MasterChef Canada (season 2) facts for kids

The top 50 home cooks in Canada had to impress Michael Bonacini, Alvin Leung and Claudio Aprile in a series of auditions to advance into the next round of the competition.

After the completion of all the auditions, the Top 25 home cooks were called forward into the MasterChef kitchen to fight for a spot in the Top 16. Of the 25 home cooks, 9 of them: Christopher, David, Debbie, Debra, Jennifer, Kevin, Kristen, Kwasi and Tammy, directly advanced as their signature dishes were deemed outstanding. To earn the remaining seven spots, the other 16 had to cook in the second challenge, the theme of which was red and white ingredients reminiscent of the Canadian flag. During the cook, one of the cooks, Meg Tucker, withdrew due to illness. After the cook, two groups were called forward; the first group, consisting of Andrew, Cody, Kyle and Sabrina advanced, while the other group, consisting of Gav, Nikita, Robert, Nathan and Mina was sent home. This left six home cooks: Deanna, Inder, Jon, Lauren, Line and Michael, fighting for the final three spots. Deanna and Inder were eliminated, while Line and Michael advanced, leaving Lauren and Jon to fight for the last spot. Jon earned the last spot, and Lauren was sent home.

Mystery Box 1: The mystery box challenge featured a selection of sweet and savoury ingredients. Line, Jon, and Kevin made the three best dishes, and Jon won.

Elimination Test 1: Jon was granted immunity and had a choice of Asian dishes for the other home cooks to put their own spin on, and he chose the stir fry. The judges also allowed Jon to choose one other home cook to save from elimination and he chose David. After the cook, Jon was allowed to save another home cook, and he picked Jennifer. Andrew and Line made the two best dishes, making them team captains in their first team challenge. The worst three dishes were made by Debbie, Kyle and Kwasi. Debbie was eliminated, and Kyle was also eliminated.

Team Challenge 1: In their first team challenge, the had to cook for the cast and crew of Cirque du Soleil. Andrew was the Red team captain, and Line was the Blue team captain. Andrew chose David, Kevin, Jon, Cody, Kristen and Kwasi, while Line chose Tammy, Sabrina, Debra, Christopher, Michael and was left with Jennifer. The teams had to serve a nice and healthy buffet style meal, and the Red team won, sending the Blue team to the pressure test.

Pressure Test 1: In the pressure test, the home cooks on the Blue team were tasked with making a tourtiere. The Red team was allowed to save one home cook, and they picked Jennifer. Line was then given an option to either save herself or one of her teammates, and she chose to save herself (Afterwards, she got dehydrated and was sent to the nearest hospital). Christopher made the best tourtiere and was sent to safety, as did Sabrina and Michael, leaving Debra and Tammy to face elimination, and Debra was eliminated.

Mystery Box 2: Before the mystery box challenge, Line returned to the MasterChef kitchen after being treated for dehydration. In the challenge, the home cooks had to make a pizza from scratch. David, Jennifer, and Cody made the three best dishes, and Cody won.

Elimination Test 2: The elimination challenge saw the return of season one winner Eric Chong. Cody was able to choose one of three ingredients that signified Eric's success on his culinary journey for the other home cooks to use. Targeting David, he chose black truffle. Cody gave up his immunity and chose to cook in the challenge. David and Sabrina made the two best dishes dishes. The worst three dishes belong to Cody, Kevin and Michael, and Kevin was eliminated.

Team Challenge 2: The home cooks team challenge, this was a special three-way team challenge in a university campus, serving poutine with the last two teams going into the pressure test. David and Sabrina were the captains of the Red and Blue Team respectively, and David chose Line as the Green Team captain. David chose Andrew, Christopher, Michael for the Red Team. Sabrina chose Jon, Cody, Kwasi for the Blue Team. Line chose Tammy, Kristen, Jennifer, for the Green Team. Each team had to create a dish from different proteins selected by David, with pork for Red, beef for Blue and chicken for Green. Line's Green Team emerged victorious by a margin of seven votes.

Pressure Test 2: The Red and Blue Teams had to recreate a dish of tortellini covered in a cheese sauce. Both David and Sabrina were allowed to exempt themselves or one member of their team from the pressure test. David chose to save Michael while Sabrina chose to save Jon. Christopher made the best dish, while Sabrina, Cody and Andrew had also performed well enough to be sent to safety, leaving Kwasi and David to face elimination, and Kwasi was eliminated.

Mystery Box 3: The home cooks were tasked with baking a four-layered birthday cake, and the judges announced that there would be two winners. Michael, Christopher, David, and Andrew baked the four best cakes, and Christopher and David won.

Elimination Test 3: Both David and Christopher were safe from elimination. The judges presented them with three different "odd" culinary combinations, each of which three home cooks had to cook with. They gave bacon and chocolate to Cody, Tammy, and Sabrina, salmon and licorice to Michael, Jennifer, and Jon, chorizo and grape jelly to Andrew, Kristen, and Line. Michael and Andrew made the two best dishes, making them team captains for their next team challenge. The worst three dishes belonged to Kristen, Jon and Tammy, and Kristen was eliminated.

Team Challenge 3: In their next team challenge, the top ten home cooks had to make canapes and French-inspired dishes for a harbor cruise wedding. Michael and Andrew were the captains of the Red and Blue teams respectively. With the first pick, Michael chose Christopher, Sabrina, Tammy and Jennifer, while Andrew chose David, Cody, Line and was left with Jon, and the Red team won.

