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Meet the new MKR teams: Ladylike cops, a mum and son, and a "cougar" and her boyfriend.

 

The ratings period is about to begin again, which means the networks are bringing out their big guns.

Last night, Channel Seven held the Sydney launch party of My Kitchen Rules, airing from February 7, and this year execs are confident they’ve got another blockbuster season on their hands with 12 new teams.

Let’s meet them.

Anna, 55, and Jordan, 23

A mother-and-son duo from Western Australia, they’re used to cooking Italian and and Maltese meals for their big family. Anna does not like hot dogs.

Anna and Jordan: mother and son.

Alex, 25, and Gareth, 25

These two are best mates from Queensland. and they both work fly-in fly-out mining jobs in Mackay. They want to eventually open their own restaurant. Gareth got into cooking when he “found out about girls”.

Alex and Gareth: like girls and food.

Cheryl, 50, and Matt, 26

Cheryl and Matt are a Queensland couple who have been dating for 18 months, which means Channel Seven is throwing around the “cougar” word with abandon. They’re “100 per cent in sync” in the kitchen.

Cheryl and Matt: dating.

 

Gianni, 27, and Zana, 24

Lawyers and newlyweds, Gianni and Zana are all about traditional Montenegrin food (Zana’s of Montenegrin heritage, Gianni’s of Italian). They love cars.

Gianni and Zana: lawyer cooks.

Jessica, 30, and Marcos, 29

A childhood friendship was reignited over Facebook when Jessica and Marcos discovered they both liked the same things: choosing brown rice over white and vegan cheesecakes. They too are into cars.

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Jessica and Marcos: childhood friends; very healthy.

JP, 30, and Nelly, 25

They sound like a rap duo but actually, they’re couple from Queensland. JP’s the son of a French chef and Nelly is “tea-obsessed”. He licks her face and she thinks he’s a terrible driver.

JP and Nelly: not a rap duo.

Luciano, 49, and Martino, 48

Martino moved to Australia 11 years ago and met Luciano at the Mardi Gras in Sydney. They’ve been cooking Italian food together ever since. Martino wants everyone to know there are at least 20 types of lasagne; Luciano sings when he does something wrong.

Martino and Luciano: longtime friends and lover of Italian food.

Mitch, 21, and Laura, 19

These two both have curly hair and love dinner parties, which makes sense because they’re siblings. They raised a pig, ducks and chickens on their Mornington Peninsula property and slaughtered them for her 18th birthday. They are “mature beyond their years”.

Mitch and Laura: curly-haired siblings.

Monique, 33, and Sarah, 26

Colleagues Monique and Sarah are cops in NSW’s Mount Druitt. They’d only been working together three months when they applied for MKR. They bonded over their “femininities and our beautiful smells” in a stinky male-dominated workplace. They intend to “uphold the law” throughout their MKR experience.

Monique and Sarah: cops and food-lovers.

Nev, 48, and Kell, 44

WA couple Nev, a control room attendant, and Kell, a cleaner, spend weekends cooking. He thinks it’s “the duck’s nuts” to be on MKR and that Kell is “the shoelace” that holds their team together.

Nev and Kell: MKR is the “duck’s nuts”.

Rosie, 37, and Paige, 34

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Paige and Rosie met through a friend, though Paige thought Rosie was “an interloper” and “just sat on the couch like a mute”. They are now friends, apparently. Rosie is not competitive; Paige is.

Rosie and Paige: probably friends.

Tasia, 26, and Gracia, 24

Sisters Tasia and Gracia grew up in Indonesia, India and Australia. They have rice on the table every night but they can’t cook it without a rice cooker. They want to “take the food journey” and open a dessert bar. With savoury foods in it.

Tasia and Gracia: Sister with rhyming names.

This marks the seventh year chefs Manu Fieldel and Pete Evans have worked on the series together.

“We have a ball,” Evans told the Mail Online. “There’s no one else I would rather work with for six months of my life.”

Feildel agreed: “It’s a perfect thing for six months of the year, then I can’t stand you after six months, but then I don’t see you for six months!”

Feildel recently adopted “Paleo Pete” Evans’ eating regimen in an effort to defend his colleague’s evangelical diet plan.

“I’ve stopped now but I’ve kept some of the philosophy of it and I’ve been going to the gym and I feel better and younger,” he told the Daily Telegraph.

Inspired by Evans, competitor Monique has also adopted the paleo way, which must be a welcome relief for Evans.

We always wondered what he did with all that cheesecake, all those pastries. A spittoon?

The show premieres February 1 on Channel 7.