My Kitchen Rules‘ Mary and Golden were ready for their chance in the kitchen, but admit to feeling more pressure than their rivals.
As the show’s first Filipino team, the nurses were determined not to let their community down and plate up the best food they could.
The best friends tell New Idea that judges Colin Fassnidge and Manu Feildel announcing they had never tried Filipino food only added to the stakes.
“We were cautious because when Manu and Colin said that they haven’t tried Filipino food, there’s like more pressure on that,” Mary admits.
“We’re the first ones to introduce Filipino food to them. I was shaking!
“We were shaking in our seats. [Thinking] ‘Oh my God, we need to make a really good first impression’.”
While it may seem surprising that the judges have never eaten Filipino food, Mary and Golden admit it is a widespread issue, with their country’s dishes being globally underrepresented.
“Unfortunately, it’s not really celebrated, and it’s not all over Australia,” Golden shares.
“If you look at Chinese, Japanese, Korean cuisine, it’s all over Australia. If you don’t know a Filipino person, you would not be able to try Filipino food.”
If Filipino restaurants do open, they don’t “really last that long”, Golden says, explaining why they felt so much pressure bringing their culture to national TV.
“We didn’t want to let the community down,” they add.
Elimination was “never an option” for the duo because they had a large portfolio of Filipino dishes to showcase, most importantly, adobo.
Thankfully, their talents were recognised, placing them second on the leaderboard and securing their place in round one.
It was one of the most emotional moments of MKR yet, with Golden admitting she never expected to be so “vulnerable” during the show.
“At that moment, I really felt so proud to be able to do this,” she admits.
“Every dish that we serve has got a history and has got a story behind it. That was what made both of us really emotional because every dish that we decided to do, there was a reason.
“It wasn’t just anything from TikTok, it was what we grew up eating and what we love.”
Mary jokes that she has only seen Golden cry twice in their years of friendship, so was just as taken aback by her best friend’s raw emotion.
“The path that Mary and I went through to get where we are now, we actually worked really hard,” Golden adds.
And they’ve certainly done their families proud, with their loved ones cheering them on from the Philippines, even though they can’t watch MKR there.
“It’s just a pity that they can’t really watch the show in the Philippines,” Mary says. “They’re all just watching Facebook and Instagram.”
And their families aren’t the only ones celebrating, with Mary sharing that her old boss, who sponsored her Australian working visa 15 years ago, has also reached out.
“I’ve always wondered where he is now,” Mary tells us.
“He’s reached out, and he said, Mary, ‘I’m watching you, and I’m so proud’.
“That’s the best thing that’s happened.”
With their place in the competition secure for now, they can’t wait to showcase more Filipino dishes and show other immigrants and their children that “anything is possible”.
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