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MasterChef Canada: And the winner is …

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After a three-hour marathon that included their fellow competitors and family members watching from the sidelines, Thea and Trevor did battle in a three-course non-stop cook for the ages to win the $100,000 grand prize and title of MasterChef Canada.

By the time the dust steam had settled on Thursday night, Trevor the plumber/gas fitter from Edmonton had emerged victorious. Thea, the insurance broker from Vancouver, came in second place. Things may have been very different if the tamale ball Thea served chef Claudio Aprile hadn’t been raw in the middle, but the devil is in the details and that one ruined her chances of winning. Judges Alvin Leung, Claudio Aprile and Michael Bonacini awarded Trevor the trophy, explaining that his three-course meal presented the best story of the two.

“Winning this has kick-started my food dream,” Trevor told producers after the confetti had fallen. “My life is changing as we speak. Goodbye plumbing, hello cooking!”

“I’m really happy for Trevor,” Thea said in defeat. “I still feel like a winner. This has been the best journey I’ve ever had and nothing is going to stop me from pursuing my food dream right now.”

MasterChef Canada continued to be groundbreaking in its challenges this season by presenting a doozy of a final one: Thea and Trevor had three hours to create an appetizer, entree and dessert and the clock would not stop running. This meant the pair would not only have to stay focussed while cooking but have excellent time-management skills. Thea’s take on Mexican food with street corn panna cotta, pork cheek tamale and orange sponge cake played to her strength of having bold flavours while Trevor’s octopus and chips, lamb two ways and deconstructed chocolate mint ice cream cone showcased his sophistication in taste and plating.

There wasn’t a ton of drama during the hour-long episode—despite producers injecting dramatic music to suggest there was—and it all rightly came down to taste for final judgement from Claudio, Alvin and Michael. A frontrunner from Week 1, the only way Trevor was going to lose was if something catastrophic went wrong with one of his plates. As soon as the trio went off without a hitch his win was sealed.

What did you think of this season of MasterChef Canada? Did the right home cook win? Let me know in the comments below!

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Featured, Masterchef Canada

MasterChef Canada’s final two are revealed

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MasterChef Canada‘s Top 2 have been revealed, as Trevor Connie and Thea Vanherwaarden will go head-to-head in next week’s season finale. After a long, impressive run, Barrie McConachie was eliminated in an emotional episode. To be honest, just making it to the Top 12 was an incredible feat; this season has been one jam-packed with high-end guest judges and the most complicated challenges in this franchise’s history.

Thursday’s instalment, “Sweet Francaise,” began with one heck of a test, to create a mélange of pastries for the show’s French bistro theme. As if making five different items wasn’t tough enough, the trio’s bites would be tasted by pastry chefs. The two-hour prep time went by in a blink and Thea seemed to have an edge over Trevor and Barrie, but by the end of the time limit, everyone completed the task. The big twist? Along with several pastry experts were children, meaning Thea’s lavender-lemon cake could have gotten a big thumbs-down from the kiddies. Luckily for everyone, no desserts were sent back, though the pastry chefs—and Michael Bonacini, Claudio Aprile and Alvin Leung—all found minor flaws. Barrie came out on top and I felt he deserved it, but he’s gotta stop with the bear-campers thing.

Barrie didn’t win immunity from the Elimination Challenge but was given the opportunity to decide the proteins everyone would cook with three ways. Barrie rightly went with his strength and the Waygu beef and assigned pork to Thea and chicken to Trevor. They may have been buds up until now, but Barrie wasn’t giving Trevor an upper hand by doling out tasty pork in his direction. Thea slumped upon hearing the pork was headed her way, but I’m not sure why. Then I heard her plan: to take that beautiful chunk of porky goodness and turn it into schnitzel for one of her plates. I’m not above schnitzel, but this was the wrong application for the main ingredient. Barrie’s oil-poached beef was a mystery, Trevor’s chicken skin burned during his first try and time—and a burn—threatened to derail Thea.

Barrie was confident his beef would be up to snuff and relied on his side dishes to take him over the top. The problem? His Waygu was underdone. Claudio ripped Thea for her plating and said taste was the only thing that could save her. And in the early going it looked like she had. As for Trevor, astringent sauce spoiled some pretty good looking chicken skin.

Still, it was a no-brainer for Trevor to be named the first home cook in the season finale. And after undercooking such a lovely piece of beef, Barrie left the door open for Thea to sneak into the final too.

Do you agree with the judges’ decision? Who do you want to win MasterChef Canada? Let me know in the comments below.

The season finale of MasterChef Canada airs next Thursday at 9 p.m. ET on CTV.

Image courtesy of Bell Media.

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