Teamwork is secret recipe: MKR judge

Manu Feildel says often those who make the final aren't early frontrunners.

Good or bad, My Kitchen Rules never fails to surprise, says judge and top chef Manu Feildel. After six seasons, he's seen his share of kitchen disasters. But there are always more to come.

"Sometimes you just wonder where the recipes come from or why they would put two things together that clearly don't work."

Some of the worst in recent memory, include last year's entree from Queensland couple David and Corinne, which saw the pair present corn soup with prawns and avocado.

"It didn't make sense on the menu and it was pretty disgusting to eat," says the Frenchman, who moved to Australia in 1999.

Eating inedible meals is all part of the job though and no matter how much he or fellow judge Pete Evans may want to avert disaster, they have to let it play out.

"We can't [intervene] but we cringe, going 'Oh my god, are we going to have to eat this now?'"

Likewise, he's got used to some long service delays, with meals regularly lasting more than four or five hours.

"The longest would have been eight hours," he says, recalling the tedium. "But we have to make a show. We have to have a beginning and an end. We're not necessarily happy about it but you have to be there either way."

And this season, they've had to sit through more instant restaurants than ever before.

As Kiwi viewers prepare to see group two take to their screens (Mon-Wed, 7.30pm, TV2), Feildel reveals there's even more to come.

"There's a lot going on. There's a lot more teams than we've had previously. There's a few more people that you're going to meet!"

But despite meeting the teams during the instant restaurant rounds, Feildel says there's plenty he and Evans don't get to see.

Manu Feildel and Pete Evans host My Kitchen Rules

Often, it's only months later when the series screens that they discover some of the contestants' true colours.

"There's a lot of things that we as judges don't see. When we're not around, sitting at the table, that's when they open up. All the bitching and all of that, we don't see. So it's really interesting to look at it.

"Some are very obvious from day one that they are full on. But some that you might not think, you see them on screen and go 'Oh, I didn't realise!'"

While personality plays a big role in casting the series, Feildel says there's no pressure or interference from producers to keep the more colourful characters on board.

This year's My Kitchen Rules contestants can expect plenty of heat in the kitchen.

"I tell you what, if we were judging on character, a lot of people would have been gone a long time ago," he laughs. "It's purely judged on the food. There's no word from the production side saying 'Oh, we should keep these guys in or we should get those guys out'. None of these conversations happen. Pete and I decide the scores and that's the end of it."

But as the pressure mounts through the competition, it's natural the tension - and drama - builds.

Filming the series is a full-on process, beginning with six to eight weeks of travelling cross country for the instant restaurant rounds.

"If we're not in an instant restaurant, we're on a plane. That's a big part of it," says the chef, who will return for a seventh series this year.

"When we're back in studio, it's every day and it's 10 to 12 hours a day. It's a full-on production. You have to be there and you can't do anything else on the side."

As contestants reach the end of the competition, exhaustion often sets in.

"There's so much pressure and you're so tired that during the final people just crack very easily. They're so exhausted and it's so full on."

And often those that make the final aren't the early frontrunners. Feildel has learned that you can't pick the winners based on their instant restaurant performance.

"Anybody can really turn it up. If anyone works hard and studies hard, they can pick up their game and go right to the end. And some others who are really good from day one but only have a few recipes under their belt, suddenly run out of new things. You're only as good as your last meal. One mistake and you could be out."

So just what is the secret recipe to success? Teamwork, says Feildel. And knowing who's in charge. "You can't have two head chefs in the kitchen. They can swap roles but at one time you have to have only one chef."

Who: Manu Feildel
What: My Kitchen Rules
When and where: Screening Monday to Wednesday, 7.30pm on TV2