Niagara mom back to win ‘Masterchef’
Jen Jenkins goes against other returning players for the seventh season
A Niagara Falls stay-at-home mom is getting another shot at winning “Masterchef Canada.”
Jen Jenkins, who appeared on the CTV show’s fifth season and finished in eighth place, will go against other returning cooks for “Masterchef Canada: Back to Win,” premièring next weekend.
“I was unbelievably flattered when they asked me (back),” says Jenkins. “I think they liked me for who I was and saw that I had a drive. I’m a mom, I’m relatable and was shooting for a dream of going to cooking school.”
During her first season Jenkins was living in Dawson Creek, B.C. She moved with her husband to Niagara Falls shortly after and attended culinary school, but she was forced to withdraw when she had her second child.
Even so, she feels she’s better prepared and a better cook than last time.
“I intended on being more sure of myself and believing that I deserved to be there,” she says. “The first time around was filled with stress and anxiety and just not really knowing where I stood. I was just scared the whole time.
“This time around I was excited to show people where I have grown.”
She recalls crying most every episode during Season 5. For the new season — which has already filmed — “I think I cried once.”
“Masterchef Canada” pits amateur home cooks against each other in a series of challenges before judges Claudio Aprile, Michael Bonacini and Alvin Leung.
The winner of each season gets $100,000 and a ‘Chef’s Culinary Package.’
The show’s seventh season brings back 12 non-winners from throughout the show’s run, including Andrew Alkhouri (Season 2), Dora Cote (Season 1) and Jeremy Senaris (Season 3).
Jenkins was eliminated midway through Season 5, which was won by 19-year-old Beccy Stables of Sherwood Park, Alta.
Jenkins says she was better equipped to deal with the pressure of the show, which often sees meals whipped up under tight timelines.
“The first couple shoots, you know the cameras are there, you feel the cameras there. But once you’re in it and concentrating on what you’re doing … for any of us cooks, we know what that level of focus can be.”
She credits her first season for relighting her “fire” for cooking after starting a family.
Her second season, filmed in the midst of a pandemic, was “more fun.”
“It was like, we’ve already been here before. It felt familiar, so it was exciting to get back in there.
“It wasn’t just a ball of nerves constantly. And we got to meet other alumni from the show, which was even cooler because we were fan-girling each other.” she added.
“Masterchef Canada” airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on CTV, starting Feb. 14.