Mary Berg from Toronto is the Season 3 Winner of CTV's MASTERCHEF CANADA

– Mary Berg becomes the first woman to win the MASTERCHEF CANADA title –
– Winnipeg's Jeremy Senaris is the Season 3 runner-up –
– MASTERCHEF CANADA currently averages 1.4 million viewers and is the most-watched Canadian series with total viewers this broadcast year to date –
– Casting for Season 4 of MASTERCHEF CANADA is now open, and hopeful home cooks can apply online at CTV.ca/MasterChefCanada –
– Season 3 will join the MASTERCHEF collection on CraveTV™ beginning Friday, July 1 –
– To tweet this release: http://bit.ly/261NrbP –

TORONTO, June 19, 2016 /CNW/ - After a fierce 15-episode food fight that saw home cooks take on high stakes challenges, Mystery Box surprises, and each other, it was revealed tonight by judges Michael Bonacini, Alvin Leung, and Claudio Aprile that insurance broker Mary Berg (@mary_berg3) from Toronto is the winner of MASTERCHEF CANADA Season 3. Cooking her way through a gruelling three course culinary showdown, Mary was awarded the title of MASTERCHEF CANADA and the $100,000 grand prize over runner up Jeremy Senaris (@chefonfiyah), a building plan examiner from Winnipeg. For home cooks looking to follow in Mary's footsteps and snag their own MASTERCHEF CANADA title, casting for Season 4 of the hit competition series is now open, and details can be found at CTV.ca/MasterChefCanada.

"I cannot express how incredibly thrilled and honoured I am to have earned the title of Canada's MasterChef!," said Mary Berg. "This accomplishment, along with my experiences in the MasterChef Canada Kitchen, and the fellowship that developed between myself and the other home cooks, is something I will forever be proud of. With the support of my mom, fiancé, family, and friends, I am excited to start the next chapter of my career in the culinary industry, doing what I love."

On tonight's MASTERCHEF CANADA Season 3 finale, Canada's Top 2 home cooks faced off in the most spectacular culinary showdown in MASTERCHEF CANADA history. Mary and Jeremy each prepared a three-course restaurant quality meal that demonstrated everything they've learned throughout the competition.

For the appetizer course, Mary presented a golden beet borscht with horseradish goat's cheese mousse, beet-cured trout, and caraway crumb. Judges Michael Bonacini, Alvin Leung, and Claudio Aprile enjoyed the flavours and texture of her dish, as well as the presentation. After trying Jeremy's bison tataki with uni cream, lotus chips, and tataki sauce, the judges felt his dish was complex with wonderful flavours.

The home cooks then moved on to prepare their entrees. Jeremy presented the judges with four sushi-inspired dishes, including a deconstructed spider roll with soft shell crab, a marinated baby octopus with mushrooms, a tuna crunch roll with wasabi mayo and crispy salmon skin, and a ginger papaya salad. The judges gave Jeremy credit for his ambition in creating so many dishes and felt his creations were creative, delicious, and well executed. Mary's entrée was an elevated spin on the classic surf and turf with beef tenderloin, fried oysters, and arugula and sea asparagus pesto. The vegetarian's anxiety over the readiness of the beef was ultimately unnecessary, as it was a perfect medium. The judges enjoyed Mary's beautifully composed plate and felt each component was perfect.

In the last battle of the competition, Mary and Jeremy prepared their desserts. Jeremy made a milk tea pannacotta with coconut tapioca, fried plantains, and jackfruit ice cream. Meanwhile, Mary came forward with a blueberry financier with brown butter crumb, kettle corn, blueberry sauce, and buttermilk corn ice cream. The judges found Jeremy's dessert original and flavourful, while Mary's creation was sophisticated with all her flavours working well together. Following a difficult deliberation and the closest competition the judges have seen, they revealed that Mary was Canada's next MasterChef.

MASTERCHEF CANADA is the most-watched Canadian series with total viewers this broadcast year to date, and currently averages 1.4 million viewers. The series also ranks in the Top 20 this spring with the key A25-54 demo, and consistently wins its Sunday at 7 p.m. timeslot with total viewers.

MASTERCHEF CANADA is looking for the next batch of home cooks hoping to fulfill their culinary dreams, as casting has begun for Season 4 of the hit competition series. Details on how to apply for MASTERCHEF CANADA are available at CTV.ca/MasterChefCanada, and Canadian home cooks have until 11:59 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 6, 2016 to show their interest. Casting will come to a close on August 6 with an Open Casting Call in Toronto, with additional details to be announced later this summer.

Viewers can relive all of this season's action in the kitchen with episodes available on demand on CTV.ca and the CTV GO app. Season 3 will also join the MASTERCHEF collection on CraveTV with episodes streaming beginning Friday, July 1. The Season 3 finale will encore Monday, June 20 at 8 p.m. ET on M3, Saturday, June 25 at 7 p.m. ET/8 p.m. AT on CTV Two, and Sunday, June 26 at 5 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

Viewers can watch Mary live on CTV MORNING LIVE ATLANTIC (Weekdays at 7 a.m. AT on CTV Two Atlantic), CTV MORNING LIVE OTTAWA (Weekdays at 6 a.m. ET on CTV Ottawa) CP24 BREAKFAST (Weekdays at 5:30 a.m. ET), CTV News Channel (8:45 a.m. ET/PT) on Monday, June 20, and on CTV MORNING LIVE REGINA (Weekdays at 6 a.m. MT on CTV Regina), THE SOCIAL (Weekdays at 1 p.m. ET/PT on CTV), and ETALK (Weekdays at 7 p.m. ET/PT on CTV) on Tuesday, June 21 as she discusses her 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 
Jeremy Senaris – @chefonfiyah 
Mary Berg – @mary_berg3

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

Instagram:
@MasterChefCDA 
@BellMediaPR 
Michael Bonacini – @chefmichaelbonacini 
Claudio Aprile – @claudioaprile1 
Jeremy Senaris – @onfiyah 
Mary Berg – @mary_berg3

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.

Source: Numeris, BYTD 2015-16 (Sep. 21, 2015 – June 5, 2016), Spring 2016 (Feb. 22, 2016 – May 22, 2016). Final data.

SOURCE CTV

Image with caption: "Mary Berg from Toronto is the MASTERCHEF CANADA Season 3 winner (CNW Group/CTV)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160619_C4867_PHOTO_EN_716963.jpg

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]