The My Kitchen Rules experience was a lesson in communication for local contestants Monique and Henry Heke.
Still, the couple who have been together 18 years and married for 13, can't get their story straight on who made the first move to sign up for the show.
If you listen to Henry they went to the Farmers Market in Hastings one Sunday when the MKR crew were scouting out talent for a "battle of the regions" series.
"Friends of ours and family were there and they said 'You should sign up'," he starts.
"No," Monique interrupts, "it's totally Henry, I had said to him 'There's MKR' - I had seen on Facebook that they were coming, the next thing he went over for a chit-chat, one minute later I was over there, too."
Fortunately, their approach to cooking is more cohesive - being able to anticipate each other's every move and making split second decisions with only eye contact certainly came in handy on set.
The duo are no strangers to the kitchen, having grown up in large families - and are known for their love of entertaining.
Henry, whose mother was a cook by trade, was also a driving force behind Kai in the Bay Maori and Wild Food Festival that sought to get people talking about health problems such as diabetes.
"We are used to cooking for the masses, we have always naturally done it - we are that couple that likes to have people around, if ever there is a potluck or meeting it's at our house," he says.
They join the first group on My Kitchen Rules New Zealand for season two - this time around producers ask the country to get behind their favourite region from the first episode on October 12.
The Hekes lead a busy life based in Hastings with their two daughters aged 8 and 4 - they both work for a government department and Henry also runs a crossfit gym where they both work out regularly.
Their instant restaurant was hosted in Hawke's Bay and inspired by Monique's late grandfather using local produce from Aunty's Garden at Waipatu Marae.
For them, whanau comes first and the glue holding that together is food. Their cooking style is "relaxed" and both know their roles - Henry is most at home in front of the BBQ or smoking fish, al fresco, while his wife takes care of dessert and salads.
They are so well known for their signature recipes that a family member compiled them into a book and gifted it to them for Christmas.
"Monique is great with roasting and baking - we have different strengths we just fit in with each other's ability," Henry adds.
-My Kitchen Rules will air Mondays and Tuesdays at 7.30pm on TV2.