My Kitchen Rules has officially kicked off its 2026 season, and the chaos has not disappointed! From big personalities to a clash of the classes, this year is bringing the heat both in the kitchen and at the dinner table.
The season kicked off in Queensland’s Gold Coast hinterland, where mum and daughter Krysten and Lucy hosted their instant restaurant ‘Puggles’ — a nod to the many baby platypuses that live on their property.
This season’s cooking teams include: South Australian classy bogans, Alisha and Deanne, best mates, Angus and Simon, food stylist Jane and her husband Shane from New South Wales, long-term loved-up partners, Tiffany and Giancarlo from Victoria, and Filipino nursing friends Mary and Golden.
As Lucy and Krysten cooked away in the kitchen, the guests got to know each other and their judges, Manu and Colin.
However, it was soon revealed that Jane has actually met Colin before; something Jane admitted she tried to keep a secret.
Contestants Alisha and Deanne told WHO about their unexpected reaction to this reveal, and how it set the tone for the rest of the competition.
Alisha and Deanne’s hilarious reaction to Colin and Jane’s hidden connection
After Jane revealed that she was a food stylist who works with professional chefs for a living, it naturally left all of the other contestants feeling pretty nervous.
However, what she (purposefully) left out was that she already knew one of the judges, and not just from watching his face on national television like the rest of us.
As soon as Colin and Manu arrived and the table went quiet, Colin revealed that he had to come clean and explained that he had actually met and worked with one of the contestants sitting at the table.
While this comment sparked a series of head turns and raised eyebrows, Alisha and Deanne told WHO that they had a different gut reaction.
“At first, I thought, ‘Oh, have I worked with him before?” the pair said. “I was like, ‘Have I met him before? I don’t remember meeting him.'”
Unfortunately, it was revealed that the mystery connection was Jane, leaving a bit of a sour taste in the contestants’ mouths, particularly since she didn’t tell the other cooks about it herself.
“I think we all felt a bit down about that,” Alisha and Deanne said. “It felt like maybe she had a step up in the competition, seeing that she worked with a lot of chefs, so it felt like, was she the home-style cook that [she says she is]?
“We don’t have any of that sort of knowledge from the rest of us getting around, so it was a bit like, you know, has she got a step up on the competition?”
‘It was a bit intimidating’
Best mates Angus and Simon had a similar reaction, telling WHO the revelation put them on edge.
“In the first episode, I think, really, I was a bit intimidated because they really knew a lot about food,” Angus said. “And then the double down on knowing Colin. They weren’t just faking it.”
Upon discovering that they were “seriously in the food world”, they admitted that “it was a bit intimidating”.
However, the boys confessed that Alisha and Deanne gave the other contestants confidence when it came to Jane and Shane, particularly when they refused to back down, or at least show that they were intimidated too.
“But it was good to see Alisha and Deanne get in a bit of a few arguments with them and rattle them a little bit,” Angus and Simon added.
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