‘I wouldn’t change it for the world’: SA’s MKR team Sonia and Marcus defend their portrayal on the show, reveal cookbook plans

The mum and son team said the reaction from some fans was enough to make them avoid social media comments altogether.

South Australia’s My Kitchen Rules team Marcus and Sonia Costanzo have rejected negative remarks regarding their on-screen portrayal.

The pair made it to the semi-finals of the hit Seven show and finished in third place.

With some viewers disliking the way Marcus spoke to his mother on screen, Sonia jumped to her son’s defence.

“I was really disappointed at some of comments that probably mums my age made, praising me but then denigrating Marcus,” she said.

“All he was trying to do is keep me on track, because when Colin or Manu walked in the room, or when Nigella came in, I have to admit I sort of drifted off with the pixies a little bit.”

Mother and son duo Marcus and Sonia Costanzo on My Kitchen Rules. Picture: Instagram/@marcus.costanzo

Marcus hard at work in his and Sonia’s kitchen during the first round. Picture: Instagram/@marcus.costanzo

Sonia said she didn’t find her son disrespectful and praised him for “keeping me going” when she felt “exhausted”.

Marcus said the second round of the show portrayed him better than the first, and he and his mum played more as a team on MKR rather than mother and son.

“The mother and son combo wasn’t mother and son, when it came to competing it was teammate one and teammate two, that’s how I treated it,” he said.

“Obviously that’s pretty hard to receive when you’re not there and you’re not under the stress and all you see is a son telling his mum what to do.

“Me and mum knew what we were and what we needed to do to get as far as we got and that was treat each other as equal teammates.”

Marcus and Sonia with MKR judges Manu Feildel and Colin Fassnidge. Picture: Instagram/@marcus.costanzo

Marcus said he “stopped reading the comments altogether” but he and Sonia were happy where they ended up in the show.

“You have to take the good with the bad, you can’t have everything positive and unicorns and rainbows,” Sonia said.

The front cover of Marcus Costanzo's self-made cookbook, to be released on October 8. Picture: Supplied

“It’s a full round experience, I wouldn’t change it for the world.

“Someone said to me the other day would we go back and do it again knowing what you know now. I said, ‘absolutely’.”

The future is looking bright for SA’s MKR stars, with Marcus launching his completely self-made cookbook this Sunday.

Marcus said the cookbook took 500 hours to complete and $15,000 to make, and will cost only $9.99 for people to buy.

“It’s about getting as many people excited to cook as possible and I know at a $10 price point, it’s accessible to everyone,” he said.

“I think this book is one of many and I’ve already started thinking about the next one.”

Sonia even made it into the book, with five dessert recipes penned by her.

Already known on TikTok for his beloved chicken parmi reviews, Marcus has assured that his local Adelaide content will continue.

“I’m still recognised on the street for being the parmi guy than the MKR guy,” he said.

From living her dream going on the show and cooking for Nigella, Sonia said she also wouldn’t say no to a cookbook deal and one day wants to host cooking classes of her own.

“I’ve got lots of recipes that are written ready to go,” she said.

“I just want to continue to teach, I’d love to teach on a smaller scale rather than in a large classroom environment, you know in people’s homes … adult classes for people who are shy to get in the kitchen.”