CTV Reveals the MASTERCHEF CANADA Season 5 Top 12 Home Cooks

To tweet this release: https://bmpr.ca/2GQbUK8 TORONTO (April 3, 2018) – Season 5 of MASTERCHEF CANADA is coming in hot as the Top 12 was revealed tonight during the series premiere on CTV. In a series first, MASTERCHEF CANADA returned with esteemed judges Michael Bonacini, Claudio Aprile, and Alvin Leung paying a surprise personal visit to 21 of the best home cooks across the country. In tonight’s episode, the Top 21 home cooks came to Toronto to cook for judges with the best 12 earning white aprons, along with the chance to compete for $100,000 and the life-changing title of MASTERCHEF CANADA. This season’s Top 12, which includes an account executive, facilities coordinator, mathematician, small business owner, software sales, and a stay-at-home mom, will compete in a series of Mystery Box Challenges, Team Challenges, Pressure Tests, and Elimination Challenges. Each week, Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET / 8 MT on CTV and CTV GO, at least one home cook will be eliminated until only two are left to battle it out to in the MASTERCHEF CANADA Season 5  finale. The Season 5 Top 12 home cooks are:     Reem Ahmed Age: 26 Hometown: Helwan, Egypt Currently Resides: Toronto, Ont. Occupation: Biomedical Engineer Audition Dish: Eggplant Stuffed with Basmati Rice, Baba Ghanoush, and Charcoal Beef. Food Dream: To open an Egyptian restaurant called The Pyramid. Instagram:@reemahmed_91   To learn more about Reem Ahmed, click here.     Eugene Cheng Age: 35 Hometown: Victoria, B.C. Currently Resides: Vancouver, B.C. Occupation: Financial Advisor and Rowing Coach Audition Dish: Nori Crisp with Seared Scallops and Kombu Pickled Radish. Food Dream: To open a Pacific Northwest restaurant. Instagram: @eugeneacheng   To learn more about Eugene Cheng, click here.     Kaegan Donnelly Age: 28 Hometown: Vancouver, B.C. Currently Resides: Vancouver, B.C. Occupation: Software Sales Audition Dish: Five-Spice Duck Breast with Roasted Vegetables, Beetroot Purée, and Fennel Mascarpone Cream. Food Dream: To own a brewery that specializes in brunch. Instagram: @kaegan   To learn more about Kaegan Donnelly, click here.     Michael Griffiths Age: 24 Hometown: Richmond Hill, Ont. Currently Resides: Richmond Hill, Ont. Occupation: Mathematician Audition Dish: Homemade Capicola Sausage with Sundried Tomato Risotto. Food Dream: To cook and create dishes at private events around the world. Instagram: @michaelsfoodexperience   To learn more about Michael Griffiths, click here.     Andy Hay Age: 31 Hometown: Halifax, N.S. Currently Resides: Dartmouth, N.S. Occupation: Small Business Owner Audition Dish: Bay of Fundy Sea Scallops with Pickled Vegetables, Asparagus Purée, and Bacon Dashi. Food Dream: To own a 20-seat restaurant on the Atlantic Ocean. Instagram: @andyseastcoastkitchen_   To learn more about Andy Hay, click here.     Jen Jenkins Age: 28 Hometown: Grande Prairie, Alta. Currently Resides: Dawson Creek, B.C. Occupation: Stay-at-Home Mom Audition Dish: Eggs Benedict in a Potato Nest with Hollandaise Sauce. Food Dream: To own a food truck. Instagram: @jenjenkins0517   To learn more about Jen Jenkins, click here.     Marissa Leon-John Age: 31 Hometown: Montréal, Qué. Currently Resides: Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Qué. Occupation: Tech Support Manager Audition Dish: Filet mignon with Sautéed Mushrooms, Cauliflower Purée, and Maple Glazed Carrots. Food Dream: To open a beachside Caribbean restaurant in St. Lucia. Instagram: @mdominique   To learn more about Marissa Leon-John, click here.     Jonathan Rahim Age: 33 Hometown: Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago Currently Resides: Winnipeg, Man. Occupation: Real Estate Agent Audition Dish: Ghost Pepper Stew Chicken with Rice and Peas, and Mango Slaw. Food Dream: To take a culinary tour of the world. Instagram: @jonnyrahim   To learn more about Jonathan Rahim, click here.     Nadia Rehman Age: 26 Hometown: Oshawa, Ont. Currently Resides: Markham, Ont. Occupation: Account Executive Audition Dish: Chicken liver and Portobello Pâté on a Mushroom Rosemary Cracker. Food Dream: To own a farm, grow food, and create a line of signature spices. Instagram: @nadzland   To learn more about Nadia Rehman, click here.     Melissa Skowron Age: 32 Hometown: Calgary, Alta. Currently Resides: Calgary, Alta. Occupation: Facilities Coordinator Audition Dish: Striploin Steak with Red Wine Sauce and Carrot Celery Root Purée. Food Dream: To open a restaurant. Instagram:@Melbot1000   To learn more about Melissa Skowron, click here.     Beccy Stables Age: 19 Hometown: Grimsby, UK Currently Resides: Sherwood Park, Alta. Occupation: Tile Setter Assistant Audition Dish: Beef Tenderloin with Roasted Beetroot and Blackberry Sauce. Food Dream: To be the best. Instagram: @beccystables   To learn more about Beccy Stables, click here.     Michael Varga Age: 39 Hometown: Vancouver, B.C. Currently Resides: Vancouver, B.C. Occupation: Firefighter Audition Dish: Moroccan-Spiced Lamb Chops with North African Risotto and Pomegranate. Food Dream: To visit and cook at fire halls around the world. Instagram: @thecup14   To learn more about Michael Varga, click here. In the next all-new episode of MASTERCHEF CANADA, “How Do You Take Your Mystery Box?” (Tuesday, April 10 at 9 p.m. ET / 8 MT on CTV and CTV GO), the Top 12 home cooks face their first Mystery Box of the season and must create a dish that features coffee as the key ingredient. The winner of the Mystery Box Challenge is not only safe from elimination but is given a powerful opportunity to influence the direction of the competition and the outcome of the budget-driven Elimination Challenge.   This season, MASTERCHEF CANADA turns up the heat on competing home cooks like never before:  

