Liz Worndl (33), Raynie Stubbs (34), and Veronica Wu (30), all from Toronto, enter the MasterChef Canada kitchen in the Season 8 premiere – the first of eleven episodes – Thursday, October 2 at 9pm ET on CTV. Following the special premiere, MASTERCHEF CANADA moves to Tuesday nights with a repeat serving of the premiere episode on Oct. 7 and new episodes beginning Oct. 14.
This season’s judges; Mary Berg, Hugh Acheson, and Craig Wong will mentor 15 home cooks from across Canada.
Here is a brief backgrounder for our Toronto readers on the three home cooks from TO!
Liz Worndl, 33
Occupation: Dentist
Hometown: Toronto
Go-To Dish: Homemade Cappelletti Pasta
Since a young age, Liz’s true passion has always been found in the kitchen as she dreamed of being a chef. While her career path led her to becoming a dentist by day, she took her love of cooking with her to dentistry school where she started a culinary club. Since then, she’s also launched a food blog and spends her vacations travelling overseas for immersive cooking classes. Known for her meticulous style and love of hosting, Liz dreams of expanding her blog into a foodie hub, where she can share recipes and videos, and hopefully one day write cookbooks.
Raynie Stubbs, 34
Occupation: Bank Change Consultant
Hometown: Toronto
Go-To Dish: Deconstructed Corn Chowder with Seared Scallops and Beer Bacon Jam
Raynie grew up in small-town New Brunswick, in a culinary culture where black pepper is considered “too spicy”. Raynie loves to explore the world through food and the bold flavours of international cuisines. Cooking and discovering new cultures have been a huge part of his journey to embracing his authentic self. Raynie believes food tastes best when it’s made for loved ones, so he can often be found cooking for his fiancé, Mike, and his parents. When he’s not in the kitchen, Raynie can often be found throwing stones with the LGBTQ+ curling league he helps to run in his community; exploring the great outdoors; checking out a local craft brewery; or hosting the best kitchen parties.
Veronica Wu, 30
Occupation: Senior Data Engineering Manager
Hometown: Toronto
Go-To Dish: Sichuan Sliced Beef and Tripe in Homemade Chili Sauce
Veronica grew up in Tianshui, a remote and historical city in Northwest China, a world away from Western influence. Immigrating to Canada to pursue her education, Veronica often prepares dishes she learned from her parents and grandparents to stay connected to her roots. Veronica is highly technical in the kitchen, mastering both baking and savoury cooking; luckily for her partner and friends, they get to reap the rewards. Along with her perfected culinary skills, Veronica is also a risk-taker when it comes to cooking, so it’s not so far-fetched that she dreams of opening a farm-to-table restaurant with cats and capybaras.
More Inside Takes on the Season 8 Premiere of MASTERCHEF Canada and How the Competition Works
In the Season 8 premiere, titled “Black Apron Battle” (airing Thursday, Oct. 2 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app, and streaming next day on Crave), the 15 home cooks enter the kitchen for a high-stakes Pressure Test. Those who can handle the heat will secure a white apron, but for the home cooks who don’t manage the pressure, they’ll have to rely on their Signature Dish to secure the remaining coveted white aprons to advance to the next round.
Previous Seasons
All previous seasons of MASTERCHEF CANADA are available for streaming on CTV.ca, the CTV app, and Crave, with previous seasons of the MASTERCHEF franchise also available on CTV.ca and the CTV app.
CIBC is helping the winner of MASTERCHEF CANADA realize their dreams with $100,000 dollars. Dempster’s® and Chicken Farmers of Canada join the mix as Challenge Partners for the new season. Represented internationally by Banijay Entertainment, MASTERCHEF is the world’s most successful cookery television format (Guinness World Records) and was crowned Spin-Off Superstar in last year’s K7 report. Now commissioned across 71 markets, the life-changing show has aired over 750 seasons and more than 16,000 episodes to-date.
Created by Franc Roddam and first launched in 1990, the super-brand is known and enjoyed across the globe. MASTERCHEF CANADA is produced by MEM in association with CTV. For MEM, Scott McGillivray is CEO, Nanci MacLean is COO, and Marike Emery is Executive Producer. For Bell Media, Rachel Goldstein-Couto is Head of Development, Original Programming; Kelsey-Ann Maria is Production Executive; Danielle Pearson is Senior Production Executive, Original Programming; Sarah Fowlie is Head of Production, Original Programming; Carlyn Klebuc is General Manager, Original Programming; Justin Stockman is Vice-President, Content Development & Programming, Bell Media.
Other food articles from totimes.ca – otttimes.ca – mtltimes.ca
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