Canada's Top 5 Home Cooks are Revealed on MASTERCHEF CANADA

– Shawn Karls, a Doctor from Montréal, was sent home on tonight's MASTERCHEF CANADA –
– Following a two-week hiatus, an all-new episode of MASTERCHEF CANADA returns Sunday, May 29 at 7 p.m. ET/PT on CTV and the CTV GO app, as the remaining Top 5 home cooks create dishes inspired by classic cocktails – 

TORONTO, May 8, 2016 /CNW/ - In a close fight to the finish, Shawn Karls was edged out of making the Top 5 after a Team Challenge loss and an intricate Pressure Test. After a tough deliberation, MASTERCHEF CANADA judges Michael Bonacini, Alvin Leung, and Claudio Aprile chose to send the doctor from Montréal home from the competition. Following a two-week hiatus, MASTERCHEF CANADA returns with an all-new episode on Sunday, May 29 at 7 p.m. ET/PT on CTV and the CTV GO app. On the next episode of MASTERCHEF CANADA, the Top 5 remaining home cooks face a Mystery Box Challenge inspired by Michael Bonacini's world-class cuisine.

On tonight's episode of MASTERCHEF CANADA, the Top 6 home cooks put their skills to the ultimate test during a demanding Team Challenge – the notorious Restaurant Takeover. This season, Chef Alvin Leung entrusted the home cooks to execute three different dishes at his upscale Asian restaurant R&D, which he co-owns with MASTERCHEF CANADA Season 1 winner Eric Chong. As winners of last week's Elimination Challenge, Mary Berg and Jeremy Senaris were team captains. It quickly became a battle of the sexes as Mary chose April Lee Baker and Veronica Cham for her Red Team, and Jeremy selected Matthew Astorga and Shawn Karls for the Blue Team. The home cooks were tasked with learning how to make three different dishes: Chop Suey Noodle Salad, Korean-Inspired Bibimbap, and Eric's winning dish from MASTERCHEF CANADA Season 1 – Lobster Chow Mein. In a surprise twist, the home cooks learned they would be preparing the dishes for MASTERCHEF CANADA alumni from the past two seasons.

Jeremy and April Lee oversaw the wok station for the Blue and Red teams respectively, but Jeremy faced a setback early when his wok erupted in flames at the start of dinner service. Each dish was checked by Chef Alvin before being served to the diners, with Chef Claudio Aprile and Chef Michael Bonacini checking in with the alumni and assessing their overall experience. The judges noticed the all-female Red Team dominated in the kitchen, as Mary adapted well to her leadership role, while Jeremy, focused on his duties at the wok, wasn't  paying attention to what was going on around him. However, both teams faced setbacks with their Lobster Chow Mein dishes, as MASTERCHEF CANADA Season 2 winner David Jorge found a large piece of cartilage in his lobster dish, while MASTERCHEF CANADA Season 1 Top 10 home cook Julia Miguel found a piece of shell in hers. Both team's dishes were also sampled by the judges to assess which team replicated Chef Alvin's signature R&D dishes better.

Back in the MASTERCHEF CANADA kitchen, the judges revealed the winning team of Restaurant Takeover was the Red Team, advancing Mary, April Lee, and Veronica to the Top 5. The losing Blue Team then had to face the Pressure Test – a customized version of the French dessert, Charlotte cake. During the challenge, Jeremy added the wrong dry ingredients for his ladyfinger batter, forcing him to start again. Meanwhile, Shawn realized too late that he didn't make enough batter for his ladyfingers and the structural base of his cake, and Matthew struggled with his passion fruit glaze which leaked through his ladyfinger layer. After tasting the three desserts, the judges sent Jeremy to safety before revealing that Dr. Shawn would be heading home.

Returning in two weeks, on an all-new episode of MASTERCHEF CANADA (Sunday, May 29 at 7 p.m. ET/PT on CTV and CTV GO), the Top 5 are pushed to raise the bar during a Mystery Box Challenge inspired by judge and Chef Michael Bonacini's world-class cuisine. Then, in a difficult Elimination Challenge, the home cooks must create both sweet and a savoury dishes inspired by classic cocktails.

The remaining Top 5 home cooks vying for the title of MASTERCHEF CANADA and the $100,000 cash prize are:

• April Lee Baker, a Homemaker from Calgary, Alta.
• Jeremy Senaris, a Building Plan Examiner from Winnipeg, Man.
• Mary Berg, an Insurance Broker from Toronto, Ont.
• Matthew Astorga, Digital Design Consultant from Pitt Meadows, B.C.
• Veronica Cham, a Lawyer from Toronto, Ont.

For more on MASTERCHEF CANADA, fans can visit CTV.ca/MasterChefCanada for exclusive content, including must-see videos with the home cooks and the judges, bios, full episodes, sneak peeks, and extras.

New episodes of MASTERCHEF CANADA are available following their broadcast premiere on demand at CTV.ca and on the CTV GO app, and encore Mondays at 8 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.

Viewers can watch Shawn Karls live on CTV MORNING LIVE ATLANTIC (Weekdays at 7 a.m. AT on CTV Two Atlantic), CANADA AM (Weekdays at 6 a.m. ET), CP24 BREAKFAST (Weekdays 5:30 a.m. ET), CTV News Channel (10:45 a.m. ET/PT), and THE SOCIAL (Weekdays at 1 p.m. ET/PT) on Monday, May 9 as he discusses his experience on MASTERCHEF CANADA.

The MASTERCHEF format and finished programmes are represented internationally by Endemol 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. 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; Randy Lennox is President, Entertainment Production and Broadcasting.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:

Twitter: #MasterChefCanada
@CTV_PR
@CTV_Television
@MasterChefCDA
Michael Bonacini – @MichaelBonacini
Alvin Leung – @TheDemonChef
Claudio Aprile – @ClaudioAprile
April Lee Baker – @AprilLeeBaker
Jeremy Senaris – @chefonfiyah
Mary Berg – @mary_berg3
Matthew Astorga – @matthewastorga
Veronica Cham – @vronnie17

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

Instagram:
@MasterChefCDA
@BellMediaPR
Michael Bonacini – @chefmichaelbonacini
Claudio Aprile – @claudioaprile1
April Lee Baker – @April_Lee_B
Jeremy Senaris – @onfiyah
Mary Berg – @mary_berg3
Matthew Astorga – @matthewastorga
Veronica Cham – @vronnie17

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 14 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 CTV

Tonia Addison, CTV Networks, 416.384.2194 or [email protected]; Ama Sechere, CTV Networks, 416.384.2066 or [email protected]; Christy Sullivan, CTV Networks, 416.384.3624 or [email protected]