Tag Archives: Mary Berg

Industry News

With love, from Mary… CTV’s new original culinary series Mary’s Kitchen Crush premieres April 28

1 Comment

From a media release:

Full of food, friends, and fun, CTV today announced that its delectable new series MARY’S KITCHEN CRUSH drops into CTV’s midseason schedule and on Crave Sundays at 7 p.m. ET/PT beginning April 28. Viewers will get a second helping of the series with a bonus digital-only episode available on CTV digital platforms including CTV.ca and the CTV app, CTV’s YouTube™ page, and CTV, THE MARILYN DENIS SHOW, YOUR MORNING, and Gusto Facebook pages, as well as Bravo.ca and MTV.ca. Canadians can also enjoy the bonus episode on CTV On Demand via set-top box with applicable TV service providers.

Hosted by Canada’s culinary sweetheart and MASTERCHEF CANADA winner Mary Berg, the all-new series showcases Berg’s culinary skill and creativity with original recipes inspired by someone who has made a meaningful impact on her life. The premiere of MARY’S KITCHEN CRUSH follows the return of MASTERCHEF CANADA, airing Mondays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV beginning Monday, April 8. Viewers can then stream episodes anytime on CTV.ca and the CTV app.

With a pinch of humour and a dash of kindness, Berg’s meals are like an edible love letter for her family members and close friends. Each meal is motivated by a story which connects back to the episode’s special guest. Memories of family trips to South Carolina spur a Southern feast, while a French-themed menu is created after Berg and a friend dreamt of jetting off to Paris.

Whether it’s a birthday, anniversary, a sports game, or just expressing gratitude for a loved one, MARY’S KITCHEN CRUSH is filled with recipes for every occasion. As Berg prepares the meal, she guides viewers through the recipe, offering up plenty of helpful tips and takeaways. The guests in each episode then join Berg to enjoy the final meal. Following each episode, viewers can visit CTV.ca for full written and video recipes featured on the show including video extras “Mary in a Minute,” “Mary Crushes,” and “Mary’s Mantras,” which feature Berg as she dishes on her tastiest meals and kitchen hacks. Viewers can also visit the recipe hub on TheLoop.ca for details on all of Berg’s delicious dishes.

Joining the series this season as sponsors are Starbucks at Home and Dawn Ultra Dish Liquid, who will produce custom content around the series featuring Mary Berg.

Berg’s impressive culinary journey took off after capturing the title of MASTERCHEF CANADA. She can be seen regularly as a food expert on CTV’s YOUR MORNING and THE MARILYN DENIS SHOW, and can be found developing recipes for shows, food, beverage brands, and her blog A Small Stove. Berg’s first cookbook, Kitchen Party, is set to be published in September 2019.

From the kitchen to the table, in the first episode of MARY’S KITCHEN CRUSH, “Mary Loves Myra” airing Sunday, April 28 at 7 p.m. ET/PT, Myra Berg is not just an amazing mom, she’s also Mary’s #1 fan! To thank her mom for all of her love and support, Mary gives Myra a giant food hug with a fresh and flavourful spin on her favourite dish.

A CTV Original Production, MARY’S KITCHEN CRUSH is produced by Proper Television (MASTERCHEF CANADA), a division of Boat Rocker Studios, in association with CTV. Cathie James, Allison Grace, and Lesia Capone serve as Executive Producers and Garrett Wintrip as Series Producer.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Industry News, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

CTV’s delectable new original series Mary’s Kitchen Crush begins production

From a media release:

CTV, in association with Proper Television, announced today that production has begun on MARY’S KITCHEN CRUSH. The all-new, thirty-episode, half-hour series will air on CTV, Gusto, and ultimately stream on demand from the new CTV Super Hub, as part of the new lifestyle brand, CTV Life.

MARY’S KITCHEN CRUSH features Canada’s culinary sweetheart and MASTERCHEF CANADA Season 3 winner Mary Berg as she shares her delicious twists on home-cooked classics inspired by her family and friends. The series, produced by Proper Television, is currently shooting in Toronto and will premiere as part of CTV’s 2019 midseason schedule. MARY’S KITCHEN CRUSH is currently available for customized brand partnership opportunities.

Mary Berg has spent most of her life cooking and baking for those she loves and building a strong appreciation for the connective powers of beautiful, home-cooked food. In each episode of MARY’S KITCHEN CRUSH, she demonstrates her culinary skill and creativity with three to four original recipes – inspired by someone who has made a meaningful impact on her life. The resulting meal is like an edible love letter for family members and close friends. We’ll hear about the memories that motivated her menu choices as she guides viewers clearly through her recipes, offering up plenty of illuminating tips, and take-aways.

Mary Berg’s meteoric culinary journey took off after capturing the Season 3 title of MASTERCHEF CANADA. She can be seen regularly as a food expert on CTV’s YOUR MORNING and THE MARILYN DENIS SHOW and can be found developing recipes for shows, food, beverage brands, and her blog A Small Stove. Berg has also started working on her first of two cookbooks to be released in September 2019 and Spring/Summer 2021.

