The South Australian best friends returned to My Kitchen Rules with 68 points to beat from their first, pudding-troubled Instant Restaurant. Their Adelaide comeback offered tuna tartare, birria tacos and apple tart with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream.

Krysten and Lucy were leading round two on 92, followed by Harrison and Oliver's 82-point dinner and Sheridan and Ted on 69. There was plenty of room to climb, and the hosts weren't short on confidence.

“Not only do Dee and I look like tens, but we also can serve up tens,” Alisha joked.

Too Much Mustard, Not Enough Balance

The entrée ran into trouble when Deanne added too much Dijon mustard to the mayonnaise. Making another batch and combining the two was supposed to soften the hit, but the finished sauce still overpowered the tuna.

Colin Fassnidge admired the neatly cut fish. Manu Feildel wanted the components to work together better, and both judges awarded five out of 10. Good knife work could only carry the plate so far.

Colin's kitchen visit also brought some extra pressure for a team with a previous clash with the judge behind them. The friends had wanted a more focused cook this time, but confidence was proving harder to maintain once service began.

The Tacos Can't Quite Deliver A Comeback

Beef-and-cheese birria tacos gave the hosts a lift with their guests. Even Simon thought the main was an improvement on their first dinner.

The judges still wanted more: thinner, crisper tortillas and a fuller flavour. Colin suggested reducing the stock to concentrate the sauce, while Manu acknowledged the work involved.

Manu gave six and Colin seven. Alisha, who believed the dish deserved a ten, was left tearful and frustrated. The tacos had improved their position, but they hadn't delivered the big score she expected.

The Tart Takes Them Down

Dessert needed to land. The pastry had other ideas.

When it crumbled during preparation, Alisha and Deanne pressed it into the tin and carried on. The result was a thick, undercooked base with apples that also needed more cooking.

The caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream earned praise, but neither could fix the tart itself. Manu awarded three and Colin four, leaving dessert with just seven out of 20.

After all the hope of improving on their first cook, their lowest-scoring course had arrived right at the finish.

Simon Won't Offer An Apology

The dining table had its own unfinished business, with Angus and Simon's rivalry with Zoe and Zac continuing.

Simon called Zoe “the weakest link at the table”. She challenged the remark as disrespectful and asked him to apologise. He refused, then accused her of being phoney.

So much for settling things over dinner. With both teams still waiting to host, this argument had plenty of competition left to run alongside it.

54 Points And Another Nervous Wait

The judges' 30 out of 60 and the guest teams' 24 out of 50 left Alisha and Deanne on 54 out of 110. That was 14 points below their first attempt and 15 below Sheridan and Ted, whose safety was now secured.

Deanne joked about getting a pillow and blanket for their familiar place at the bottom. But this wasn't an elimination: Angus and Simon, then Zoe and Zac, still had to cook.

Colin reminded the friends that they had survived from this position before. For now, they needed someone else's dinner to go worse. Angus and Simon were next to exchange the comfort of judging for the pressure of hosting.

My Kitchen Rules continues tonight at 7.30pm on Seven and 7plus.