The 2026 season of My Kitchen Rules is already off to a heated start! From a secret past connection between Colin and contestant Jane to some questionable eating (sorry, ‘tasting’) habits, fans and contestants alike are strapping in for a chaotic season ahead.
While there are always some questionable characters on the cooking show, My Kitchen Rules seems to have introduced its villain sooner rather than later this year, and it’s causing quite the divide amongst fans.
Food Stylist Jane and her partner Shane from the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, have been turning heads for being far too critical on a show that’s meant to celebrate home cooking.
This all came together in a comment Jane made after she was called out by the other contestants for barely eating anything on her plate.
“I’m a taster, not an eater,” she said at the table. Her husband Shane then defended this statement by saying he finds it “empowering to leave food on a plate”.
Personally, if I were on the show, I’d lean more towards Angus’ behaviour and eat as much as I can (unless it’s quite literally inedible, of course). How else are you meant to judge the dish?
Speaking to WHO, best mates from Adelaide, Angus and Simon, gave their honest reactions to Jane’s eating style, revealing that the stylish couple aren’t completely alone with their behaviour.
Fans outraged over this season’s ‘villain’
While My Kitchen Rules fans know there will always be a “villain” of the season, Jane and Shane came as quite the shock.
“Oh dear, we already have a villain on the show doing my head in. Welcome to MKR,” one fan wrote online.
“Tell me why you have a couple on the show that turns their nose up at the food,” another questioned. “It’s a cooking and eating show! It’s not about what plate or bowl you use. Please don’t ruin this show!”
“She was so rude not eating. If I were the contestants, when her turn comes, just sit there and don’t touch any of her dishes,” a third suggested.
“Won’t be watching again, Jane is rude, self absorbed and annoying,” another user chimed in. “Obviously meant to be the controversial person on the show, but way too much.”
Despite understanding that “every year we always have [one contestant] who is horrid”, fans are starting to get tired of this format, threatening to boycott the show entirely.
Angus and Simon reveal that Jane wasn’t the only ‘taster’ on the show
When the other contestants called out Jane for barely touching the meal that mother-daughter duo Krysten and Lucy prepared, Angus and Simon revealed that the food stylist wasn’t the only contestant leaving a lot of leftovers on her plate.
“A lot of people weren’t eating a lot of meals,” the best mates told WHO.
“If you were at a dinner party in your regular life, you would eat what’s put in front of you out of respect,” they said. “And in the program, so you can actually give a proper critique, you eat the meal as it is presented in front of you.
“So I did try and say, respectfully, I think that tasting is not really good enough in this competition.”
Angus and Simon added: “I think there was even some commentary made about like, it’s not an eating competition. It’s a food competition. So just do it the justice that it deserves. Just eat the meal.
“I mean, some of them are not even that big and people still aren’t finishing them.”
So, while Jane certainly ruffled some feathers with her eating habits, it turns out she wasn’t the only contestant being critical from the get-go.
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