MasterChef Canada (season 1)

MasterChef Canada (season 1)
Country of origin	Canada
No. of episodes	15
Release
Original network	CTV
Original release	January 20 – April 28, 2014

Season 1 of the Canadian competitive reality television series MasterChef Canada premiered on CTV on January 20, 2014. Winner Eric Chong still holds the record as the youngest winner of Masterchef Canada. Third place Kaila Klassen survived the most pressure tests to date (five in total).

Top 16

Contestant	Age	Hometown	Occupation	Status	Winnings
Eric Chong	21	Oakville, Ontario	Chemical Engineer	Winner 28 April	5
Marida Mohammed	31	Toronto	Stay-at-Home Mom	Runner-Up 28 April	5
Kaila Klassen	24	Penticton, British Columbia	Realtor	Eliminated 21 April	4
Tammara Behl	38	St. Albert, Alberta	Special Needs Teacher		8
Michael "Mike" Green	30	Winnipeg, Manitoba	Journalist	Eliminated 14 April	5
Pino DiCarbo	36	Mississauga, Ontario	Stay-at-Home Dad	Eliminated 7 April	6
Julia "Julie" Miguel	30	Woodbridge, Ontario	Bankruptcy Analyst	Eliminated 31 March	2
Danielle Cardozo	28	Fernie, British Columbia	Employment Development Officer	Eliminated 24 March	3
Carla "Carly" Tennant	30	Abbotsford, British Columbia	Retail Clothing Store Owner	Eliminated 17 March	3
Dale Kuda	26	Toronto	Household Manager	Eliminated 10 March	1
Dora Cote	37	Edmonton, Alberta	Plumber	Eliminated 3 March	3
Joshua "Josh" Gale	26	Vancouver, British Columbia	IT Sales	Eliminated 24 February	0
Daniel "Danny" Raposo	36	Brampton, Ontario	Construction Worker	Eliminated 17 February	0
Brooke Feldman	32	Toronto	Make-up Artist	Eliminated 10 February	0
Meghan Toth	30	St. Catharines, Ontario	Nurse	Eliminated 3 February	0
Benjamin "Ben" Miner	33	Ottawa, Ontario	Stand-Up Comedian		0

Elimination table

Place	Contestant	Episode
		3		4	5		6	7		8	9		10	11		12	13	14		15
1	Eric	HIGH	IN	LOW	IN	LOW	NPT	WIN	IMM	WIN	IN	WIN	PT	HIGH	IN	LOW	LOW	LOW	WIN	WINNER
2	Marida	WIN	IMM	WIN	IN	IN	WIN	HIGH	IN	NPT	HIGH	LOW	WIN	IN	LOW	PT	WIN	HIGH	IN	RUNNER-UP
3	Kaila	IN	IN	PT	WIN	IMM	PT	IN	WIN	LOW	HIGH	IN	LOW	IN	IN	WIN	PT	WIN	ELIM
4	Tammara	IN	IN	WIN	IN	IN	WIN	IN	IN	WIN	HIGH	WIN	WIN	HIGH	WIN	WIN	WIN	ELIM
5	Mike	IN	IN	LOW	HIGH	IN	WIN	IN	LOW	WIN	IN	IN	WIN	WIN	IMM	WIN	ELIM
6	Pino	IN	WIN	WIN	IN	LOW	NPT	HIGH	WIN	WIN	IN	LOW	WIN	IN	WIN	ELIM
7	Julie	IN	IN	WIN	IN	IN	WIN	IN	IN	PT	IN	IN	LOW	IN	ELIM
8	Danielle	IN	IN	WIN	IN	WIN	PT	IN	IN	PT	WIN	IMM	ELIM
9	Carly	HIGH	IN	WIN	IN	IN	WIN	IN	IN	WIN	IN	ELIM
10	Dale	IN	WIN	NPT	HIGH	IN	LOW	IN	LOW	ELIM
11	Dora	IN	IN	WIN	IN	WIN	WIN	IN	ELIM
12	Josh	IN	IN	PT	HIGH	IN	ELIM
13	Danny	IN	LOW	NPT	IN	ELIM
14	Brooke	IN	IMM	ELIM
15	Meghan	IN	ELIM
16	Ben	IN	ELIM

     (WINNER) This cook won the competition.

     (RUNNER-UP) This cook finished in second place.

     (WIN) The cook won the individual challenge (Mystery Box Challenge or Elimination Test).

     (WIN) The cook was on the winning team in the Team Challenge and was directly advanced to the next round.

     (HIGH) The cook was one of the top entries in the individual challenge, but did not win, or received considerable praise during an Elimination Challenge.

     (IN) The cook was not selected as a top entry or bottom entry in an individual challenge.

     (IN) The cook was not selected as a top entry or bottom entry in a team challenge.

     (IMM) The cook did not have to compete in that round of the competition and was safe from elimination.

     (IMM) The cook was selected by Mystery Box Challenge winner and did not have to compete in the Elimination Test.

     (PT) The cook was on the losing team in the Team Challenge, competed in the Pressure Test, and advanced.

     (NPT) The cook was on the losing team in the Team Challenge, but was exempted from the Pressure Test

     (RET) The cook was eliminated but come back to compete to return to the competition.

     (LOW) The cook was one of the bottom entries in an individual elimination challenge, but was not the last person to advance.

     (LOW) The cook was one of the bottom entries in an individual elimination challenge, and was the last person to advance.

     (LOW) The cook was one of the bottom entries in the Team Challenge, and they were the only person from their team to advance.

     (WDR) The cook withdrew from the competition due to illness or personal reasons.

     (ELIM) The cook was eliminated from MasterChef.

Episodes

The episodes started airing on CTV on January 20, 2014.

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Original air date	Production code
1	1	"White is the new Black"	January 20, 2014	101
The 50 cooks selected from among thousands of applicants from across Canada prepare their signature dishes for presentation to the judges (Michael Bonacini, Alvin Leung and Claudio Aprile). 26 contestants are presented with MasterChef aprons and advance to the next round.[1]
2	2	"Chicken Little"	January 27, 2014	102
The judging continues. The 26 cooks with MasterChef aprons move on to the next round. The cooks must prepare a dish using any part of a chicken with only one pan and burner. The cooks were also supplied with a limited pantry of produce. Then the chefs taste the dishes to see who goes home and who goes in. Out of 26 hopefuls, only 16 contestants keep their aprons, and therefore make it in to the Masterchef Kitchen. A first group consisting of Mike, Marida, Julie, Meghan and Josh was called and advanced into Top 16. Two more groups are then called forward, where the group consisting of Tamara, Eric, Pino, Ben, Danielle, Carly and Brooke is advanced, while the other group consisting of Rob, Sarah, JD, Alison, Natalia and Jordan is eliminated. This leaves 8 home cooks: Bubba, Dale, Danny, Dora, Evan, John, Kaila and Sparkle, where their dishes will be tasted by the judges to decide which of them will be moving forward. The first pair called forward is Dale and John. John's lemon pan-roasted chicken is raw, while Dale's chopped liver with red wine sauce was praised for its presentation but the judges question his choice of chopped liver. Dale is advanced, while John is eliminated. The next pair is Bubba and Sparkle. Bubba's chicken sandwich with BBQ sauce was criticized for being too simple and unimaginative, but his chicken is well-cooked. Sparkle's curried chicken with green bananas and dumplings is disliked by the judges for her raw green bananas. Both Bubba and Sparkle are eliminated. The third pair is Kaila and Evan. Kaila's chicken madras with raita and roti is praised for its flavors but has far too heavy of use of spices. Evan's southwestern chicken breast is moist and well cooked, but the corns in his salsa are raw. Evan is eliminated, while Kaila is advanced. The last pair is Danny and Dora. Dora's chicken pot pie with bannock crust is deemed good, but her bannock crust is deemed more like a biscuit. Danny's chicken couscous is criticized for its unappetizing presentation, but his seasoning and flavors are praised. In the end, both Danny and Dora are advanced into the Top 16. The Top 16 are: Dale, Carly, Danny, Brooke, Eric, Danielle, Dora, Josh, Julie, Kaila, Marida, Meghan, Mike, Pino, Tammara, and Ben.[2]
3	3	"First Kick at the Box"	February 2, 2014	103
Mystery Box 1: This first challenge features peanut butter, pork loin, peppers, scallion, ginger, strawberries, among other ingredients. The top 3 dishes are made by Carly, who made a spicy peanut soup with pork and noodles, Eric, who made a peanut butter fruit tart with chocolate, and Marida, who made a pork and noodle stir-fry with peanut vinaigrette. In the end, Marida won the first mystery box in Masterchef Canada. Elimination Challenge 1: Marida is granted immunity and has a choice of ingredients from Canadian land, air, or sea for the other cooks in the challenge to use: venison, duck, and smelt. She chooses the smelt. The judges also allow her to choose one other to be safe from elimination and she chooses Brooke. The two best dishes are Pino's deep-fried smelts with vegetable soup, with its brilliant presentation and ambition, followed by Dale's seared smelts in gougères, which was noted for its delicacy. Some other good dishes include Eric's braised and deep-fried smelts in smelt broth, and Tammara's sake-marinated smelts in a Vietnamese styled salad roll (although the judges warned her that she is cooking asian cuisine too frequently). The four dishes that received much negative reviews are Meghan's "unpleasantly fishy" smelt quiche, Kaila's overly spicy Thai red curry with deep-fried smelt, Danny's smelt croquettes, and Ben's smelt fish cakes. Danny and Ben both pureéd the smelts in their dishes, which the judges consider a major mistake when working with such a delicate fish and send Alvin Leung into a rage with Danny at one point. Danny, Ben and Meghan are called for having the worst three dishes of the challenge. In the end, Ben is eliminated, but Meghan follows soon after in a surprise double elimination.
4	4	"The Puck Drops Here"	February 10, 2014	104
Team Challenge 1: The competitors have to cook for the Toronto Maple Leafs. For doing well at the last Elimination Challenge, Pino and Dale are the team captains. Pino, with the best dish in the last challenge, was the Blue Team Captain, and Dale, who was the runner-up, was the White Team. The teams had to make one pasta dish and one fish dish for the challenge. Pino chose Marida, Julie, Carly, Tammara, Dora, and Danielle. Dale chose Eric, Brooke, Mike, Josh, and Kaila. Danny could not cook because he was sick with the flu, but he had to compete in the pressure test. The Blue Team decided to make a halibut dish with sweet potatoes and green beans, and for their pasta dish they cooked a Pasta e fagioli. The White team had more time deciding on their menu, when Dale, to the contempt of his teammates, chose trout over pickerel (Dale believed that the pickerel would have too many bones, when in actuality the fish was already filleted), with carrots and asparagus. For their pasta dish, they cooked a penne with a herb puree. After making a very salty herb puree (causing Dale to yell at her), Kaila cut herself in the challenge, which caused some dysfunction in the kitchen. When it was time to plate Kaila didn't know what to do, which Dale blamed on her for not being when he assigned plating roles. After the 52 Leafs, alumni and family members voted, the Blue team won with 26 to 11, on the White Team. Pressure Test 1: The cooks had to cook a Raviolo al Uovo, which is a ravioli with a liquid egg yolk inside and a fried sage leaf at the top. First, Dale decided to save himself and Danny (who he deems as the weakest cook), much to his teammates' anger, especially Eric and Brooke, since Danny isn't even part of the team. Though initially confident, Eric had trouble separating his egg, and almost lost his last egg yolk. Most cooks had a bit of trouble, with Brooke and Mike having too thick pasta that is hard and undercooked, putting both of them in danger of elimination. In the end, Kaila's pasta was considered the best of the five, and she and Josh were saved. Eric's pasta was deemed to be good but has too much pancetta garnishes, however he was also sent to safety for having the better ravioli of the remaining three. Finally, Mike was saved, and Brooke was eliminated from the competition.
5	5	"Where's the Beef"	February 17, 2014	105
Mystery Box 2: The cooks had to create burgers (and name them) with the help of a meat grinder, using many different meats, from wild boar to kangaroo to lamb. Near the end of the challenge, Eric severely cut his hand and was forced to sit out, leaving him with no dish to present in the Mystery Box challenge. The judges decided to choose four good dishes instead of the ordinary three. The best dishes were Dale's Hopping Sour Pork Pouch, Kaila's Oinking Duck Burger, Josh's "Umami Bomb" Burger, and Mike's Black Sheep Burger. After some deliberation, Kaila won the Mystery Box challenge. Elimination Challenge 2: For winning the Msytery Box, Kaila was immune from elimination and able to choose a Canadian ingredient, apples, maple syrup, or bacon, which was each paired with a bottle of Alexander Keith's Hop Ale. Targeting to eliminate Josh, she chose apples. She was also allowed to force two home cooks to create desserts, and due to Eric rudely commenting on her victory (when Eric discovered that Kaila won the mystery box, he asked if "everyone else cut themselves"), she chose him and Josh. Most home cooks decided to cook their apples with pork, which was considered a safe route. Some of the dishes that shined were Josh's beer-infused profiteroles with caramelized apples, Dora's pork chops with crab apple jelly and beer sauce, and Danielle's glazed pork chop with apple and pancetta salad. Dora's dish was declared the best, followed by Danielle, making them team captains in the next challenge. However, several cooks had trouble including Carly, who let the pressure get to her and ended up with a dish consisting beer-marinated pork chop with apple and celery root puree that is a little bland, Eric, who had an undercooked apple pie that is also visually poor, Julie, whose apple and beer zeppole was deemed "dull" and uncreative, Pino, whose pork chops with lentils and apple compote was borderline on prison food, and Danny, whose spicy pork medallions with apple slaw was not very creative, nor was it appealing in taste (with no taste of the apple nor the beer) or presentation (with Kaila likened it to something that "came out from a really bad diner in the 80s"). At the end, the bottom three were Pino, Eric and Danny. Danny's dish was deemed the worst and he was eliminated from the competition.
6	6	"Edible Art"	February 21, 2014	106
Team Challenge 2: The cooks were sent to Toronto's distillery district for their next team challenge in order to serve many famous artists. The judges were allowed to decide the winning team. Dora chose Carly, Mike, Marida, Julie, and Tammara, while Danielle chose Dale, Josh, Eric, Kaila, and Pino. The cooks had to prepare three canapés (one cold, one hot, and one sweet) for an art gallery. The blue team efficiently decided on tuna tartare for their cold canapé, scallops in a prosciutto cup, and a chocolate raspberry petite fours. The red team chooses creme fraîche and caviar on endive, inside out samosas, and an orange petite fours. Though having several good cooks, the blue team had to swap their prosciutto cup for a purple potato chip, and the tuna tartare was, in comparison to the endive, less appealing. However, the red team also has problems, when the samosa filling is too strong at first and the team has trouble presenting on time. But at the end the red team comes out on top, and the blue team must face a pressure test. Pressure Test 2: The Red team was given the power to choose two contestants to give immunity from the Pressure Test. They chose Pino and Eric, whom they deem the weakest contestants on the team. For the Pressure Test, the four home cooks are assigned to prepare a cheesecake, with the best cheesecake being placed in a magazine. Danielle's limoncello cheesecake is deemed the best of the four. Kaila's chocolate and pecan cheesecake was deemed a misinterpretation of what the cheesecake was meant to be, but is good enough to get her second place. The bottom two are Dale, whose cheesecake sank a bit and had a cliché topping, and Josh's passion fruit cheesecake, which stuck to the bottom of the cooking tray and had a large part of the crust torn off. In the end, Josh's cheesecake is deemed worse than Dale's, and he leaves the competition despite being a frontrunner. Before he leaves, Josh predicts that, despite his young age, Eric will become the first Masterchef of Canada.
7	7	"Brains Before Beauty"	March 3, 2014	107
Mystery Box 3: The 11 finalists faced an emotional Mystery Box challenge that takes them back to their roots, with full access to the MasterChef pantry. The top three were Pino's veal cutlet and blue cheese gnocchi, Marida's shrimp curry with homemade roti and rice, and Eric's Char siu Tong Mein. Eric won the Mystery Box challenge, granting him immunity and a spot in the top 10 of MasterChef Canada. Elimination Challenge 3: The judges presented Eric with ten different cuts of beef from an Alberta cow, ranging from premium steaks to offal. For his advantage, Eric got to decide which home cook would cook which cut of meat. Targeting Kaila and in revenge to her in the last elimination challenge, he gave cow brains to her; liver to Mike; oxtail to Pino; sweetbread to Carly; kidney to Marida; tongue to Danielle; beef cheek to Dora; tomahawk steak to Dale; and flank steak to Julie; bone marrow to Tammara. The top two dishes were Kaila's fried cow brains with polenta and arugula, followed by Pino's Jamaican oxtail stew. Some of the other chefs got mixed results for their dishes: Marida's kidney masala with rice and daal was good but too much like her other dishes; Julie's marinated flank steak with chimichurri is under-seasoned and only partially cut (despite receiving the easiest cut), although it is cooked properly and the sides taste good; Danielle was intimidated by her beef tongue and struggled to create an integrated dish with her roasted beet salad, although the tongue was done well and tasted delicious. The bottom three are Mike, who cut his liver after cooking it, which caused it to oxidize, and serving a watery cauliflower purée, Dora, whose red wine beef cheek stew was ugly and underseasoned, and Dale, who rudely talked back to the judges and severely undercooked his tomahawk steak servied with tri-color fries. The judges called them out for producing disastrous dishes with three of the easiest cuts from the cow. However, Mike's dish was deemed the best of the worst and he was sent to safety. In the end, Dora's dish was deemed the worst, and she was left out of the top 10. Dora predicts that Marida will win the competition.
8	8	"Major Steaks"	March 10, 2014	108
Team Challenge 3: The remaining home cooks head to CFB Trenton for the team challenge of cooking a rib-eye steak with two sides for 151 members of the Canadian Forces. Since Kaila won the last elimination challenge, she becomes captain of the red team. She selects Danielle, Dale, Julie, and Marida. Pino, as the winner of the second-best dish, becomes captain of the blue team and he selects Eric, Mike, Tammara, and Carly. The red team makes Brussels sprouts and bacon hash, roasted potatoes, and steak with a whiskey BBQ sauce, while the blue team creates Brussels sprouts with bacon and balsamic reduction, couscous with grilled vegetables and steak with a BBQ sauce. During prep, both teams struggle with their sauce (with Danielle and Marida on the red team disagreeing over the use of ingredients). While preparing the sprouts, Mike accidentally threw half of theirs in a vat of soapy water, and was forced to mix in beans to compensate. During the service, the red team makes the fatal error of not having enough of their sides due to Kaila telling Julie earlier to stop prepping potatoes at one point (despite Julie's knowledge that there wasn't enough potatoes), and thus, the blue team wins with an overwhelming 107/151 votes. Pressure Test 3: The losing Red Team is given the task of selecting one of their own to save. The team eventually comes down to between Danielle and Marida with two votes each. When Julie urged Kaila to split the tie, Kaila kept on insisting the she should be the one to receive the pass because she is the team leader, leading to an intense argument between her and Julie. However, eventually Marida was made safe. In this pressure test, the home cooks are challenged to make salmon wellington. Danielle cuts herself and leaves for around 10 minutes to get stitched up by the medic, while Dale and Kaila struggle in getting their wellingtons into the oven. In the end, despite being forced to sit out for some time during cooking, Danielle creates the best Salmon Wellington, winning the Pressure Test for the second time in a row. Although Julie's is too big, it is mostly well-executed and earns her immunity, much to Kaila's dismay (as she originally picked Julie for her team in a strategy as an "safety insurance" should she be sent to the pressure test with her). Thereby, Kaila and Dale are left in the bottom two: Kaila for her sloppy presentation and raw pastry, and Dale for undercooking the pastry and putting Swiss chard stems in his Wellington mixture that tastes bitter. In the end, Dale's mistake deems his dish as the worst, and sends him home. Before he left, he predicts that Kaila will win the competition.
9	9	"Great Canadian Bake-Off"	March 17, 2014	109
Mystery Box 4: The top 9 finalists were given a Mystery Box that contained ingredients that the judges enjoyed working with, which included: pork belly, monkfish, squab, cippolini onions, quinoa, mostarda, chanterelles, shiso, miso paste, durian, taro root, and kimchi. There were four top dishes rather than three: Tammara's squab broth with noodles, Danielle's basted monkfish with sea urchin velouté and taro crisps, Marida's monkfish and pork belly with kimchi slaw, and Kaila's whole roasted squab. Danielle's dish was deemed the best, making her the winner of the Mystery Box challenge. Elimination Test 4: For winning the Mystery Box, Danielle was given immunity. Then presented with three classic regional Canadian desserts, one of which she would choose for the other eight home cooks as base to recreate a new one: butter tarts from Ontario, blueberry grunt from the Maritimes, and Nanaimo bars from the Pacific Northwest. Hoping to eliminate either Kaila or Marida, Danielle selected the Nanaimo bars. The top dish was Tammara's fried Nanaimo pierogi, followed by Eric's chocolate mousse Nanaimo tart (despite after burning his caramel twice), making them team captains in the next challenge. Another strong dish was Mike's blueberry Nanaimo bar. The majority of the home cooks struggled: Julie's raspberry and chocolate Nanaimo bar tasted good but was not a reinvented dessert; Kaila made coconut, chocolate, and vanilla panna cotta, with only the coconut panna cotta setting properly; Pino, whose Nanimo bar tart with strawberries looked sloppy and tasted disappointing; Marida, who made Nanaimo truffles which ended up very dry, and Carly, who attempted making Nanaimo bar cups that severely suffered in execution (due to the fact that she had no idea what she was doing and needing to ask Tammara how to do things step by step). The bottom three where Pino, Marida, and Carly. In the end, Carly's dessert was deemed the worst and she left the MasterChef Canada kitchen in an emotional elimination, and predicted Tammara to be the winner.
10	10	"Meals on Wheels"	March 24, 2014	110
Team Challenge 4: At the Nathan Phillip Square in Toronto, the eight home cooks are asked to run a food truck, either Mexicana or Italiano. Tammara, which had the top dish in the previous challenge, chose the first one, leaving the other to Eric. In picking team, at first Tammara, Marida, Mike and Julie were the Blue Team while Eric, Pino, Danielle, and Kaila formed the Red Team. But the judges gave Tammara the advantage of trading a member. She exchanged Julie with Pino. They had two hours to cook and serve a dish with the assigned style. The Red Team served an Italian Meatballs Submarine sandwich, and the Blue Team opted for a Steak Taco with Pico de Gallo. Both team had some struggle in this challenge, the Blue had some problems in serving, but quickly recovered, while the Red had to cook again some meatballs which resulted raw. In the end of the challenge, the Blue Team won by a narrow margin of only 15 dollars. Pressure Test 4: Kaila, Julie, Eric and Danielle all had to take part in this Pressure Test. The competitors had 80 minutes to recreate an incredibly difficult dessert: a Baked Alaska. This test prove to be very troublesome for all competitors, especially Danielle and Kaila. Eric's baked Alaska was very good, and he was safe. Danielle, Julie and Kaila all had flaws: Danielle's had a very weak sponge, leading her to ice cream to melt; Julie's sponge had bits of raw flour in it; while Kaila, despite being praised for a three-layers presentation, had a mushy and brownie-like sponge that was unpleasant. Julie's Baked Alaska was deemed the second best, although she was warned to start paying attention to the judges' advises. In the end, Danielle was the home cook whose journey ended in MasterChef Canada. Despite failing to get along with Kaila in the past, she predicted that Kaila will be the first winner of Masterchef Canada.
11	11	"Claws Out"	March 31, 2014	111
Mystery Box 5: The contestants had to cook from two mystery boxes. The first was empty, meaning they could use any ingredient plus the ingredient from the second mystery box, lobster. They were allowed to cook the lobster any way with three contestants cooking a risotto. They were given 45 minutes, giving many contestants many struggles. In the end, the top three dishes were Mike's deconstructed lobster roll, Tammara's butter-poached lobster with Thai mango slaw, and Eric's lobster risotto with mushrooms. Mike was declared as the winner of the Mystery Box. He was given a free pass into the next round and chose the teams for the elimination test. Elimination Test 5 The contestants had to recreate a Chinese Dim sum platter identical to a modeled five dish platter consisting of Har gow (shrimp dumpings), Cha siu bao (steamed pork buns), fried spring rolls, Shumai, and Jiaozi (steamed pot stickers).[3] The teams Mike chose were Tammara-Pino, Julie-Marida, and Kaila-Eric. This was a tag team challenge: one chef at a time could cook while one gave orders with each member switching in a while. Tammara and Pino worked well together and produced the best recreation, thereby winning the challenge. During the challenge, Eric was frantic, but he and Kaila manage to produce the second best platter for its great presentation but bland flavors (as they didn't taste their dishes before plating). Julie and Marida struggle immensely, mainly due to Julie's lack of knowledge and skills in making dim sim. They failed to finish the shrimp dumpling and their spring rolls exploded in the fryer since Julie didn't seal them with eggs. In the end, Julie was eliminated for turning in clearly the weaker performance of the two.
12	12	"Line of Fire"	April 7, 2014	112
Team Challenge 5: Previous elimination challenge winners Tamara and Pino are team captains of two teams in a "Restaurant Takeover" of judge Claudio Aprile's Origin North. In a surprise twist, the team captains are not allowed to choose their teams, rather, restaurant owner Aprile chooses them. The "Red Team" consists of Tamara, Kaila, and Mike, while the "Blue Team" consists of Pino, Marida, and Eric. The Red Team suffers an embarrassing "walk out" by a table during service, while the Blue Team gets so far behind that Aprile has to abandon the pass and work the line with them in order to recover. In the end, the judges determine the Blue Team to have the worst performance and subject them to the pressure test. Pressure Test 5: The Blue Team, consisting of Pino, Marida, and Eric are required to create a box of one dozen donuts, with at least three different types. Marida creates a beautiful box of donuts, even though it is not part of her background in Trinidad and Tobago cuisine, leading to a snide comment by judge Alvin Leung that her "boyfriend must be a policeman". As usual, Eric over-complicates the assignment and attempts to put eight different types in the box, with varying degrees of success. Pino mixes up his dry measures and some of his donuts are overly dense. Compounding this error is his decision to intentionally make his donuts in non-uniform sizes, which the judges find bizarre. Pino is judged to have made the worst box of donuts and is sent home, and predicts Tammara will win the competition.
13	13	"Family Style"	April 14, 2014	113
Team Challenge 6: The five remaining contestants are reunited with their families, and then asked to create a family style meal, consisting of an entrée and two sides, for a combined table of family members and judges. The remaining five contestants are split into two teams. As the winner of the previous pressure test, Marida is allowed to select one or two members for her team. In a somewhat surprising move, Marida selects only Tamara to create a team of two, declining the opportunity to select a third member, leaving Eric, Kaila, and Mike as members of the opposing team. Marida and Tammara are judged to have done the best with the challenge, despite being short-handed, and are safe from elimination. Pressure Test 6: Eric, Kaila, and Mike face off in the pressure test. The judges ask the three to make the perfect Steak frites, requiring a perfectly cooked medium rare New York strip steak, crispy fries, and Béarnaise sauce. All of the resulting dishes have problems with different components of the dish. Kaila delivers "pasty" fries, Eric's Béarnaise has the consistency of mayonnaise, and Mike delivers a blue steak. In the end, the judges decide that a problem with the "jewel of the crown" (the steak) is the biggest mistake and Mike is sent home. He predicts that Tammara will be the winner.
14	14	"Not Your Average Joe"	April 21, 2014	114
Mystery Box 6: Special guest Joe Bastianich assembles the box with his favorite Italian ingredients, adding a white wine from his Friuli vineyard. The judges reveal that this is a "high-stakes" mystery box challenge where the person with the worst dish will be sent home immediately, in addition to the winner receiving an advantage in the subsequent elimination challenge. As a guest judge, Bastianich discusses all of the dishes and names the winner, while the regular judges determine the worst dish. Kaila's stuffed veal loin with tomato sauce and olive tapenade is named as the winning dish. Marida's Mediterranean stew and roti with calamari is named as the second best dish. This leaves Eric, whose dish of homemade fettuccine with sausage and tomato sauce is deemed too simple despite being very well cooked, and Tammara, whose dish of veal loin medallions and spätzle with tomato salad, despite being well realized, is deemed to be "two different ideas on a plate". In the end, Tammara was deemed to have cooked the worst dish, thereby sending Eric to the top 3, much to the shock of the other cooks. Elimination Test 6: In the final elimination challenge of the season, the remaining contestants choose from scallops, razor clams, or Dungeness crab. As the winner of the previous mystery box challenge, Kaila chooses first and selects the scallops. With the second-best dish, Marida chooses next and selects the razor clams, and Eric is visibly overjoyed to receive the crab. Kaila makes a dish of seared scallop with confit potatoes and pea purees, but her scallops are slightly overcooked. Marida's Trinidadian razor clams with mango and peppers is well received by the judges for its presentation and flavors. Eric makes a mild Thai green curry with the crab that really impressed the judges with the flavors. In the end, Kaila is eliminated, setting up a final between Marida and Eric.
15	15	"And Then There Were 2"	April 28, 2014	115
Eric and Marida compete for the title. They are instructed to create a three-course meal, and the best meal will win the $100,000 and the title of MasterChef Canada. They are given one hour to make each course. For her appetizer, Marida creates a pumpkin callaloo soup with coconut lime crème fraîche, crispy pig tail, and lime pepper sauce, while Eric creates a crispy pork belly with vegetable dumplings and wasabi mayonnaise. Both appetizers receive rave reviews, although Eric's it is a bit large for an appetizer and Claudio's pork belly is dry. In the entrée round, Eric makes lobster with egg noodles, and Marida composes taro-leaf steamed black cod with pigeon pea purée, mango chutney, and cucumber. Eric's dish redeems his previous performance with lobster in the competition, and receives almost perfect reviews. Marida's dish is praised for its variety in the flavor components, with judge Aprile calling it a "destination dish", but is criticized for being too small for an entrée. In the dessert course, Marida makes an apple crumble with coconut ice cream and rum sauce, while Eric makes an Asian take on a banana split, composed of tempura-fried bananas with red bean and green tea ice cream. Eric is declared first MasterChef Canada. In the end, Michael Bonacini calls for second season casting.

References

1. "CTV - Masterchef Canada - Details". Bell Media. Retrieved 2014-04-27.
2. "Watch Masterchef Canada Online on CTV | Watch Full Episodes". ctv.ca. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
3. "Entertainment Entertainment RSS Feed MasterChef Canada recap: the evil genius edition". Calgary Herald. 2014-04-01. Retrieved 2014-04-04.