My Kitchen Rules contestant Jacinta has caused a stir from the very first Instant Restaurant by announcing that she doesn’t eat meat. The other contestants, especially Michael, aka “the Meat Master”, are finding that hard to accept.

Mel and Jacinta MKR 2025
Credit: Channel 7

But Jacinta, a nutritionist, who’s competing on the show with her cousin Mel, says there’s a reason she’s not eating meat at any of the Instant Restaurants.
Michael (with partner Rielli) is the self declared ‘meat master’ of this season (Credit: Channel 7)
“My personal reason I don’t eat meat is because it doesn’t really react well with my body,” she tells TV WEEK. “I get reactions and it does actually affect how I feel and I get inflammation and it affects my skin.

“I just really didn’t want to compromise my health.”

As for Mel, she also has reactions to certain foods. She doesn’t normally eat gluten, but did when she was filming the show.

“I just managed my symptoms,” she explains to TV WEEK. “I did experience some reactions outside of the restaurants, but they were minimised by the different types of supplements and medications I brought along the road with me.”
Mel and Jacinta are this season’s ‘feisty cousins’ (Credit: Channel 7)
Jacinta says she didn’t think it would be a big deal that she wasn’t eating meat.

“We’re living in the 21st century. There are so many people who have preferences, or choices that they make with what they eat.”

She says she thought it would lead to conversations around the dinner table: “‘Well, I actually don’t eat this and my mum doesn’t eat this…’ These days, we’re more educated, where everybody understands their bodies a lot more because there’s a lot of information out there and people are looking after their health and they’re realising what does help them to thrive and what doesn’t help them to thrive.

“I thought it would have been a real table conversation, rather than just having everybody not be very happy with my choices.”

Judge Colin Fassnidge spoke to TV Week about the drama. “That’s modern life, really,” Colin says. “Not everyone eats meat and throwing that into the mix was good to see how people manage it – or didn’t, in this case. And, if you think, you’ve seen it all, get ready – it all goes up 100 per cent.”