CTV’s Beloved Culinary Competition Series MASTERCHEF CANADA Fires Up a New Season with a Special Premiere, October 2

CTV plates a multi-course feast of new episodes of its hit cooking competition series MASTERCHEF CANADA, beginning with a special premiere Thursday, Oct. 2 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app, and streaming next day on Crave. The 11-episode eighth season features an all-new panel of judges that includes Canadian Screen Award-winning host, cookbook author, and Season 3 winner, Mary Berg, who returns to the MASTERCHEF CANADA kitchen alongside internationally acclaimed chef and cookbook author Hugh Acheson, and chef and restauranteur Craig Wong. Together, the judges mentor and challenge the home cooks week to week, critique their dishes, and ultimately declare the winner of MASTERCHEF CANADA. The deal for the new season was brokered by Banijay Rights, the global distribution arm of content powerhouse Banijay Entertainment.

Following the Oct. 2 special premiere, MASTERCHEF CANADA moves to Tuesday nights, with a second helping of the Season 8 premiere, Oct 7 at 7 p.m. ET/PT, and new episodes beginning Oct. 14 on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app, and streaming next day on Crave.

Season 8 welcomes 15 everyday Canadians from across the country who step into the MasterChef Kitchen to face off in a series of thrilling challenges designed to put their skills to the test in hopes of impressing the judges and winning the MASTERCHEF CANADA title.

The 15 home cooks competing for culinary glory are:

	Andres Araneda, 39 Hometown: Regina Occupation: French Immersion Teacher
	Ashley Treadway, 37 Hometown: London, Ont. Occupation: Nurse Practitioner
	Ayda Asgari, 23 Hometown: Montréal Occupation: Civil Engineering Student
	Bhu Chana, 29 Hometown: Calgary Occupation: High School Teacher
	Cindy Ward, 57 Hometown: Kitchener, Ont. Occupation: Serial Entrepreneur
	Daniel Ebanks, 38 Hometown: Winnipeg Occupation: IT Sales
	Daniel Hébert, 34 Hometown: Falmouth, N.S. Occupation: Tech Company Founder
	Koichi Sato, 36 Hometown: Fredericton Occupation: Web Development Project Manager
	Liz Worndl, 33 Hometown: Toronto Occupation: Dentist
	Marianne Smeaton, 36 Hometown: Fort St. John, B.C. Occupation: Mom & Cattle Rancher
	Paul Harper, 53 Hometown: St. Catharines, Ont. Occupation: Pharma Marketing
	Raynie Stubbs, 34 Hometown: Toronto Occupation: Bank Change Consultant
	Sung Kang, 51 Hometown: Burlington, Ont. Occupation: Marketing Consultant
	Veronica McRae, 45 Hometown: Edmonton Occupation: Founder of The Good Place
	Veronica Wu, 30 Hometown: Toronto Occupation: Senior Data Engineering Manager

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.

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.