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Private Notes
Working mum Helen kicks off the week with an Arabian themed dinner party. As soon as the guests arrive a belly dancer performs and when everyone is expected to join in, they find it ‘confronting.’ Former Royal Marine Ray isn’t impressed when Helen confesses her Mum helped her cook her koupes starter. Helen claims her lamb with feta main got her a marriage proposal however nobody at the table falls in love with it. The off-the-wall comments of dream analyst Joan has everyone in disbelief. Journo student Taylor says “I just can’t believe that you exist.” Helen goes for the big whiz bang but will she end up fizzling?
Ex-Royal marine Ray is used to high pressure situations but when it’s his turn to host, he is literally dripping in sweat. Dream weaver Joan is horrified saying “You can’t have a dinner party with someone with the sweats.” He gets such a ‘dab on’ he has to change his shirt. Adding to his guests’ nausea, his all-British menu features scallops and black pudding towers as an entree. There’s table tension when Paula and Helen laugh at a cockroach climbing the wall and Joan mistakenly thinks they are laughing at her and calls them ‘bimbos.’ The fact that Ray bought the meringues for his dessert doesn’t earn him extra points but will his outpouring of effort be worth it?
On her night, host dream analyst Joan, finally reveals to everyone what she does for a living. Helen isn’t impressed by Joan’s job or her most famous client, Princess Diana, claiming “I don’t dream” and that Joan must have “low self-esteem” to mention her royal connections. Joan serves salmon with creamed potatoes for her main and again, Helen sees a negative saying it is raw. The table laughs hysterically when Ray recites the lyrics of an iconic Beatles song pretending he dreamt it. Can Joan still pull out a good score, or is that a pipe dream?
Firefighter Paula is the quiet one of the group and everyone hopes that on her night she’ll finally come out of her shell. Paula’s pork and crackling main makes the usually critical Helen rave, “About time I got fed a decent meal.” But as much as her food is appreciated, the mood at the table is flat with Ray describing it as ‘morbid.’ Things liven up when journo student Taylor accuses Helen of being two-faced by denying she has ever said anything negative about Joan. Paula’s dessert of miniature rosewater pavlovas go down a treat but will she lose points because of the lacklustre atmosphere?
On the final night, 18 year-old journo student Taylor, has a retro 50’s rock n’ roll theme. In the messiest prep in Come Dine With Me Australia history, he almost falls apart, and literally uses string and sticky tape to keep various kitchen appliances together. In another first, he uses his fist as a meat tenderizer. The ever-critical Helen seems determined to find something negative about every aspect of Taylor’s night. He offers to heat up his entrée of vichyssoise soup but she declines then complains about it being cold. Used to Helen’s constant criticisms by now Taylor is determined to enjoy his night regardless. He finishes the night with warm sticky date pudding but how will he finish in the final scores?
Sports mad Jesse is the first of the cosmopolitan city chefs to play host. Jesse’s game plan is a laid back barbeque at the home he calls ‘Hotel Hibiscus’. But it comes a little unstuck when guest Kyoko says his beer “tastes like wee wees” and adman David and fashionista Jane find incriminating reading material during the bedroom snoop. Dirt biking mum Sharon thinks chatterbox Jane is a bit “fancy”. When it comes to the food Jesse’s risotto is a bit too “Australian” for Jane but almost everyone enjoys dessert. And the icing on the dessert cake is a song sung by Jesse about his daughter. It helps the Hotel Hibiscus host win Jane’s heart and score points,
Tonight’s host is dirt bike loving Sharon. Sharon calls herself a “yummy scrummy mummy” but it’s the yumminess of her food that is questioned at the dinner. Kyoko is worried Sharon’s Cajun chicken strips will smell like smelly armpits. Sharon gets flustered in the kitchen and Jesse thinks she doesn’t do many dinner parties. Smooth adman David says her cocktails taste like lukewarm perfume, while Sharon’s main is tough and her dessert sloppy. She hopes she can win some points back with a get-to-know-each-other party game.
Host Kyoko divides the group when she puts on a traditional Japanese menu. The kimono clad guests are a little scared when Kyoko greets them with a board breaking karate demonstration. But it’s nothing like the shock BBQ loving Jesse and Sharon have when confronted with dried squid and seaweed dishes. David and Jane can’t get enough of Kyoko’s exotic dishes and David declares her traditional food faultless. Being squeezed into a tiny dinner table has Jesse saying he feels like an elephant on a penny farthing bicycle and the too close closeness makes David feel he’s on a family holiday in a caravan. Jesse has a clash with David about wine knowledge but it’s the sake that Jesse hates; “you can have it warm, you can have it cold, it’s crap.” Only the scores will tell if Kyoko has been too adventurous with her menu.
Confident adman David puts on his chefs jacket to cook up a fine dining menu. He doesn’t think having a nice home is an advantage in the competition but his guests are gob smacked by David’s designer home. And they’re in awe of his food. Kyoko declares the entrée better than sex but Jesse struggles with the seafood. Italian loving Jane can’t stop gushing about the dishes and almost swoons over David’s roast potatoes. She also loves his outdoor entertainment, a gypsy jazz violin duo that gets everyone dancing. David thinks he has put on a winning night, but will he get the points he thinks he deserves?
What else would Italian loving Jane put on but an Italian themed night - from the food, to the drink, to her latest Versace designed dress! So the Italian menu is not a surprise, but David is worried there’s “too much protein”. Jane’s prep happens in record time thanks to help from her beloved “Bimbi” kitchen device. Sharon arrives with a gift for Jane, who says she’s got a “better one in the other room”, which annoys Sharon. As the foodie divide opens up again across the dinner table, Kyoko amuses with her kookiness, and Sharon inspires an admission from Jesse after she tells everyone about her boob job. So will “Italianista” Jane prove to be the hostess with the mostess and take the points to win the $2,000 prize?
Self-described ‘belle of the ball’ Dominic, aka Dom, kicks off the week of dinner parties with an all-Indian menu. He opens the door to a lively bunch and quickly discovers there are three Leo’s in the group! Tradie Tom upsets the female guests almost immediately with his constant swearing. Dom too is wary and tells Tom he doesn’t have any hard liquor in the house when the tradie asks to do shots. The three curries Dom serves for the main appear to go down well, and there’s also plenty of spicy conversation at the table thanks to certified accountant Michelle who tells stories about her online dominatrix character. Tom continues to swear and trainee stylist Yolanda fires up at him. Dom tries to smooth things over, but will it be enough to get a good score?
Michelle may be an accountant by day, but is a historical re-enactor in her spare time and plans to share her passion with a medieval feast. She greets her stunned guests in full medieval garb and serves up her first unpronounceable fourteenth century dish of mortrews & chese. Digging into their main with unwieldy medieval cutlery Tom declares her dried out chicken “was like some sort of weapon.” Michelle’s partner and son stage a re-enactment that turns scarily real. Michelle makes the mistake of serving Tom vodka shots half way through the night and his self-proclaimed “evil twin” comes out insulting Dom over dessert. Dom leaves the room and the night comes to an abrupt end. Michelle put in a mighty medieval effort but will it be enough?
Trainee personal stylist Yolanda serves a big, fat Greek feast. The atmosphere is tense when Tom arrives but when he asks for water instead of alcohol everyone relaxes. Dom who has never enjoyed cheese in his life adores the saganiki in Yolanda’s mezethes platter. He also says her moussaka is “one of the best moussakas I've ever eaten.” With Tom being quiet tonight, Michelle steps in with more stories of her colourful internet dating past. The old Tom resurfaces again when he shows everyone a photograph of his mum and her new boob job. As Greek coffee is served the conversation turns spiritual. Yolanda tries to read the grounds in the coffee – will it reveal her final score?
