Tag Archives: Beccy

MasterChef Canada: Beccy inspires the home cooks in teen Mystery Box challenge

Last week on MasterChef Canada, the home cooks found themselves preparing dinner for a couple and over 100 wedding guests. They were definitely out of their comfort zone having to work as a team so early in the season.

On Monday night, the remaining competitors were back in the somewhat cozy confines of the MasterChef Canada kitchen for the latest Mystery Box challenge. The cooks revealed pictures of themselves when they were teenagers (Josh’s frosted tips were something to behold), and asked to make something that was favourite back then. (For me, it would be elevated Kraft Dinner or a cheese omelette.) To inspire them, Chefs Alvin, Michael and Claudio unboxed a very special guest: Season 5 winner Beccy Stables. After a quick update on Beccy—she and her family have moved to Kelowna, B.C., and started a catering company, Bec Catering—the home cooks got down to business.

Alyssa chose to elevate hockey rink food by preparing lobster poutine, Rozin created a deconstructed lox and bagel, and Chanelle opted for egg-filled ravioli. Tony went with pasta too, re-creating his mother’s Pasta e Fagioli (The funniest/saddest moment of the night to that point was Beccy laughing at Tony’s teen picture because it was in black and white.). Time quickly became the enemy for most of the home cooks. Josh had forgotten about his fruit gel in the blast chiller and it had frozen; it was a key component to his cake and he opted for a coulis instead.

The judges chose Jennifer’s modern beef stroganoff (“You have a great culinary mind,” Chef Michael said.), Rozin’s lox and bagel (“I like it,” said Chef Alvin) and Josh’s Mexican chocolate cake with berry coulis (“It’s like a symphony of flavours happening,” Chef Claudio said.). Josh won the Mystery Box, signifying he should step out of his comfort zone and try to make the odd sweet treat. Josh was safe from participating in the Elimination Challenge, leaving his competitors to each pick a box with a trio of spices in them to cook with. There were also two “Got Out of Cooking Free” cards available; Alyssa and Cryssi snagged those and were safe.

Andre was befuddled by his trio of caraway seed, cumin and savory, Jenny dreaded her celery seed, fennel seed and cayenne pepper, and Rozin had perhaps the toughest spices in lavender, rosemary and white pepper. Regardless, the home cooks had 60 minutes to create something and got down to it. Chanelle’s spices tweaked Asian, so she went with shrimp; Jennifer’s cloves and cinnamon signalled an apple dessert; Rozin picked lamb to counter his floral spices; and Tony used nutmeg, coriander and cardamom in his pasta plate. Alyssa and Chef Michael both expressed concern that Tony was relying too much on his Italian roots. After all, MasterChef Canada is as much about exploring new things as it is on comfort.

Andre might have seemed confused in the beginning, but his oxtail with panko eggplant and caraway naan was a winner, and Chanelle’s vermicelli bowl with shrimp received a good review from Chef Alvin even though the sage was lost. Meanwhile, Tony’s cheese stuffed ravioli with lamb ragout was a dud for Chef Claudio, who questioned the home cook’s range; Rozin’s lamb Salisbury steak was overpowered by lavender and toughened by oat flour; Jennifer’s apple concoction was a winner. As for Jenny’s surf and turf … there was too much celery seed on her pork tenderloin and her kimchi was bitter, the mark of inexperience with spices.

The top home cooks for the week were Jennifer and Andre, who will be captains in the next team challenge. Sadly, Jenny and Tony were in the bottom, with soccer coach Tony being eliminated from the competition.

Do you think Tony deserved to go home? Which teen dish would you have recreated in the MasterChef Canada kitchen? Let me know in the comments below.

MasterChef Canada airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on CTV.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

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CTV dishes out a sixth season of hit culinary series MasterChef Canada

From a media release:

Following MASTERCHEF CANADA’s youngest-ever winner, Beccy Stables being crowned earlier this summer, CTV announced today Season 6 of its hit culinary competition series MASTERCHEF CANADA for the 2018/2019 broadcast season. Casting for passionate home cooks looking to follow their food dreams is now open at CTV.ca/MasterChefCanada, with production set to begin this fall in Toronto on a new 12-episode season from Proper Television.

Marking a return to the MASTERCHEF CANADA Kitchen are distinguished Canadian judges Michael Bonacini (O&B restaurant empire), Alvin Leung (Bo Innovation in Hong Kong), and Claudio Aprile (Copetin Restaurant & Bar). The esteemed trio are poised to once again mentor and challenge everyday Canadian home cooks to elevate their cooking and presentation skills to a professional level, as they compete in high-stakes cooking challenges to secure the MASTERCHEF CANADA title and take home a $100,000 cash prize.

Canadians maintain a strong appetite for MASTERCHEF CANADA. A Top 15 program on Canadian television with all key demos this past spring, Season 5 of MASTERCHEF CANADA averaged 1.2 million total viewers weekly.

Casting for Season 6 of MASTERCHEF CANADA is now open at CTV.ca/MasterChefCanada. Passionate and talented Canadian home cooks hungry for an opportunity to capture the life-changing title of Canada’s next MasterChef have until Sunday, Sept. 30, 2018, at 11:59 p.m. ET to apply online. Further to online casting submissions, invitation-only auditions will be held across Canada this summer, so home cooks are encouraged to get their applications in soon. In addition, an in-person Open Casting Call will be held in Toronto on Sunday, Sept. 30 – for more information, visit CTV.ca/MasterChefCanada.

