Mary Berg, an insurance broker based in Toronto, was proclaimed the winner of MasterChef Canada Season 3, having bested fellow finalist Jeremy Senaris in a three-course grand finale challenge.
Berg, a native of Pickering, is an insurance broker for Cade Associates in Toronto, having worked with the company for over five years. She started with the company as a part-time employee while she completed her Master’s degree, later becoming a full broker just several years ago.
For the show’s final challenge, Berg and Senaris were each tasked to prepare an appetizer, an entrée, and dessert.
Berg chose to prepare “golden beet borscht” with horseradish goat's cheese mousse, beet-cured trout, and caraway crumb as her appetizer for the challenge; she took inspiration from her fiancé’s grandmother, whom she described as “a machine in the kitchen.”
On the other hand, Senaris went with a bison tataki with uni cream, lotus chips, and tataki sauce as his appetizer. This dish was lauded for its complexity, but judges pointed out the uneven cuts of the meat.
Surf and turf was Berg’s entrée, combining beef tenderloin, fried oysters, and arugula. The dish was paired with sea asparagus pesto. While she had concerns about overcooking her dish, the judges of the show determined that it was prepared close to perfection.
Senaris prepared a sushi boat for his entrée that featured a deconstructed spider roll with soft-shell crab, a marinated baby octopus with mushrooms, a tuna crunch roll with wasabi mayo and crispy salmon skin. On the side, he served a ginger papaya salad.
For dessert, Berg made a sophisticated
financier cake with brown butter crumb, kettle corn, blueberry sauce, and buttermilk corn ice cream. The dish won praise for having successfully used flavours that worked very well with each other.
An innovative milk tea panna cotta with coconut tapioca, fried plantains, and jackfruit ice cream served as Senaris’ dessert piece, which was commended for its bold flavours.
Ultimately, it was Berg’s menu that won over Senaris’, as the judges agreed that hers was the more cohesive lineup of dishes.
On top of claiming the title of MasterChef, Berg won a cash prize of $100,000.
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