Tradie Tom’s mum watches over him as he prepares for his night, determined to make sure he is a good boy. When everyone is gathered on the balcony Tom apologises to the group for his behaviour at the beginning of the week. Trying to keep the good vibes going he has a surprise, a caricaturist has come to sketch everyone. Medieval Michelle enjoys Tom’s main of rib eye fillet so much she wants to gnaw on the bone. Tom manages to be on his best behaviour up until dessert when he confesses he bought his apple strudel from a restaurant. Even though Yolanda finds Tom’s charm ‘fake’, has he redeemed himself enough to do well in the scoring?
On the final night marriage celebrant Deb, aka Mrs Sparkle, hosts. With her home polished to a high shine Deb welcomes her guests with a starter nibble plate. Perhaps sensing he’s running out of time, Tom is determined to make Yolanda like him. He tells her “this is the real me” however Yolanda is still not convinced. As everyone tucks into Deb’s beef wellington Tom tries to impress Yolanda by telling her how he got food poisoning from shellfish contaminated with sewerage. Dom raves that Deb is serving restaurant quality food. When Deb serves up her sticky date pudding Michelle has an overwhelming urge to lick her plate clean. Will Deb clean up in the final scores – time to roll out the scroll and find out!
Competitive rock chick Megan kicks off the week of dinner parties with an all-Asian menu. A lack of beer upsets Harley loving guest Mark. But flirty Mark is soon distracted by giggly mum-of-four Kate. Foodie Karen is annoyed that Megan didn’t make her own pancakes. After party loving David announces he is “heterosexual to the waist”, Mark reveals he hasn’t worn underwear since he was 15. At the end of the night Megan’s happy with her food but will the others give her the scores she’s after?
Party loving host David takes a devil-may-care approach in the kitchen. He adds a secret ingredient to his beef curry - chocolate Freddo Frogs. His guests are shocked to be greeted by David’s glamorous kitchen helper, Sheila Blige. But it’s David’s chocolate curry that produces the biggest shocks of the night. Afterwards Karen feels queasy and Mark wants to throw up. He bluntly tells David he’s had enough of his cooking. The dinner has been a disaster but an entertaining one and good natured David takes Mark’s criticism on the chin.
Karen’s night gets off to a bad start when bad boy guest Mark throws her hors d’oeuvres off the balcony. She soon puts him in his place and Mark turns his attention back to yummy mummy Kate. There’s table tension between competitive Megan and devil-may-care David. She jokingly calls him a bitchy queen at the table and afterwards David confides that she is a cold fish. Karen impresses everyone with individualised pastry Beef Wellingtons for each guest. But things slide downhill when her dessert melts before it reaches the table. Her night of fine dining is left hanging in the balance with the scores.
Giggly host Kate thinks she’s on a winner hiring animal costumes for each guest. However her guests are less than impressed with the idea. Mark turns up dressed as a giant chicken on his Harley and Megan refuses to wear her bumble bee costume. Only Pink Panther David seems to get into the spirit of the evening. It’s Kate’s revealing tiger costume that gets most of the attention, at least from Mark and David. A pre-preparation confession from Kate annoys Megan who calls it cheating. Things only get worse for Kate when Karen finds an unwanted ingredient in her main. However it’s being left out of the group that really upsets quiet Karen, who breaks down in tears. Can dessert and a game of cards help Kate salvage her night?
Final host Mark has bagged everyone’s food all week and the others are out for revenge. But the group’s resident bad boy has a simple strategy to win. Get everyone so drunk they won’t care what his food tastes like. Mark really pours on the drinks, and provides some family rock band entertainment. His menu goes down well, with a very competitive Mark doing a hard sell at the table. But he also tries to pull the wool over their eyes, passing off store bought food as homemade. His little white lies start to add up. Is everyone too merry to notice or will he get his just desserts?
