TVNZ 2 Dishes Up MKR Spin-Off

Raffaello Sirri and Susanna Aricò.

TVNZ 2 this morning took the lid off a My Kitchen Rules spin-off in which Kiwi restaurateurs will compete.

My Restaurant Rules will screen 7.30 Mondays and Tuesdays from September 30.

According to the press release:

This brand-new format will see five local restaurants battling it out for $100,000 and the bragging rights to say their restaurant rules!

Standing in their way is internationally renowned chef and judge of My Kitchen Rules Australia Colin Fassnidge alongside local restaurateur and chef Judith Tabron.

Fassnidge and Tabron are heading across the country to restaurants that were nominated by the public earlier this year to check out the best they have to offer.

From traditional Italian fare in Nelson, paddock-to-plate-styled kai in Waiouru and delicious seafood in Lyttleton, each restaurant will dish up mouth-watering food in restaurants that viewers can visit themselves.

Each restaurant will cook a three-course meal to impress the judges, their fellow competitors and special guests, in the hopes of getting a score high enough to keep them in the competition.

Over three rounds, the restaurants are whittled down to the final two, who will go head to head in the grand finale.

The five restaurants are:

Babagatto: Raffaello Sirri and Susanna Aricò from Nelson

Central Park Bar and Kitchen: Julia Gerritsen and Daniel Hull from Katikati

Fisherman’s Table: PJ Gemmell and Rob Dickey from Lyttleton

Moxie: James and Amy Bratton from Auckland

Rustic Eating House: Tyson and Denise Burrows from Waiouru

An Australian version of My Restaurant Rules aired on TVNZ 2 in 2005 (off-peak) and 2006 (primetime).

A revival was considered in 2010, to compete with Ten’s MasterChef Australia, but the Seven Network opted for MKR instead.

Five years later it launched another restaurant reality show, Restaurant Revolution, which lasted only one season.