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A 31-year-old humble home cook from Dartmouth, N.S., and a 19-year-old cooking protege from Sherwood Park, Alta., faced off in a lengthy culinary marathon for the title of MasterChef Canada this week. And after an astonishingly close round of appetizers, entrees and desserts, it was young-gun Beccy Stables who earned the grand prize, as not only one of the most inventive cooks the show has seen, but as the youngest cook the Canadian competition has ever welcomed.
“It’s incredible that I’m able to do something different and surprise the judges and surprise Canada,” Stables beamed ahead of the MasterChef Canada finale on Tuesday.
“I love that [the show] showed that I have so much instinct when it comes to cooking. It was natural for me to do and knowing that when something goes wrong, I can fix it.”
But not too much went wrong for the ambitious teen, who handled the cooking competition like a seasoned chef.
The former tile setter assistant used her quick wit to deliver a stunning three-course meal that took the picky judges on an apple orchard journey. She started with a scotch quail egg on a nest of potato and parsnip for an appetizer, followed by rabbit two ways on a Jerusalem artichoke puree for her main course. But she really surprised with her fallen apple panna cotta with a gelee core on a soil of fruits and nuts, which judge Claudio Aprile called one of the most original desserts he has ever seen.
Runner-up Andy Hay, who competed neck and neck with the new champion, was also a sharp contender, pleasing the judges with his eclectic Halifax donair salad with lamb elevated hodgepodge with Dungeness crab. But he was still well-aware that Beccy’s innovation made her the clear front-runner for the title and the grand prize of $100,000.
“I think that Beccy is a genius. I think she thinks of stuff that very few people in Canada think about. And I think that she focuses on the details at a level that would never even cross my mind,” he said. “When chef Claudio cut open that apple and there was a roasted pine nut in there representing the apple seed, I knew in that moment that I couldn’t beat that. It just came down to, she’s a protege.”
Now that the reality TV rodeo is over for both successful chefs, Beccy is moving to Kelowna, B.C., to kick-start her catering career and to continue to inspire young people, like herself, to enter the kitchen and refrain from living off pizza delivery and UberEats.
“I want Canada to remember that I’m inspiring kids to get in the kitchen and young adults to stop getting takeaway and start getting in that kitchen. Cook for yourself and get that life-long skill. I’m trying to change Canadian cuisine,” she said.
Andy plans to return to Nova Scotia and develop his brand through his culinary lifestyle in the real world and online.
“The East Coast supports the East Coast so it’s been amazing. I’ve been very busy doing pop-up dinners and private dinners and really building my digital following. I’m really going to continue cooking but also really dive deep into the world of food styling and digital storytelling through food.”
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