• a delicious, Dog River-infused dose of CORNER GAS ANIMATED is added to the MasterChef menu (May 22) featuring the star-studded cast of the all-new Comedy series inspired by Canadian cult classic CORNER GAS (airing Mondays beginning April 2 on Comedy – check local listings).
• art and food are elevated to new heights with a home cook challenge at the McMichael Gallery (May 15), where Group of Seven-inspired dishes are prepared for esteemed Order of Canada recipients including Mark Kielburger, co-founder of international youth charity Free The Children; and renowned Canadian television icon, CTV News Special Correspondent Lloyd Robertson.
• also this season, the home cooks top off their white aprons with hard hats at a special Habitat for Humanity challenge (April 17), to name just a few of this season’s exciting episodes.

  Fans are invited to visit CTV.ca/MasterChefCanada throughout the season for exclusive content, including background on this season’s finalists and the MASTERCHEF CANADA judges, as well as interviews, recipes, and more. CTV.ca also offers viewers behind-the-scenes glimpses of this season’s challenges, culinary creations, triumphs, and upsets. MASTERCHEF CANADA’s digital exclusive, MASTERCHEF CANADA: REDEMPTION, presented by Miele and hosted at the Miele Experience Centre, returns to CTV.ca, in which eliminated home cooks are invited back for a chance to earn their white apron once again and return to the MasterChef Canada Kitchen. As competitors are whittled down, the digital companion series is a must-watch for viewers to catch the tangential developments that may propel their favourite eliminated home cook back into the MasterChef Canada Kitchen. Throughout Season 5, viewers across the country can satisfy their MASTERCHEF CANADA cravings by tuning to the series’ previous seasons, now streaming on CraveTV™. Following the finale of Season 5 on CTV, the current season of MASTERCHEF CANADA will be available in its entirety on CraveTV, and is also slated to air on Gusto this summer (check local listings). Season 5 of MASTERCHEF CANADA has also partnered with Chefs Plate and SPLENDA^® Sweeteners. 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. Proper’s Co-President Cathie James is the Executive Producer and Showrunner and Co-President Lesia Capone is Executive Producer. For Bell Media, Tina Apostolopoulos is Production Executive; Robin Johnston is Director, Original Programming, Factual and Reality; Corrie Coe is Senior Vice-President, Original Programming; Pat DiVittorio is Vice-President, CTV and Specialty Programming. Mike Cosentino is President, Content and Programming, Bell Media. Randy Lennox is President, Bell Media.