The infamous pigeon dish may have sent Jane and Shane packing, but it seems the story was not quite finished. As the My Kitchen Rules contestants reunited for the Grand Finale, Alisha and Deanne revealed a cheeky exchange with Jane that viewers have yet to see — and one unexpected answer brought their earlier clash over food presentation straight back into focus.

The Pigeon That Refused to Be Forgotten

For Alisha and Deanne, there is one moment from this season of My Kitchen Rules that will be difficult to forget: Jane and Shane’s disastrous pigeon main course.

The South Australian best friends had been on the receiving end of Jane’s pointed opinions during the competition, particularly when their colourful plates became the centre of a controversy now known as “plate gate”.

So when Jane and Shane finally hosted their own Instant Restaurant, expectations were high. The couple had spent much of the competition setting demanding standards for their fellow contestants, but their own dinner service did not go to plan.

Their pigeon was overcooked and dry, with its presentation adding to the disappointment. The meal ultimately contributed to their elimination in the first week of the competition.

But while viewers watched the dramatic dinner unfold on screen, there was apparently one more exchange waiting to emerge.

Speaking exclusively to WHO, Alisha and Deanne revealed what happened when the contestants came together again for the Grand Finale — and how the conversation returned to the dish that had ended Jane and Shane’s run.

‘Did You Just Leave Shane to Plate That?’

When the contestants reunited, Alisha and Deanne decided to ask Jane a question that had apparently stayed with them since the failed dinner.

They wanted to know who had actually plated the ill-fated pigeon.

“I think we had a conversation with Jane later, you know, when we all came back for the Grand Finale and stuff, and asked her, ‘Did you just leave Shane to plate that’?” the pair recalled.

Their question was understandable given how much importance Jane had placed on presentation throughout the competition.

As a food stylist, Jane had been particularly vocal about the appearance of dishes, and her response to Alisha and Deanne’s colourful tableware had made their Instant Restaurant one of the season’s early talking points.

But Jane’s answer was not what the best friends expected.

Jane’s Unexpected Answer Set Up a Cheeky Comeback

According to Alisha and Deanne, Jane told them that she had been responsible for plating the pigeon herself.

The revelation prompted a blunt reaction from one of the women.

“And she said to us, ‘No, that was her plating’. I thought, ‘Oh my, no way. We’re judging everyone just for it to come out looking like utter crap!’”

For Alisha and Deanne, the admission made the situation even more memorable. They had already been surprised by the appearance of the dish, but learning that Jane herself had plated it gave them another reason to revisit the moment.

Then came the cheeky remark that brought their earlier disagreement full circle.

“Maybe you should have used our plates, doll,” they said.

It was a playful but pointed reference to the colourful plates that Jane had previously criticised during their Instant Restaurant.

The comment was a reminder that, although the initial competition had ended, the contestants had not entirely forgotten the moments that defined their relationships around the dinner table.

The Plate Controversy That Started It All

To understand why the exchange was so pointed, it helps to look back at the original clash.

During Alisha and Deanne’s Instant Restaurant, the pair served their dishes on colourful melamine plates as part of their deliberately playful “Hot Mess” theme.

Jane, whose professional background is in food styling, was unimpressed. She argued that the plates detracted from the presentation of what she believed could otherwise have been beautifully presented food.

Her assessment quickly became a talking point, with the disagreement highlighting the difference between Jane’s emphasis on polished presentation and Alisha and Deanne’s more relaxed approach.

The best friends were taken aback by how strongly their tableware became an issue. In later interviews, they explained that the colourful plates were an intentional part of their theme, rather than an attempt to disregard presentation.

The dispute helped establish the tension between the two teams early in the competition.

When Jane and Shane subsequently struggled with their own main course, the contrast was difficult for Alisha and Deanne to ignore.

The pair’s later remark about using their plates was therefore more than a random joke. It revisited a disagreement that had become one of the defining moments of their time on the show.

A Reunion That Brought One Unfinished Story Back to Life

Although Jane and Shane’s elimination appeared to bring their competition journey to an end, the reunion offered Alisha and Deanne an opportunity to revisit what had happened.

Their account to WHO suggests the interaction was cheeky rather than a major confrontation. Still, the exchange shows that the earlier disagreement had left a lasting impression.

The Grand Finale reunion also gave the contestants an opportunity to see one another again outside the pressure of their original dinner services.

For Alisha and Deanne, however, the pigeon remained an irresistible subject.

The episode had become closely associated with the moment their rivals failed to deliver the standard they had appeared to expect from everyone else. Asking Jane about the plating allowed them to revisit that moment directly — and her answer gave them the opening for one final quip.

The exchange has not yet been shown to viewers, according to WHO, making their recollection a glimpse into what happened away from the televised competition.

The Comment Viewers Have Yet to See

Alisha and Deanne’s latest revelation offers a small but revealing addition to a rivalry that helped shape the opening weeks of My Kitchen Rules.

Jane and Shane’s elimination was already a defining moment in the competition, but the conversation at the Grand Finale suggests that some of the story continued after the cameras stopped following the teams through their original challenges.

The best friends’ remark about the plates brought their earlier disagreement back into the conversation, while Jane’s answer offered an unexpected detail about who was responsible for the presentation of the pigeon.

It is not evidence of a new feud, nor does it suggest that the contestants had a major confrontation at the reunion. Rather, it was a cheeky exchange rooted in one of the season’s most memorable clashes.

And for viewers who followed the original “plate gate” controversy, it adds another layer to a story that began with colourful tableware and ended with a pigeon that few contestants appear likely to forget.

Jane and Shane may have left the competition, but their infamous pigeon is still serving up fresh talking points — and Alisha and Deanne’s latest revelation shows that, for these rivals, the story was not quite over when the final dish left the table.