More than a few of you were shocked by the end of last week’s episode of MasterChef Canada when Thea and Mai’s well-meaning coaching of Justine and Matt lead to both of the strong home cooks to be eliminated. But, Justine and Matt and Alice did have the opportunity to return to the kitchen, as producers presented those two with one slot in the competition.

Whether you think it’s fair that someone cut from a competition show is certainly up for debate—I personally don’t—it certainly makes for some good TV when those still in it see someone coming back. That was the case for the Top 6, who were gobsmacked when Alice returned. For those who missed it, Justine, Matt and Alice fought for a spot back on the show in Redemption, an online exclusive judged by Claudio Aprile. Alice outlasted the other two—head online to see what happened to Matt—and was back in the action.

However, “Egg Showdown,” wasn’t a love-in, as the Top 7 donned black aprons and were informed no one was safe from elimination this week. Again, mad props to MasterChef‘s producers, who have amped up the challenges and made it tough for the cooks to advance this year. Thursday’s instalment tasked everyone with escalating tests involving the most basic of ingredients: the egg. Cooks would win a Pressure Test and be sent up to the gallery with the final pair fighting to stay on the show.

First up was a Scotch egg, that hard-boiled, sausage and breading encased mouthful, purportedly eaten in pubs. Making the job even tougher? Just one egg was given to each cook, meaning it had to be perfect. I think Thea’s hands were seizing up because of the ice water bath her egg was sitting in, but I’m no expert. Regardless, she got her egg done and fried alongside her competitors. Barrie, who said he’d never prepared a hard-boiled egg before, produced the best Scotch egg and was whisked to safety along with Aaron and Thea.

The next test? Eggs Benedict. Hollandaise sauce can be a killer, though Miranda thought she had it nailed down. Of course, the most confident person had issues and Miranda’s Hollandaise started to split. Still, she got it done and her plate looked good. What about taste? Undercooked bacon and broken sauce threatened to send Miranda home. An overcooked yolk sent Alice into the final test with Miranda while Trevor and Mai were safe.

The two home cooks faced off to create a cheese soufflé, with just 30 minutes to do it. Miranda made all the right moves, getting firm peaks on her egg white and getting them in the oven on time. Alice contaminated her whites with some yolk and they refused to whip. Stunningly, and showing an incredible amount of class, Miranda helped Alice get her soufflé’s in the oven. Miranda could have stood back and watched Alice fall, but instead, she came to her aid. Miranda prepared three, so took the best-looking soufflé up for tasting and it wowed the judges, earning the chance to move on. For Alice, it was the end of the road, but she almost made it with help from Miranda.

Do you think Miranda should have helped Alice complete her dish? Let me know in the comments below.

MasterChef Canada airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

After a couple of really busy weeks where I wasn’t able to review MasterChef Canada—covering Canadian TV is a full-time job no matter what naysayers believe—it was great to return to the show and take some notes on it. This crop of home cooks has been very impressive so far; creating dishes that are the best-looking and tastiest the series has produced.

And though I love seeing a dish elevated, there is nothing like getting down to the basics, so I was particularly excited to see the remaining cooks grill up hamburgers for a group of men and ladies on motorcycles.

But “Burgers for Bikers” was no picnic, as the Top 9 quickly realized. (Shout out to the show’s producers for allowing Claudio to ride in on his motorcycle and cramming Alvin in a sidecar.) Two hundred hungry leather-clad folks rumbled into Toronto’s Evergreen Brickworks for meat and potatoes. Everyone has their own burger recipe—mine is lean ground beef, diced onion, egg, bread crumbs, barbecue sauce and Worcestershire sauce—so it was interesting to see how the red, green and blue teams were able to compromise and concoct something everyone was (mostly) happy with. Aaron’s leadership skills left Thea a bit cold—she didn’t think medium-rare, non-seasoned beef was the way to go—but that seemed to be the only concerns as prep work was underway … other than Mai keeping Justine and Miranda apart.

