TV, eh? | What's up in Canadian television | Page 293
TV,eh? What's up in Canadian television

MasterChef Canada: Tessa Virtue helps crown the Top 2

With the MasterChef Canada season finale airing next week, Monday’s episode featured the Top 3—Jennifer, Andre and Josh—battling it out for a chef’s jacket and the chance to pocket $100,000. To help out, Olympic Ice Dancer Tessa Virtue was on hand as a special guest (catch she and Scott Moir as guest judges on Battle of the Blades this fall).

Here’s what happened.

In the final Mystery Box challenge of the season, the cube was lifted on a MasterChef logo shrouded by fog. The theme of the challenge was Fire and Ice, meaning the concept had to be applied to Josh, Andre and Jennifer’s recipes. Chefs Alvin, Michael and Claudio and Tessa were looking for a wow factor in look and taste. Tessa was also interested in the story behind each dish.

Jennifer’s first thought was of her father and his favourite birthday food, bacon-wrapped scallops, which became the base of a recipe that included a rum and cola glaze and dulce ice cream pearls. Josh went for a duck plate augmented with a smoking puck and frozen vinaigrette for his salad. Andre aimed for something we’ve never seen from him on the show: a Japanese grill platter utilizing a fire pit, and exploding leaves.

A woman stands, with a shocked look on her face.Andre’s steak by the fire was simply spectacular to look at, with glowing embers the highlight of the plate. Michael and Alvin, and Tessa were all impressed by the look at taste. At first glance, Jennifer’s plate looked cluttered and messy, a hodgepodge of things and ideas. But the flavours were there; Claudio was particularly impressed by the dulce pearls. And Josh’s smoked duck and salad wowed Michael, Tessa and Claudio. I felt like Andre had a slight edge on Jennifer and Josh; the judges agreed and he was crowned the winner.,

Andre didn’t score a fast track to the finale—that would have been too easy—but he did land a major advantage in the Elimination Challenge, choosing who would create a tasting menu with which Canadian cheese. The problem? Andre is lactose intolerant. Oops. The choices were ash-ripened goat cheese from Quebec, cloth-bound cheddar from Prince Edward Island and blue cheese from British Columbia. Andre picked the goat cheese for himself and assigned the cheddar to Jennifer and blue to Josh. His plot was sound: give Jennifer an easy cheese she might overthink and hand Josh a cheese too strong to handle.

A man stands at an oven, cooking.Jennifer aimed for French cheese puffs, updated broccoli and cheese, and a tarte Tatin. Josh opted for a blue cheese dip that he turned into a soup, butternut squash and blue cheese ravioli, and blue cheese cheesecake. Andre decided on a mushroom macaroni and cheese, Brussel sprout and goat cheese salad, and pear and goat cheese mousseline. The judges were worried Josh would run out of time but it was Andre who missed putting puff pastry on his dessert.

Alvin enjoyed Jennifer’s broccoli and cheese recipe, Michael loved her apple tart, but Claudio thought she missed the mark with her puffs. Alvin liked Andre’s mac and cheese, Michael thought the Brussels sprouts could have been charred more, but Claudio thought the goat cheese was missing from the pears. Michael thought Josh’s soup was a little thin but flavourful, Claudio liked the pasta but it was a tad short on cheese flavour, and Alvin thought the cheesecake was very, very good.

The result? Jennifer was the first home cook earmarked for the season finale. Going head-to-head with her is Andre. Josh put up one heck of a fight and showed consistent growth as the weeks went by during Season 6. He should be proud of what he accomplished.

Who do you pick to be this season’s MasterChef Canada winner? Let me know in the comments below.

The MasterChef Canada season finale goes next Monday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

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Preview: Property Brothers: Forever Home debuts on HGTV Canada

Is there anything Drew and Jonathan Scott can’t do when it comes to renovation projects and television shows? From the original Property Brothers series, now in Season 13, to spinoffs like Property Brothers at Home: Drew’s Honeymoon House, the Scott brand means education, information and a healthy dose of humour.

Now the pair is back with another new series in Property Brothers: Forever Home. Bowing on Monday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV, the duo help couples who are settled into their existing home but seek a makeover to make it their forever property.

In the first of seven episodes, the lanky lads are in Las Vegas to meet Susan and Troy, who love their neighbourhood, the backyard and the home overall. But, with a third child in their midst, it’s time to update and upgrade, especially some needless ups and downs because of small steps on the main floor, a double island in the kitchen and a tiny laundry room.

The solution? Raise the entire main floor, nix the double islands for one big area and create a multi-purpose room.

While Drew focuses on manual labour, Jonathan shows Susan and Troy interior design options and inspirations. With a few swings of the sledgehammer, the job is underway. The results are, of course, stunning.

My only quibble with Property Brothers: Forever Home might be the locations they film in. I say “might” because I’ve only seen the first instalment, in Las Vegas, but I worry all of the homes featured are in the U.S. Call me a homer, but I really like to see Canadian locations featured, mainly so I can try and figure out how much it might cost to renovate my home. As I said, Episode 2 could very well be in Vancouver, Calgary or Halifax, rendering this whole paragraph pointless.

If you’re any kind of a fan of the Scotts, you’re doing to enjoy their latest creation.

Property Brothers: Forever Home airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV Canada.

Image courtesy of Corus Entertainment.

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Link: Interview: Mary Kills People’s Jay Ryan

From Charles Trapunski of Brief Take:

Link: Interview: Mary Kills People’s Jay Ryan
“I love the way that the show represents all facets of this area. But really, it’s about this woman’s life and she happens to be a doctor, but she also happens to be doing this service on the side, and I like that it didn’t place any kind of bets on what’s right and what’s wrong.” Continue reading. 

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Link: Mary Kills People EP on the biggest threat to Mary’s happy ending

From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:

Link: Mary Kills People EP on the biggest threat to Mary’s happy ending
“Some things were what I wanted and some were not what I expected, but it was a bit bittersweet. The hardest part was saying goodbye to the actors and characters. We love them so much and they’ve done such an amazing job.” Continue reading.

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Link: Extras, vehicles sought in Drumheller for new CBC drama Fortunate Son

From Eric Volmers of the Calgary Herald:

Link: Extras, vehicles sought in Drumheller for new CBC drama Fortunate Son
A casting call will be held at the Canalta Jurassic Hotel, 1103 Highway 9 South Drumheller, on Friday, June 7 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. for Fortunate Son, a CBC drama set to air in the winter of 2020. Men, women and teens between the ages of 14 and 80 are being sought. Those with 1968-era clothing are urged to wear it or bring it to the casting call. Continue reading.

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