But feisty Melbourne duo Roula and Rachael, already up for elimination following a disastrous High Tea challenge, weren’t having it. Standing with their Group 1 peers, who all had a chance to taste the skewers, Roula blurted out, “Am I really f---ing hearing this?” To which Rachael and then Roula added, “That’s bullshit.”
Colin overheard and in the ensuing conversation, Rachael told the chef she disagreed with his feedback because the meat they were served was raw. ”I think our dishes were different to what you guys got,” she said. “I mean, you guys got the best of the best.” After Colin asked, “Do you think yours is different to us because your head is on the chopping block?” Roula snapped back, “It’s got nothing to do with that. We’re talking taste buds here.”
Thinking back on the day, Roula tells WHO she had to speak up. “My whole group discussed how Olga and Valeria’s meal was probably the worst out of all of them,” she says. “And then Colin comes up and says that it was Dan and Gemma’s that was the worst, and I’m like, ‘This is bullshit. We got really good food from Dan and Gemma.’ So we got a really good tasting from Dan and Gemma and not Olga and Valeria, so that’s why I made that comment. And then Colin hears me say that.”
Yet none of Group 1 added to the conversation, which surprised Roula. “I don’t think anyone jumped in and stuck up for us,” she says, “which is funny, because all of Group 1 was saying exactly the same thing.”
Adds Roula, “I’m not one to keep my mouth shut, so when I see something or have an opinion about it, I voice it, so I’m not scared to voice it. Maybe everyone else is because, ‘Ooh, they’re the judges, they’re the best,’ but we are all human by the end of the day and everyone should have their own opinion.”
For his part, Colin tells WHO about his role as a judge, “We’re there to do a job and we are the referee.” However, he cautions, “If you want to fight the referee, like, I love when they fight! It’s good.”
Does he mind being challenged? Colin says, “There is a lot of passion, but sometimes they start to believe they are better than they are, especially in the early days, and they haven’t earned their stripes yet.”
For more from Roula, pick up the latest issue of WHO on newsstands now. Watch Roula and Rachael face off against Dan and Gemma on My Kitchen Rules, Mon., March 5 at 7.30 PM on Seven.