Service was, quite frankly, a nightmare. Having 200 people come running at once will do that, so it was expected. What wasn’t? Aaron’s decision to cook his burgers to order, a catastrophic move that sent hungry folks to the other two stations. Add to that not everyone likes medium rare and sent their patties back and the red team was reeling. It was no surprise his squad didn’t win. Instead, it was Mai’s green team that prevailed, proving she could lead a team and feed a hungry group.

Back in the MasterChef Canada kitchen, Aaron refused to apologize for medium-rare burgers and said he’d save himself from elimination if given the chance. That went counter to what his teammates thought but he did it anyway, sending Trevor and Thea into the Elimination Challenge. Alisha and Matt decided Barrie should be safe and he went up to the gallery to watch. The challenge was to make mille-feuille and Thea immediately brightened because she’s had experience baking.

To be honest, all of the desserts looked pretty good to me save for Alisha’s, and it came down to taste to decide who was going home. Tops were Thea and Matt with Alisha and Trevor taking a bit of a knock. Surprisingly, Alisha was cut not because of flavour but a pastry that wasn’t pretty.

Did you agree Alisha should have been eliminated? Let me know in the comments below.

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

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

Season 4 of MasterChef Canada returned with a huge new twist in the audition process, first by having the home cooks create a rice dish at home with just 20 minutes to shop for ingredients and then challenging them to recreate it in the grand kitchen. Within the space of 44 minutes, the original 24 were trimmed to the Top 12. It was an impressive and shocking beginning to what judges Claudio Aprile and Michael Bonacini promise is a dramatic season.

Case in point? Thursday’s episode, “Home on the Range,” began with the usual Mystery Box containing ingredients from the competitors’ homes as inspiration and a chance for viewers to decide who they’d be cheering for this time around. But even that test was altered; rather than an ingredient from the cook’s hometowns, it was an actual item from their homes. In the case of Barrie, that meant his pink pig timer; a piece of wood from Aaron’s grandfather’s property; Justine’s first pastry bag; and Trevor’s pepper grinder.

Early on, I was impressed by Matt (mainly because I interviewed him outside of the Toronto auditions and is insanely prepared), Miranda and her baking skills, Justine and her energy, Jordan and his giggle, gentle giant Aaron, and that Trevor kid, who managed to break a fine German stove made by Miele. Aaron’s attention to detail impressed the judges enough to land him a spot for tasting; his chowder and fish were a hit, as was Miranda’s orange-chocolate cake and Trevor’s pan-seared chicken. As Michael said before making a decision on a winner, these home cooks are a sophisticated bunch turning out food of high quality in Episode 2.

Trevor won, giving him the advantage in the Elimination Challenge as he picked stone fruits for his competitors to use in their next recipe. Miranda was thrilled … until Trevor was handed salt shakers and sugar bowls and decided who would make savoury or sweet foods for tasting. It was a brilliant way to shake up what could have been a very staid Elimination Challenge and showed savvy behind-the-scenes planning. The final stroke of genius was allowing Trevor to save all of the men or all of the women from cooking. By choosing to save the men, Trevor made quick friends of the fellows. I’m betting the girls will have long memories.

Thea was freaking out over her sponge cake and I couldn’t help but wonder why she didn’t make a crumble with a jazzed-up ice cream or whipped cream. Trying to make a cake when you don’t know how is a bad move in my opinion. Thea managed to pull it off, causing me to wonder if some shady editing made it appear she was more flustered than she really was.

It was clear who scored top marks from the judges: Justine’s peach gazpacho and Miranda’s bison and stone fruit sauce were the taste winners and put the pair in the Top 2, and team captains next week. Thea, Mai and Alice were in the bottom thanks to overseasoning, undercooked meat and an ugly sponge cake; Alice was eliminated from the competition.

MasterChef Canada airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

Image courtesy of Bell Media.