Just Desserts or Gluttons For Punishment? Judge Claudio Aprile Loves The Sharp Edge on CTV’s MASTERCHEF CANADA: BACK TO WIN

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede MASTERCHEF CANADA judge Claudio Aprile was asked about the notion of “over-correcting” as it applies to MASTERCHEF CANADA: BACK TO WIN. Debuting Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on CTV, the beloved series has invited back 12 memorable, fan-favourite cooks who failed to win it all when they appeared in one of the previous six seasons. They’ve been dreaming of a second chance to impress Aprile, Michael Bonacini, and Alvin Leung – and now they’re finally getting it. But because this is such a unique season, is there a danger that some of these cooks might “over-correct,” like a golfer who hits the ball too far to the right off the first tee, and then tries to compensate and hits it too far to the left off the second tee? “There’s also that great saying by Wayne Gretzky, the one that goes, ‘You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take,’ ” Aprile replied. “It’s such a good quote, and I think that one of the common character strengths – or flaws – with these home cooks is that they just don’t quit, they just don’t give up, which can be such a great message for the viewers.” However, throwing more spice into the stew is the fact that most chefs tend to be super competitive by nature, even away from the MASTERCHEF CANADA Kitchen. Aprile admits to being that way himself. “There are several cooks in this upcoming Season 7 where you can see that it was a big, bitter pill to swallow when they got eliminated in previous seasons, for a certain mistake that they had made, or a sequence of mistakes,” Aprile said. “So they are determined that they will not make the same mistake twice.” Does a quest to avoid familiar errors take the home chefs out of their comfort zones? Or are certain tendencies so ingrained that sometimes the cooks don’t even recognize their own miscues? Those questions, and more, have pre-heated the oven for MASTERCHEF CANADA: BACK TO WIN. Speaking of being back, Aprile said that new seasons of the show always “feel like summer camp” to him, largely because of his relationship with Bonacini and Leung. “We’ve become really close over the years, and I consider them very, very good friends, so I really just enjoy sharing this time with them,” Aprile said. “It’s an experience that we’re all having together, and we get to inspire these home cooks together as a team. The home cooks talk about the journey, and how they’ve learned so many different things about themselves, but I think Michael, Alvin, and I have also learned different facets of our own personalities. It has taught me, for example, how to be a lot more vulnerable, which is a great gift as a person, to experience a little bit of vulnerability, and trust other people. That has been one of my greatest takeaways.” Final question for Aprile: With six seasons in the books, what are the common traits that the winners have shared? Which characteristics should viewers be on the lookout for in MASTERCHEF CANADA: BACK TO WIN? “With the world we live in, we have a tremendous amount of information – you don’t need to travel around the globe to find out how something is made in another country, you just look it up online – but it’s an info-rich, knowledge-poor society right now,” Aprile said. “What we’ve lost in some cases, I think, is what I call craftsmanship. I think craftsmanship is absolutely critical. If you want to be a great chef, you need to know the basics, and you need to do menial, thankless work, over and over and over, until you become a true master. And just stay focused. Don’t let anyone get into your head.” billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv