Amateur cooks sharpen their knives on MasterChef Canada premiere

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      The inaugural season of MasterChef Canada kicks off tonight (January 20) at 8 p.m. on CTV, but don’t expect B.C. to be well-represented in the competition. Of the 50 amateur cooks chosen as finalists, only five hail from the province. Like most TV shows shot in Toronto, the majority of competitors—a whopping 33—come from Ontario.

      MasterChef Canada is based on a reality TV cooking competition that originated in the U.K. and is now produced in over 40 countries. The U.S. version, which has Gordon Ramsay as a judge, recently completed its fourth season. The series has spawned additional shows like MasterChef Junior, where eight to 13 year olds are given fire and knives and encouraged to battle in a similar competition.

      The premise of MasterChef is to find the best home cook in the country. In Canada, the winner receives $100,000 and a trophy. Competitors cannot have culinary training or previous experience working in a restaurant kitchen. After being selected at the provincial level, cooks are asked to create a dish and audition in front of producers.

      MasterChef Canada judges Claudio Aprile, Michael Bonacini, and Alvin Leung.

      Once flown to Toronto as a top-50 finalist, the home cooks have one chance to impress the judges with a signature dish. To many Canadians, the three judges selected for MasterChef Canada may be relatively unknown. Michael Bonacini is a chef and co-founder of the Oliver & Bonacini Restaurants, which operates 11 restaurants in Ontario. He has previous TV experience as the host of Food Network Canada’s Cook like a Chef. Claudio Aprile also presides over a brand of Ontario-based restaurants: the Orderfire Restaurant Group, which owns Toronto’s Origin restaurant. While this is Aprile’s first stint on TV, he has over 30 years of kitchen experience under his belt. Finally, Alvin Leung is perhaps MasterChef Canada’s answer to Gordon Ramsay. The self-described “Demon Chef” is best known for his Michelin-starred restaurant Bo Innovation in Hong Kong. Trained as an engineer, Leung claims to be a self-taught chef has previous TV experience on The Maverick Chef, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, and Top Chef Masters.

      On the first episode, viewers will see about half the competitors vie for a spot on the show. In the one-hour program, few cooks are interviewed on camera, including Vancouver’s Carly Tennant. The clothing-store owner who credits her mother for entering her into the competition makes turkey meatballs with parsnip purée and crispy kale for the judges, and while she does come across a bit frazzled in the five minutes given to finish and plate her dish, Tennant seems to want a spot on the show really badly.

      Other finalists appearing in the first episode include Calgary’s Tammara Behl, who makes vegan samosas with two sauces; identical twins from Toronto Narida Mohammed and Natalie Mascia; young chemical engineer Eric Chong, who must stand up to disapproving Asian parents to fulfill his dream of cooking; wheelchair-bound homemaker Carmela Campolargo; and Alberta single-mother Dora Cote, whose pastry skills impress the judges.

      Competitors who are ultimately selected to compete on the show will need to survive weekly culinary challenges and eliminations.

      Comments

      26 Comments

      Cathy Andrew

      Jan 20, 2014 at 5:34pm

      I was looking forward to watchimg master chef Canada...but after a half hr of watching the show I am turned off...I know someone needs to be the bully on the show...but Chef Alvin is more than a bully ..he's a jerk n I'm not going to waste my time watching him brutalize the contestants!! He's made me a none watcher...I'm switching channels!!

      Linda

      Jan 20, 2014 at 5:55pm

      Alvin is too serious, mean or abrupt to be a judge. There is a way to talk to people who know they are competing, without being nasty or arrogant. Not the best choice for a judge. Jody Claman would of been a better choice and having a female would of been nice too!

      Niki

      Jan 20, 2014 at 6:08pm

      Where can we get the recipes from contestant winners. Will they be posted?

      Bonnie Sheppard

      Jan 20, 2014 at 8:37pm

      After watching both Masterchef from The UK and Masterchef Australia for several years, I looked forward to Canadian Masterchef. It is terrible. Confrontational, non-supportive and so little about food and developing talent that it is embarrassing. It sinks to the lowest common denominator and though I will continue to watch MC/UK and MC/Aus', I refuse to watch this "americanized" travesty of the franchise. You've sunk well below the standard.

      Gayle

      Jan 20, 2014 at 9:06pm

      Who are the top 50?

      Lisa

      Jan 20, 2014 at 10:03pm

      I looked forward to the show but decided I have better things to do than watch judge Alvin Leung be an obnoxious bully treating people like garbage. That is not good television. Too bad , seemed like the show had a lot of potential.

      Bonnie Lake

      Jan 21, 2014 at 6:53am

      I wouldn't care to be a contestant, but Judge Alvin does make the show interesting. Isn't that what t.v. is all about?

      Linda

      Jan 21, 2014 at 6:57am

      I too had looked forward to watching Masterchef Canada as I had loved Masterchef USA. Alvin Leung is a stone-faced bully and moron. He has no business being a judge. Really, who does he think he is? Never even heard of him before and glad I hadn't.

      Dave

      Jan 21, 2014 at 7:04am

      I have a feeling some of these comments are written by the exact same person using a different name with each post.
      Alvin was not that bad. I know we're dealing with amateur home cooks, but some of them need a bit of a reality check and if that means that a judge is brutally honest with them, then so be it.
      I personally really liked it. They've taken a winning strategy (from the US version) and added a little Canadiana to it. I think I will certainly keep watching.

      Niki

      Jan 21, 2014 at 8:15am

      Will the recipes of the winners be posted online