While other kids might remember their favourite food smells being chocolate chip cookies baking or the waft of a roast chicken, Waikato sisters Emma Driver and Abbie Broome joke that they’re instantly transported back to their childhood with the pungent smells of blue cheese and shrimp paste.
It’s all thanks to their “foodie” dad Paul, who loved experimenting in the kitchen – and other rooms in the house for that matter!
“He was a photographer, so we had a dark room downstairs, but when he went through a phase of making blue cheese, it became a cheese room, and it stored boxes and boxes of mouldy cheese in it,” laughs Abbie, 26.
“And that wasn’t the only thing that stunk the house out for hours,” adds older sister Emma, 36.
“Dad would make ox tongue or brawn [meat jelly made with the flesh of a boiled pig’s head]. Or he’d make a beautiful nasi goreng with shrimp paste, and we’d all go and hide in our bedrooms when that was cooking.
“Even now when we do family dinners, we’ll take a peek in our parents’ fridge and there’ll be something weird of Dad’s festering in there like a plate of pig’s trotters or a four-litre tub of jalapeños.
“Unfortunately, he suffered a stroke a few years ago and since then, his cooking hasn’t been quite the same.”
But the sisters agree it’s where they got their love for exotic flavours and cuisines from, which earned them a spot on popular cooking show MKR New Zealand.
Being the second eldest and youngest of five siblings, Emma and Abbie were the ones most often in their “rustic” family kitchen – “our oven needed to have a little DIY thing that made it shut properly!” – which was the heart of their home in Hamilton.
They say mum Judith was also a great cook, but she preferred teaching her daughters the “meat and three veg” kind of meals.
“Growing up, our parents were also pretty strict about what we were allowed to watch on TV,” shares Abbie. “So we used to watch cooking shows together on repeat, including MKR, MasterChef and The Naked Chef with Jamie Oliver. We just never dreamed we’d be in one!”
Another sister, Annie encouraged the pair to apply to the reality series. Despite their busy lifestyles, Abbie was surprised that Whangamatā-based Emma agreed to go on MKR with her.
“I’m a primary teacher and mum of two young boys – Alfie, seven and Frankie, four – and my husband is a policeman, so it was a very big juggle to pull it off,” admits Emma.
“Once we got accepted, it got real pretty quickly. And suddenly it was, ‘Wow, we’re actually going to have to cook on national TV.’”
With their 10-year age gap, they concede Abbie, who is an administrator for a gas company, took the role of head chef in their instant restaurant and there was no kitchen rivalry.
“I said from the beginning that I was going to be the boss in the kitchen, even though Emma whined to me, ‘No you’re not!’” she teases.
“I genuinely couldn’t have done this experience with anybody else. Emma and I got on so well. Despite bickering a lot – but we can get past it quickly and move on.”
Adds Emma, “Being sisters, you don’t have to watch what you say. The other one’s not going to take it personally. I probably wouldn’t be able to throw out such flippant comments to my husband!
“And I was actually so proud of how onto it Abbie is. She led our team because I had this major case of imposter syndrome – the thought that we weren’t good enough to be there. But Abbie was like, ‘Why can’t we win?’”
Both say the “amazing” two-month experience on the show has undoubtedly strengthened their bond.
“When we finished filming, I missed Abbie so much,” laments Emma. “It was so weird being apart, especially as we don’t live in the same city any more.
“The highlight of MKR for me was just being with Abbie. Because I’m so much older, I had already grown up and moved out of home while she was still young.
“So it was amazing to be able to have that condensed, quality time together and get to know Abbie as an adult woman, rather than just meeting up to get our nails done.”
Agrees Abbie, “We probably never will spend that amount of quality time together, just the two of us, because when we end up hanging out, everyone else is there! Our bond is so strong now.”
Quick fire questions with MKR contestants Emma and Abbie
What’s your signature dish?
Abbie: Pork and prawn dumplings with a good chilli sauce. I think I’ve aced those and we do cook them on the show.
Why did you call the name of your instant restaurant Number Five?
Emma: Our family home for 35 years was at number five, so what better place to replicate? The house got demolished, but Abbie now lives in a new-build townhouse on the same property.
How will you spend the $100,000 prize money if you win?
Abbie: Becoming professional chefs or opening our own restaurant is not a dream for us.
Emma: I’d probably use the money for house renos.
Did you use any family recipes on the show?
Abbie: Yes! One of the dishes we cooked was such a core memory from our childhood. It was a lamb and lentil curry that Dad used to make, and it’s our most favourite curry ever. Cooking that was very special.
MKR New Zealand screens 7.30pm Tuesdays and Wednesdays on TVNZ 2 and TVNZ+.