MKR’s Ibby and Romel could not cook ahead of the competition

My Kitchen Rules finalists Ibby and Romel barely knew each other before the competition — and neither of them could cook. But that strategy seemed to have worked for them as the Sydney pair take on the 10th anniversary grand final of the reality show.

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They are one of two teams to make it to tomorrow night’s My Kitchen Rules grand final but Ibby Moubadder and Romel Kouyan have revealed exclusively to BW Magazine that they barely knew each other going into the competition — and neither of them could cook.

So at the end of each day’s filming, the unlikely pair, who scored more perfect 10s from judges Manu Feildel and Pete Evans than any other team this season, could be found back in their hotel kitchen, learning and practising new skills.

The Sydney businessmen took a strategic approach, even giving themselves roles to play: Kouyan, 42, who runs a model management business and photographic studio, embraced all of the drama and controversy at the dinner table, while Moubadder, 30, who owns two cafes and a restaurant, focused more on his kitchen skills.

Ibby Moubadder and Romel Kouyan made it to the MKR grand final despite not having much cooking experience. Picture: Richard Dobson

While he had no professional cooking experience, which he repeatedly had to profess early in the show, Moubadder claims a good knowledge of food in terms of flavours and ingredients, just not of cooking. But his lack of skill was unexpected for his teammate.

Despite knowing each other over many years, they were not close friends before MKR.

“When we got on the show I honestly thought he could cook,” Kouyan tells BW Magazine of his teammate.

“I remember the conversation clearly, I said ‘So, you can cook, right?’ and he was like ‘Bro, I don’t know how to cook!’ and I was like ‘Are you kidding me, so what are we going to do?’

“What Ibby and I did is that while everyone was out partying I can genuinely tell you we were in our kitchen practising our arses off.”

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Moubadder adds: “We split the tasks, I said to Romel, I’ll work on protein, you work on pastry, bread and pasta. And he mastered it, he was so good by the end of it. Wait until you see the grand final.”

The pair face off against Newcastle cricket buddies Matt Gawthrop and Luke Stewart, who also had a strong strategy for the competition. They, too, were practising their skills in their rooms — sometimes cooking the same dish up to 20 or more times.

“The number one thing for us was the amount of work we put in when we were in the hotel room,” 29-year-old primary school teacher Stewart says.

“We were generally in an apartment or hotel with a kitchen, so we had pots and pans in our suitcases and travelled around with kitchen equipment.”

Cricket mates Matt Gawthrop and Luke Stewart cooked their way into the MKR grand final. Picture: David Swift

While he and Gawthrop steered clear of much of the drama around the table, there were a few times they called cut on the barbs being thrown around.

“There was one night … one team made a comment that was about mental health toward another contestant and he was really derogatory about it,” Stewart recalls.

“I basically stepped in and said ‘mental health is one of those things where you just don’t kick a man while he’s down and he’s obviously not feeling great so why would you drive the knife in?’

“I’m a teacher and we teach kids that if you walk past it, you accept it and I don’t accept people being derogatory about people’s health, particularly mental health, which is something that a lot of people, particularly men, deal with internally.”

But Moubadder and Kouyan dealt with their own fair share of drama at the table, including early clashes with the home-schooled brothers Josh and Austin Bonwick, who now remain friends.

“It was never personal at the table. It may have looked that way for the cameras but we respect each other,” Moubadder says.

Despite the on-air controversy with Josh and Austin, Ibby and Romel said they get on well with the brothers.

“Josh was saying we should go snorkelling and spear fishing together because he likes to do that and I like that as well,” Kouyan adds.

“Everything that came out of their mouth I found quite comical. They were after airplay but I don’t mind a bit of controversy, a bit of drama, and I gave every bit as well as I got.”

But in the kitchen, Moubadder and Kouyan admit a lot of the tension there came from barely knowing each other before filming began.

“We went on the show saying we’d known each other for years — we didn’t lie, we’d just never hung out,” Kouyan says.

“So we actually got to know each other on the show.”

Moubadder adds: “I saw him maybe once every four years.”

While they are firm friends today, the initial lack of a strong friendship base at times threatened to destroy their experience.

“Twice, I was going to walk out,” Moubadder says.

“I remember one fight we had, I was reading my contract to see how I could get out of the show. It was after we voted strategically and I said to Romel, ‘Let’s leave and bring Anne and Jennifer back’ but Romel was ‘Nah!’

“I brought my business partner George to our hotel room because he didn’t take sides and I wanted an honest opinion. I’d had enough of the drama and I said to Romel, ‘I’m out.’

“But George said you have to think about Romel, it’s not just about you. And then we met group two (in the show) and we kind of made up and things changed and I was
OK.”

MKR judges Manu Feildel, Pete Evans and Colin Fassnidge.

Kouyan adds: “Honestly the entire show was an emotional rollercoaster. we were good, we were bad, we were good … in (one show) where you see me breaking down, it was just a lot of build-up of being tired, overworked, no sleep.”

Their lack of friendship at the start also helped them approach the show in a businesslike way.

“We played on each other’s strengths. I didn’t cook but I knew flavours and obviously I’m a good manager,” Moubadder says.

“Romel’s brain is also very business focused but he had the personality that gave us the spotlight in terms of the drama and fun that is associated with MKR, which is 50 per cent or more of the show.”

Kouyan nods in agreement: “Ibby carried us as far as the food and the cooking went. He had more food knowledge and I was cool with that because I was thinking of the end game.

“It was never going to be about who was chopping up more vegetables. It was about how we utilised what we had to get as far as we could in the show.

“Ibby’s strengths were in the kitchen and I was stronger at the table, bringing drama, bringing laughter.”

* My Kitchen Rules, 8pm Sunday on Seven