MARY’S KITCHEN CRUSH is produced by Proper Television (MASTERCHEF CANADA). Cathie James, Allison Grace, and Lesia Capone serve as Executive Producers and Garrett Wintrip as Series Producer.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Masterchef Canada

MasterChef Canada auditions take place on Aug. 6

From a media release:

This summer Canadian home cooks have the chance to demonstrate their culinary chops during the MASTERCHEF CANADA Season 4 Open Casting Call Saturday, Aug. 6 in Toronto. Armed with their best dish, passionate Canadian home cooks have the opportunity to embark on a unique food journey by coming to the InterContinental Toronto Centre Hotel, and can also apply online at CTV.ca/MasterChefCanada before auditions close at 11:59 p.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 6.

Home cooks are encouraged to arrive at the MASTERCHEF CANADA Season 4 Open Casting Call for 7 a.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 6 at the InterContinental Toronto Centre Hotel (225 Front St. W), with one prepared dish. Applicants will be given three minutes to plate their dish before presenting it to professional tasters, and as there will not be any kitchen facilities or supplies available, all dishes will be tasted at room temperature. Applicants must also be able to carry everything they need into the audition room. Prospective competitors will be judged on how their dishes taste, as well as plating, creativity, skill, and food knowledge. Home cooks are encouraged to visit CTV.ca/MasterChefCanada, where they can complete the online application in advance of their audition, and also read the FAQs. All applicants must be amateurs, and cannot have worked professionally in a culinary environment as a cook, chef, or in food preparation.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured, Masterchef Canada

MasterChef Canada winner plans her future

1 Comment

Mary Berg won Season 3 of MasterChef Canada, but she’s only beginning her culinary adventure. The energetic insurance broker from Pickering, Ont., captured the grand prize on Sunday night by beating Jeremy Senaris with her cohesive three-course creations. But winning the series, a trophy and $100,000 is just a launch pad for Berg, who plots to run her own catering business … and perhaps return to television.

“I have a project in development with Bell Media and Proper Television and we’ll see where that goes,” Berg says with a smile during an interview Monday afternoon. “I met with Proper Television and was showing them some photos and they sat me down and approached me.” Berg is mum on anymore details regarding the potential television project, but does plan to continue catering. Sunday’s season finale broadcast didn’t stop her from catering an event for 29 on Saturday night.

Regarding her three-course finale of golden beet borscht, surf and turf and blueberry financier, Berg plotted the meal once she’d made the Top 5 so she’d be prepared, using the inspiration of her family as the basis for her choices. Being prepared was never an issue for Berg, but being too adventurous was. Case in point? Deciding to create four different eclairs in an Elimination Challenge that put her on the cusp of going home.

“As soon as I started that challenge I thought, ‘Mary, you idiot, why are you doing this?’ but I had decided and once you make a decision like that you just have to go with it,” she says with a laugh. “And even though I look frazzled, I get it done.” Berg was in the bottom two a second time this season after leaving a bone in the fish she’d prepared; she still has that piece of bone.

But that’s all in the past. Berg is eying future prospects … and finally getting her hands on the trophy after it was taken away at the conclusion of filming.

“I know where I’m going to put that,” Berg says. “In my house, on the speaker for my record player. It’s very central. I don’t have trophies, this is my first, and I’m going to place it somewhere noticeable.”

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured, Masterchef Canada

Who will win Season 3 of MasterChef Canada?

1 Comment

MasterChef Canada‘s Season 3 return date has been announced, and that means I can let you in on a secret: I know who’s going to win. Mary Berg, the insurance broker who nabbed a spot during the show’s auditions in Toronto last summer, is taking home the title and $100,000.

OK, yes, I am biased. I don’t have an inside track or suspect MasterChef Canada is fixed; I’m just rooting for the energetic redhead because I followed her through the audition process up until the point she earned a place in the Top 40. Bell Media offered journalists two options during the summer event: bring something for the judges to taste or trail behind someone trying out. I opted for the latter—I love to cook but would have been too stressed out having Alvin Leung, Claudio Aprile and Michael Bonacini judge me—preferring to watch another go through experience.

It didn’t take me long to be convinced Berg has what it takes to follow in David Jorge and Eric Chong’s footsteps. She oozes confidence and a girl-next-door quality that will connect with viewers, she has an inspirational back story that will tug the heartstrings and she can make damn fine food. The fact she’s a vegetarian won’t derail her plot to become Season 3 champion.

“I have no issue with meat,” she said in July. “I love cooking it so much. It smells good, it caramelizes, and when I was a kid I ate only bacon. I’d go to the breakfast buffet and eat four plates of bacon.”

Berg advanced to the Top 40 in the strength of her deconstructed lemon meringue pie, a stunning plate that impressed Aprile when he swung by to chat with her. The pie is a twist on a recipe passed down through Berg’s family

“My nana was Miss Canada during the Second World War, so I called it Miss Canada’s Lemon Meringue Pie,” Berg said. “My grandfather ran one of the oldest public houses in Canada in St. Catharines and on Friday nights she would make homemade mac and cheese and lemon meringue pie for him. I wanted to pay homage to her with this pie.”

MasterChef Canada returns Sunday, Feb. 14, at 7 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail