A kinder, gentler cooking battle

MasterChef Canada Tuesdays, CTV

The anxiety, turmoil, tears and absolute triumph of MasterChef Canada, which debuted its season 5 recently on CTV have returned.

The home cooks — whittled down to 12 from 21 in the first episode, are drawn from across Canada, from diverse backgrounds and industries. They range from a biomedical engineer to a financial adviser to a firefighter, from a small-business owner to a stay-at-home mom.

“Last spring, MasterChef Canada was the most-watched Canadian program with total viewers,” said Mike Cosentino, president of content and programming for Bell Media.

It doesn’t hurt when you have a panel of some of Canada’s most talented food stars to judge the home cooks: distinguished chefs Michael Bonacini (of the O & B restaurant empire), Alvin Leung (Bo Innovation in Hong Kong) and Claudio Aprile (Copetin Restaurant & Bar), return to the kitchen to help guide, mould, cajole and dig deep for the new winner. Contestants are vying for a $100,000 cash prize and the title of the next Canadian MasterChef.

“We push very hard to bring out the very best (in the contestants),” said Bonacini, who met with the media with fellow judge Aprile.

“This is a very prestigious title,” he said. “In a sense, we are the protectors of the MasterChef Canada title.”

The show stands out for what it doesn’t do — namely scream at people, throw temper tantrums and whip up a frenzy of chaos found in other food shows. “It’s rather shocking that there’s compassion behind the show’s success,” said Aprile. “This is what makes the show uniquely Canadian — and uniquely ours.”

Both chefs agree the calibre of the talent coming into the kitchen is high: “It blows my mind when you see the incredible passion and natural abilities of these home cooks,” said Bonacini.

“Every year, it’s obvious the home cooks get stronger and more skilled,” Aprile said.

That said, not every dish is a winner and at the end of the season, there can only be one winner.

“The chemistry on the show is really good, but that doesn’t mean we agree with each other,” said Bonacini.

“We often disagree, but we argue our point with great tenacity and defend our position.”

“These are people who truly love to cook and who have an incredible passion,” said Aprile.

“And we push them hard — encouraging them every step of the way,” said Bonacini.

The judges believe in the home cooks, and say they recognize in them the same passion for the industry that attracted them to the food business.