Larcé and Jabu’s hearty home-cooked dishes, fit for a family feast, warmed the hearts of the judges on this week’s episode of My Kitchen Rules SA but left their fellow contestants wanting more.

In spite of a few technical hitches, the third team delivered three flavourful courses that proudly displayed their heritage. A starter of brinjal stuffed with ground beef and served with charred peppers in a tomato sauce; a main course of usu (tripe) with pumpkin-stuffed dombolo, creamy spinach, and honey-glazed carrots, and dessert of amajikijolo ricotta cake with vanilla ice cream delivered flavour, but their premonition that strategic voting could come into play this week was realised when their fellow contestants didn’t give them much leeway.

David praised the authenticity of their starter but felt they could have done a better job, technically, with their brinjal undercooked and mince overcooked. J’Something was intimidated by the portion size but really enjoyed the tomato sauce. Jessica felt the dish was a bit oily, while Azraa called out the dry mince and Martin, the undercooked brinjal.

J’Something – having admitted that tripe wasn’t his favourite dish – told the ladies that if he were entering the competition, usu was the last thing he would put on the menu, but that they won him over. David was excited by the golden dombolo and was delighted that they’d put their technical issues behind them, delivering an excellent plate of food. Mark, though, felt that the usu had lost its scent amongst the spices and Mbali said the dombolo was closer to ujeqe.

David’s only quibble with the dessert was that the quenelle could have been neater, praising the crumb on the ricotta cake and the silkiness of the egg custard-based ice cream. J’Something called the dessert with "out of this world flavour", his favourite of the three desserts he’d had so far this season. Martin and Eddie agreed that the ice cream easily trumped theirs, while Mbali said the juices from the fruit – the much-vaunted amajikijolo – were a great addition to the dish.

Martin and Eddie, Azraa and Waven, and Mark and Mbali each scored the meal 6/10, while Jessica and Nicole scored 5, for a total of 23/40. The judges were more forgiving though – despite neither enjoying the starter – scoring the meal 45/60 (with matching 9s for the dessert) to give the besties a total of 68/100. That score placed them between Martin and Eddie on 69 and Azraa and Waven on 66, with Mark and Mbali stepping into the kitchen, next week.

My Kitchen Rules SA is produced by Picture Tree and proudly sponsored by Nederburg. The series is available on DStv Premium on M-Net (Channel 101) every Sunday at 18:00 from 4 September, as well as live-streamed on the DStv App, and is also available on DStv Catch Up after broadcast. Join the conversation on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, using #MKRSA.