MKR victory still to sink in
The father and daughter winners of My Kitchen Rules (MKR) New Zealand say their win still hasn’t sunk in.
Liam and Eden McPhillips, of Taranaki, picked up a $100,000 prize for winning the fourth season of the cookery show, in which six teams battle it out to impress each other and judges Pete Evans and Manu Feildel. The final episode was filmed weeks in advance, but the competitors didn’t find out who had won until the show aired on Sunday.
‘‘It hasn’t really sunken in yet I don’t think,’’ Eden said.
‘‘It’s a huge relief, it really is,’’ 46-yearold Liam, of New Plymouth, added. ‘‘It’s been so long since we filmed and it took so long to get on
TV, but to win is fantastic.’’
The duo admit that their goal was to not get eliminated first and that being crowned
MKR winners for 2018 was more than they expected.
‘‘We kind of went in pretty much with a goal to not get kicked off first round, then anything above that would just be a bonus,’’ Eden said. ‘‘I don’t even think we expected to get past the second round so to get to the final and then win was unreal.’’
Eden said her favourite dish was a raw vegan cheesecake she made in the instant restaurant, while Liam’s was a beef dish they prepared in the final episode.
‘‘I think I really won after our instant restaurant. We got some really good feedback on her dessert and that’s why we were there. We could have gone home then and I would have been quite happy,’’ the proud dad said.
‘‘I don’t have a food dream. I don’t really have any passion for cooking. I enjoy doing it for friends, but this is all about her; it’s not really about me.’’
Eden thinks that her raw baking gave an edge over the competition as it was something not often seen on the show.
‘‘We were quite unique together because he’s really into meat, pasta, all that stuff, while I’m more like plant-based, vegetarian. So it definitely gave us an edge as we brought two completely different styles of cooking.’’
Now back to their respective day jobs of plumbing and baking, the duo plan to invest the money in Eden’s future.
‘‘I definitely want to have my own online website where you can buy raw vegan cakes and slices and get them delivered as opposed to having a cafe,’’ she said.
‘‘I kind of want to shed a light on what raw baking is actually like.’’