“My Kitchen Rules” Texan dad and daughter team Robert and Lynzey Murphy scored a perfect 10 from judges Pete Evans and Manu Feildel on Wednesday night. Their Instant Restaurant “Tejas” was such a hit that the other teams have been left shaking in their boots.

After the meagre portions served on Perth couple Kat and Andre’s seaside-themed restaurant on Tuesday, NSW team Robert and Lynzey made it a point that their guests wouldn’t leave their home hungry. As they say about the U.S. state which Robert originated from, everything is big in Texas. And so the father and daughter duo served big plates.

Entrée: Quail Legs with Ranch Dressing

Adding a surprise cream cheese-filled jalapeño wrapped in ham on their guests’ plates, the Murphys thoroughly impressed Pete and Manu with their quail legs. Manu said he never had Texas cooking before, but their entrée was everything he had hoped it to be.

“This is the type of food that we want on My Kitchen Rules. This is all we’re after,” Pete said of the dish prepared lovingly by the pair.

Main: Peppered Beef with Texas Green Beans and BBQ Corn with Garlic Butter

Their main dish wasn’t as well received as their entrée. Robert promised Pete in the kitchen that they would be served rare steak, but a kitchen snafu forced the Murphys to serve the steak well done to medium. “It wasn’t bad, it was still better, but I would have preferred it rare,” Pete told them. The Australian chef also commended them for steering away from fancy cooking.

Manu agreed with Pete’s assessment of the steak. However, he thought the corn was “beautiful.”

Dessert: Bourbon Bread Pudding with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

The dessert divided Manu and Pete in their opinions. Manu said it was his least favourite dish from the team, while Pete thought it was great.

“This is not the type of dessert I would normally go for,” Pete said, “but I have to disagree with Manu. I think you’ve pretty well hit the nail on the head.”

The other pairs agreed. Ash, who has been critical of almost every dish served to her by the previous teams, thought the bourbon bread was “divine.” Shaz, who said she wasn’t fond of breads for dessert, also became a “wet bread” convert after devouring the bourbon bread pudding.

Scores

With how things went at the dining table, it wasn’t a surprise that Robert and Lynzey got a very high score from not only the judges, but also their rivals. Pete and Manu both gave the duo a 10 for their quail legs entrée, an 8 and 7 for their peppered beef main dish, and a polarising 9 and 5 for their bourbon bread pudding dessert. The chefs’ scores combined with the other teams totalled to 90 out of 110, putting Robert and Lynzey on top of the leader board.

How the other couples scored them:

Jac & Shaz: 8
Kat & Andre: 8
Ash & Camilla: 8
Annie & Lloyd: 8
Gina & Anna: 9

The Other Teams

Meanwhile, with halfway of the first group almost done, the rest of the teams have already sized up their competition. After QLD cousins Jac and Shaz’s over-preparedness gaffe and Kat and Andre’s stingy plates, the others – VIC socialites Ash and Camilla, SA sweethearts Annie and Lloyd, and ACT mum-and-daughter Gina and Anna – have an idea or two who would be their biggest rival.

Gina perhaps has delivered the biggest insult to Jac and Shaz and Kat and Andre when she said the competition has finally begun in NSW, suggesting that the two earlier teams were not up to snuff. Her daughter Anna also earned disapproval from the other teams for her treatment of her mother. When Gina was entertaining the table with her silly impersonations, Anna kept telling her to shut up because Gina was apparently embarrassing her. This was seen by the other teams as being disrespectful.

Kat and Andre, on the other hand, couldn’t help but feel sorry for themselves. Seeing that Robert and Lynzey were doing so well in the competition, they were worried they would be eliminated. Jac and Shaz, who only scored one point higher than the younger team’s 58, felt for them, but hoped they wouldn’t get discouraged yet as they were still halfway in the competition.

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