With 13 kids between them, Bogan Besties June Lyall (third from left) and Steph Usmar (far right) from Hawke’s Bay and Modern Day Hippies Belinda MacDonald (second from left) and Neena Truscott (far left) from Cambridge had a point to prove when they entered My Kitchen Rules New Zealand.
Leaving their babies with partners, family and friends, the teams had their eyes on the big prize from the outset and planned to empower their children to do the same – as well as show that mums can do anything!
“We feel a little bit selfish about being here, because it’s all about us at the moment,” says mother-of-five June.
“Yeah, there’s a bit of guilt,” agrees Steph, who’s mum to two kids. “Especially towards the husbands who have been left with the daily grind! But you have to teach your kids to take opportunities when they come. That’s what our friends have said – that we have balls to even apply for the show!”
For Belinda and Neena, who each have three daughters, appearing on MKR is a chance to fulfil their cooking dreams, but more importantly, it’s about encouraging their girls to build their own dreams. “We want to inspire them,” Neena says. “And to make sure they’re not scared about giving things a go.”
It took some pushing by their significant others and families, as well as a lot of forward planning and delegating to their support teams back home, but all four women say now they’re here, it’s game on – even if in the back of their minds they are still thinking about school runs, sports games and science fairs.
And they even believe they have a sneaky advantage over some of the other TV One MKR contestants. “Mums are pretty good at multitasking!” laughs Belinda. “So hopefully we can use that in the kitchen.”
“Men, they just don’t think, do they?” June says with a grin.
Although they’ve all got the responsiblity of children at home, that’s where the similarities between the vivacious self-described bogans and the methodical earth mothers end.
While June and Steph have chosen a slightly wacky medieval-themed instant restaurant, with a centrepiece that’s bound to raise eyebrows – “We didn’t come into this competition to be boring!” Steph laughs, Belinda and Neena are trying to “bridge the gap between ancestral living and where we are now”.
“A lot of our food has medicinal properties,” explains Belinda. “We’re trying to showcase different ingredients. Our restaurant is called Dandelion – the healing weed.”
And while they’ve got very different approaches, all four have one clear message: don’t underestimate the mums!