Viewers can relive all the culinary action from the MASTERCHEF CANADA Kitchen with Season 5 episodes available on demand at CTV.ca, CTV GO app. Season 5 is also available on CraveTV™ and airing Mondays at 7 p.m. ET on Gusto.

The MASTERCHEF format and finished programmes are represented internationally by Endemol Shine Group, and is based on a format originally created by Franc Roddam.

MASTERCHEF CANADA is produced by Proper Television in association with CTV. Proper’s Co-President Cathie James is the Executive Producer and Showrunner and Co-President Lesia Capone is Executive Producer.

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Comments and queries for the week of June 22

Oh my! My husband and I are so happy for Beccy [winning MasterChef Canada]. She worked so hard and stayed calm but showed grit and determination. I was so stressed I couldn’t watch it so waited till today to find out. Hopefully, we can taste her cooking in the near future. Way to go!! —Anne

Team Beccy, all the way. She was strong from the start and yet so shy. —Dale

I was extremely disappointed! Yes, Beccy is amazing for a 19-year-old but she did not deserve the win. How is it you can serve burnt, inconsistent food and still win? I too saw the writing on the wall for her win weeks ago during with the showdown with Eugene. I too will not watch again. It seems a popularity contest than a cooking show. —Susan

Great choice. Pretty amazing for a 19-year-old and she earned it. She worked for that win and it was not handed to her. Congrats to her. —Sandy

I was rooting for Beccy right from the first episode. She went about her business quietly and didn’t brag nor did she make any disparaging comments about her fellow competitors. You’ve nowhere to go but up, Beccy! Sincere best wishes for your future. —Judy

Becky: first one in her family to finish high school, never been in a fancy restaurant, had never seen most of the ingredients but so talented that I cannot understand any negative comments here. Andy was also a great cook but I agree 100 per cent with the judges that Becky is the winner! Congratulations Becky! —Zoka

Am very pleased that Beccy won you could see from the very first show that she was a gifted chef. —Sharon

I disagree with some of the comments made that Beccy’s win was predictable and that she was given more airtime. I thought Andy had more airtime than her. I believe it was neck in neck between Beccy and Andy until the very end. Beccy won because she had the slight edge over Andy due to her innovative cooking style and smartness. Congrats Beccy! I hope to taste your cooking one day!!! —Joseph

Most definitely agree Beccy was forecasted to win based on her story, age, and the airtime she was given. She kept her cool each week and appears to be born to cook. I liked Andy’s dishes better in the finale but know he will do well in his own restaurant without the added benefit of winning the title. Both were great competitors and exuded a lot of class. —Tunie

Way to go Beccy!! I loved watching how calm and confident you were in each challenge!! I was pretty confident that you would win. You have demonstrated that you will go places in this line of work!! —Cindy

 

Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? Email greg.david@tv-eh.com or via Twitter @tv_eh.

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MasterChef Canada: And the winner is…

It was the moment we were waiting for! The MasterChef Canada SEASON FINALE! Two home cooks who deserved it all, battling it out. What could viewers expect? An incredible end to the great season! Andy and Beccy were supported by their loved ones and friends and what could make them more confident than that?

The home cooks had three hours to complete three courses: appetizers at the first hour mark, entrées at the second and desserts at the very end. The catch? The clock rolled the whole time and Beccy and Andy had just 10 minutes in the pantry to get everything they needed. Andy wanted to show the judges his roots and went very East Coast with his menu. Beccy was inspired by British classics with an apple twist. Chefs Claudio, Alvin and Michael were excited to see what these talented cooks would make.

And the show began! Both menus sounded incredibly delicious, but the taste was the most important part. Andy and Beccy were moving FAST! Beccy’s potato nests were in danger because of the sweet potato she used. Andy seemed very confident and his process was easy for me to watch. Beccy made a Scotch quail egg on a nest of potatoes and parsnips as her entrée. The presentation was beautiful and looked very natural, but the potatoes were a little burnt. The Halifax Donair salad with lamb, pita chips and Tahini dressing from Andy was a spot on. The flavours were amazing.

Time for the main course. The heat in the kitchen rose. Andy was running all over the kitchen while Beccy was totally chill. Chefs Claudio, Alvin and Michael started with Beccy’s rabbit two ways on a Jerusalem Artichoke purée. The cook on the meat was perfect. Andy made an elevated hodgepodge with Dungeness crab, sweetbreads, onion soubise and crab bisque. The dish was very colourful, but was it a main course?

Finally, the home cooks worked on their desserts. With just one hour, it was a lot of work. Then it was time to taste the dishes! Beccy and Andy were relieved, because the cooking was done. Up until then, the judges liked all of the dishes, but the desserts made the game. Fallen apple with a gelée core on a soil of dried fruits and nuts was Beccy’s way to end her three-course meal. The only thing that was missing was the glaze. But was it a mistake or an advantage? Andy made a Newfoundland toutons with a malted pastry cream, brown sugar and bruléed rhubarb. The judges loved the flavours of his dessert.

After all that, it was time to crown the winner of MasterChef Canada! The home cook who won the trophy, $100,000 and the life-changing title was … BECCY! The youngest winner in franchise history! I was #TeamBeccy for sure! Who was your choice? Let me know in the comments below!

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