Pressure Test 3: The home cooks from the Blue team had to recreate a classic French fruit tart. The judges announced that two home cooks would be sent home by the end of the challenge. David and Line were sent to safety for having the best fruit tarts, and Andrew, Cody and Jon are left in the bottom. Jon was then sent to safety, and Andrew and Cody were eliminated.

Mystery Box 4: Chef Graham Elliot from MasterChef U.S. appeared as a guest judge for the mystery box challenge, the theme of which was small ingredients. Tammy, Sabrina, Jon, and David made the four best dishes, and David won.

Elimination Test 4: David was given immunity and was presented with three types of ingredients from the sea. Targeting Christopher, he chose sea snails. After the home cooks grabbed their ingredients from the pantry, the judges announced that they had to switch ingredients. Line had Jon's ingredient, Jon had Jennifer's ingredient, Jennifer had Sabrina's ingredient, Sabrina had Tammy's ingredient, Tammy had Christopher's ingredient, Christopher had Michael's ingredient, and Michael had Line's ingredient. Christopher and Michael made the two best dishes. The worst two dishes belong to Jennifer and Tammy; Jennifer was safe and Tammy was eliminated.

Reinstation: Cody, Kevin, and Andrew were called back for a chance to win back a spot in the competition. They had eight minutes to cook three egg dishes: an omelette, poached egg and soft-boiled egg, and Cody won his spot back in the competition.

Elimination Test 5: Cody was given a chance to choose another home cook for the selection of the dish he and the others had to cook in their next challenge, and the chosen cook also received immunity. Cody chose David, who chose Michael's sea scallop mousse (over Claudio's Tom Yum soup and Alvin's taro root dumplings). Christopher's mousse was the best, while Michael's mousse was deemed the best of the worst, leaving Cody and Jon to face elimination, and Jon was eliminated.

Mystery Box 5: The home cooks were given a mystery box consisting of a rack of lamb, pears, pearl onions, goat cheese, sweet potatoes, pistachios, couscous, Dijon mustard, and wine. Sabrina, Line, and David made the three best dishes, and Sabrina won.

Elimination Test 6: The home cooks had to recreate an English afternoon tea tray in a tag team challenge. Sabrina was immune from the challenge and chose the teams. Targeting Line and David, she paired Cody with Line, and David with Jennifer, leaving Christopher with Michael by default. Cody and Line won the challenge, while David and Jennifer were the bottom team, and Jennifer was sent home.

Team Challenge 4: Line and Cody were team captains of in a "Restaurant Takeover" in Canoe, Michael's restaurant in Toronto's Financial District. Line selected Sabrina and Michael, forming the Red Team. Cody selected David and was left with Christopher, forming the Blue Team. After consulting the diners' comments, the judges gave the win to the Blue team.

Pressure Test 4: Line, Michael, and Sabrina had 45 minutes to recreate a fried chicken dish consisting of mashed potatoes, gravy and green beans. Line made the best dish, leaving Sabrina and Michael to face elimination, and Michael was sent home.

Mystery Box 6: The Top 5 were visited by their loved ones. They had a mystery box consisting of smooth and crunchy peanut butter, chocolate, apples, Romanesco cauliflower, miso, Jasmine rice, Sriracha, and a protein chosen by their loved ones. They had 60 minutes to make two dishes, one sweet and one savory. David, Cody, and Line were the top three, and Line won with her maple ginger garlic salmon and chocolate peanut butter cookies.

Elimination Test 7: Line was safe from elimination. The theme of the elimination challenge was cooking tools, and Line was shown four different pieces of kitchen equipment. Targeting David, she gave him the ice cream maker, Cody the crepe pan, Christopher the meat grinder, and Sabrina the pressure cooker. David won the challenge, while Cody and Christopher were in the bottom. The judges deemed Christopher's dish the worst, and he was sent home.

Elimination Test 8: In the semifinals, the four semifinalists arrived at Cave Spring Vineyard, an off-site farm and vineyard in the Niagara region of Ontario's rural countryside, to cook individually for 18 farmers and the judges. The semifinalist with the best dish advanced straight to the finale, while the semifinalist with the weakest dish was eliminated, the remaining two home cooks battled it out in the last pressure test of the season. David assigned the proteins to the home cooks, including himself. David chose venison for himself, and gave pickerel to Cody, rabbits to Sabrina and squab to Line. David made the best dish, advancing to the finale. Despite his excellence in beautiful plating skills and flawlessly nailing the cook on his fish to perfection, Cody's dish was unseasoned, and he was sent home once again.

Pressure Test 5: For the last spot in the finale, Line and Sabrina had 90 minutes to replicate three chocolate desserts: a dark chocolate brownie with homemade vanilla ice cream, white chocolate crème brûlée, and milk chocolate mousse with passion fruit center. The judges decided that Line won, sending Sabrina home.

The two finalists will be creating a three-course meal for the judges in a head-to-head battle. For the appetizer, Line served foie gras with lobster, while David made tomatoes five ways with sweetbread. For the entrée, Line served an elk tenderloin in a potato forest, while David served wild boar belly with geoduck clams. For dessert, Line made a cheese plate with chocolate olive bread, pistachio brittle and candied apricot, while David made a lemon curd parfait with graham sponge. David was declared the winner.