My Review of "MasterChef Canada: Back to Win"

MasterChef Canada: Back to Win is the 7th season of the popular MasterChef Canada series. It's been a while since I've seen this show and it has to be the one reality competition series I can't wait to watch on TV. Season 6 finished up in the spring of 2019 and then the pandemic hit.

It's understandable as to why we haven't seen this show for quite some time. I honestly didn't think there was going to be a season this year. Then out of nowhere it was announced that it was a special season. This year they invited former contestants from previous seasons to re-join the competition. The idea was brilliant because you can't really have proper auditions during the pandemic. It would be an easier season to control because the contestants all know the drill. They've been there before after all.

It wasn't a simple selection of former contestants. They chose contestants that continued onto their culinary dreams and wanted to bolster their careers. That's amazing because they've learned so much from the previous seasons they were on the show and continued to get better. Not only are we going to recognize some familiar faces but they're also bringing in their "eh" game.

I loved the fact that all of the contestants were ten times the cooks they used to be from the last time we've saw them. Since I've been watching the show from season 1 all the way to this current season I was well versed in all of the contestants' back stories. They hooked me from day one and I was totally immersed especially since I actually recognize the growth of each of the contestants.

It's almost like one happy family and they're all together again. I couldn't believe what they were all capable of pulling off this season. Their plating and techniques were other worldly and it made each episode hard to watch. Eventually one of the contestant would be kicked off the show after each episode. The previous seasons had me at the edge of my seat but this one hit harder because it was as if I've known these contestants for a long time. Even with this season each contestant was continually getting better. So when you see them leave it's tough because you know they had so much more potential.

The twists and turns this season were way more difficult than previous seasons. Showrunners recognized that these contestants were much more capable than the usual home cooks that audition for the show. They were well versed so the challenges were even more tough. Despite the difficulty each of the chefs were able to push their limits and churn out some pretty impressive dishes.

There were a few crazy things that happened this season like Thea fainting from exhaustion. I don't know how they managed to keep track of the time with all that happening. There were also countless injuries with even April Lee leaving the show early due to an injury. So you can say they really did put blood, sweat and tears into their dishes.

One of the weirdest things was the revival of Barrie. I could have sworn he was eliminated in his previous season and brought back. Now he's brought back to this Back to Win season and he got eliminated yet again early on. Due to April Lee's withdrawal from the competition he was able to sneak his way back into the game. I don't know how many chances this guy gets but he should count his lucky stars.

The two biggest upsets for me this season was Andre and Andrew. I thought these two would have made it all the way to the finals but they weren't able to pull it off. Too bad because I was rooting for them. It's exits like that which always makes me remember it's not only about preparation and skills, it's also about time management. Then again some of them just get unlucky sometimes. Something could go wrong while they're multi-tasking and because they're pre-occupied they don't notice. I would do terribly at this game as I can't multi-task at all.

Ultimately in the end we had Christopher win the title of MasterChef Canada this year. I think he really deserved the title because you can see the creativity and skills he was developing throughout the season. His stuff was getting so high caliber that the other contestants almost voted him off the show. If that coup actually worked I would have been pretty pissed off with this season. It was the first season when I saw some pettiness and I kind of didn't like it.

Overall, I really enjoyed this season. Since, it wasn't an expected season it was a really nice surprise for me. I hope after every few seasons they do another Back to Win season. These are especially fun for me because we don't have to get to know the contestants we're already invested in them. I have to give this season an 8 out of 10. They need to keep this level of fun and creativity in all of their seasons!