A Tortellini Challenge Stumble Sees Kwasi Douglas from Ajax, Ontario Eliminated from CTV's MASTERCHEF CANADA

– The home cooks face an emotional birthday cake Mystery Box in next week's new episode of MASTERCHEF CANADA on Sunday, March 29 at 7 p.m. (8 p.m. CT) –
– Following a season-high audience of 1.7 million viewers on March 8, MASTERCHEF CANADA currently averages 1.6 million viewers and is the #1 Canadian series among all key demos –

TORONTO, March 22, 2015 /CNW/ - A fresh pasta Pressure Test sealed the fate of MASTERCHEF CANADA Season 2 Top 12 home cook Kwasi Douglas (@splashdafoodgod) from Ajax, Ontario, as judges Michael Bonacini, Alvin Leung, and Claudio Aprile found his tortellini dish confusing and sent him home from the MASTERCHEF CANADA kitchen. The next episode of MASTERCHEF CANADA airs Sunday, March 29 at 7 p.m. (8 p.m. CT) on CTV, and finds the home cooks facing a sweet but emotional Mystery Box Challenge that requires them to bake and decorate birthday cakes that express something about themselves.

In tonight's episode, the Top 12 home cooks participated in their second Team Challenge on the University of Guelph campus, where they were challenged to create and sell their own version of a uniquely Canadian guilty pleasure – poutine. The winners of last week's Mystery Box Challenge, David Jorge and Sabrina Poirier, were named team captains, and David was given the surprise advantage of naming a third team captain. With a previous Team Challenge loss already under her belt, David named Line Pelletier. The teams battled incomplete dishes, dissatisfied customers, and lengthy lines, with Line's Green Team ultimately coming out on top and winning the challenge by only seven orders of poutine.

Back in the MASTERCHEF CANADA kitchen, team captains David and Sabrina faced a difficult decision when they were told they could each save one home cook from elimination from each of their teams. They both chose to take responsibility for their team's failures and saved a teammate – Michael Motamedi from David's Red Team and Jon Hameister-Ries from Sabrina's Blue Team. In the Pressure Test, the remaining home cooks were challenged to prepare a delicate Italian favourite – tortellini. Once the hour was up, Christopher Siu, despite his lack of confidence, impressed the judges and served the best tortellini of the challenge, stuffed with pancetta, sausage, mushroom, and artichoke.

Kwasi Douglas' overly-ambitious dish, and David's simplistic pasta, led to their placement in the bottom two. Ultimately, the judges decided that Kwasi's dish of red pepper, anchovy, and raisin-stuffed tortellini was lost in translation, and he was sent home.

**Media Note** – Download photos for MASTERCHEF CANADA at BellMediaPR.ca

MASTERCHEF CANADA remains the #1 Canadian series among all key demos for the broadcast year to date, and has a season average of 1.6 million viewers. On March 8, MASTERCHEF CANADA had a season-high audience of 1.7 million viewers.

In the next new episode of MASTERCHEF CANADA (Sunday, March 29 at 7 p.m./8 p.m. CT), the Top 11 home cooks face a sweet but emotional Mystery Box Challenge that requires them to bake and decorate birthday cakes that express something about themselves. Then, a dramatic twist gives two home cooks a strategic advantage in the Elimination Challenge, where they assign their competitors challenging 'odd couple' ingredients.

The remaining home cooks vying for the title of MASTERCHEF CANADA and the $100,000 cash prize are:
-       Andrew Al-Khouri, a Tax Officer from Halifax, N.S.
-       Christopher Siu, a Pharmacy Student from Markham, Ont.
-       Cody Karey, a Recording Artist from Vancouver, B.C.
-       David Jorge, a Concrete Contractor from Surrey, B.C.
-       Jennifer Innis, a Dental Hygienist from Vernon, B.C.
-       Jon Hameister-Ries, a former Pro Football Player and Financial Advisor from Vancouver, B.C.
-       Kristen Dwyer, an Early Childhood Educator from Conception Bay South, N.L.
-       Line Pelletier, a Canadian Military Veteran and Computer Specialist from Moncton, N.B.
-       Michael Motamedi, an Entrepreneur from Toronto, Ont.
-       Sabrina Poirier, an Office Manager from Montréal, Que.
-       Tammy Wood, a Retail Clerk from Agassiz, B.C.

MASTERCHEF CANADA also streams on demand on CTV GO and CTV.ca, and episodes encore following their broadcast premieres Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on M3, Saturdays at 7 p.m. ET/PT on CTV Two, and Sundays at 5 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

The MASTERCHEF format is represented internationally by Shine International, the sales and distribution arm of Shine Group, and is based on a format originally created by Franc Roddam.

MASTERCHEF CANADA is produced by Proper Television in association with CTV. President of Proper Television, Guy O'Sullivan is executive producer, along with Proper's Vice-President and Creative Director, Cathie James. Shine America's Paula Warwick is Creative Consultant. For Bell Media, Tina Apostolopoulos is Production Executive, Factual and Reality, Independent Production. Robin Johnston is Director, Factual and Reality, Independent Production. Corrie Coe is Senior Vice-President, Independent Production. Mike Cosentino is Senior Vice-President, Programming, CTV Networks and CraveTV. Phil King is President - CTV, Sports, and Entertainment Programming.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:

Twitter:
#MasterChefCanada
@CTV_PR
@CTV_Television
@MasterChefCDA
Michael Bonacini – @MichaelBonacini
Alvin Leung – @TheDemonChef
Claudio Aprile – @ClaudioAprile
Andrew Al-Khouri – @Zataartheory
Christopher Siu – @Baker_Siu
Cody Karey – @codykarey
David Jorge – @concrete_cook
Jennifer Innis – @JenniferInnis
Jon Hameister-Ries – @jonhr67
Kristen Dwyer – @kristenstar23
Line Pelletier – @TheSaucyLine
Michael Motamedi – @MichaelBaffi
Sabrina Poirier – @Sabrinapmtl
Tammy Wood – @saucysgotgame

Facebook:
facebook.com/ctv
facebook.com/MasterChefCDA

Instagram:
MasterChefCDA
BellMediaPR
Claudio Aprile – claudioaprile1
Andrew Al-Khouri – Zataartheory
Christopher Siu – baker_siu
Cody Karey – codykarey
David Jorge – concrete_cook
Jennifer Innis – jensheninnis
Jon Hameister-Ries – jonhr67
Kristen Dwyer – kristendwyer23
Line Pelletier – TheSaucyLine
Michael Motamedi – MichaelBaffi 
Sabrina Poirier – Sabrinapmtl
Tammy Wood – saucysgotgame

About CTV
CTV is Canada's #1 private broadcaster. Featuring a wide range of quality news, sports, information, and entertainment programming, CTV has been Canada's most-watched television network for the past 13 years in a row. CTV is a division of Bell Media, Canada's premier multimedia company with leading assets in television, radio, digital, and Out-of-Home. Bell Media is owned by BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada's largest communications company. More information about CTV can be found on the network's website at CTV.ca.

- CTV -

Source: Numeris (BBM Canada), Sept. 22, 2014 – March 8, 2015, final data.

SOURCE CTV

Tanya Koivusalo, CTV Networks, 416.384.2664 or [email protected]; Christy Sullivan, CTV Networks, 416.384.3624 or [email protected]