December, one of the 10 pairs of this season’s home cooks will walk away with R1 million!

My Kitchen Rules SA is produced by PictureTree and proudly sponsored by Nederburg. The series is available on DStv Premium on M-Net (Channel 101) every Sunday at 6pm from 4 September 2022, as well as live streamed on the DStv App, and is also available on DStv Catch Up after broadcast. Visit the M-Net website for exclusive show content and join the conversation on Twitter (@MNet), Instagram (@mnettv), and Facebook (@MNet) using #MKRSA and #mnet101.