Season 3 at a Glance
The season premiered in 2016 on CTV and concluded June 19, 2016, running 15 episodes with a smaller Top 14 field compared to the 16 competitors of the previous two seasons. This season introduced a stricter audition format: applicants needed a unanimous “yes” from all three judges to instantly secure a spot, while those receiving fewer votes had to compete in a second-chance battle round to earn a place in the Top 14. It was also the last season to feature finalists joining the judges in a private dining room after each hour-long cook-off round for tasting and critique — a format element dropped in later seasons.
Who Won MasterChef Canada Season 3?
Mary Berg, a 25-year-old insurance broker from Toronto, was crowned the winner, becoming the first woman to ever win the MasterChef Canada title. She took home the $100,000 grand prize after a gruelling three-course finale showdown. Her winning entrée was an elevated take on surf and turf — beef tenderloin, fried oysters, and an arugula and sea asparagus pesto — which judges praised for its perfectly cooked beef and beautifully composed plating, despite Berg’s own pre-service anxiety as a self-described vegetarian cooking meat. For dessert, she served a blueberry financier with brown butter crumb, kettle corn, blueberry sauce, and buttermilk corn ice cream. Berg went on to have a significant post-show career in food media, later returning to the franchise itself as a judge in more recent seasons.
Runner-Up
Jeremy Senaris, a 34-year-old building plan examiner from Winnipeg, Manitoba, finished as runner-up, closing out the finale with a milk tea pannacotta featuring coconut tapioca, fried plantains, and jackfruit ice cream — a dessert judges found original and flavourful, even as the title ultimately went to Berg. Senaris later returned for the all-star Season 7 (“Back to Win”), where he placed sixth. Fellow Season 3 contestant April Lee Baker, who had finished fifth in this season, also returned for “Back to Win,” though she withdrew in 11th place.
Prize Money
The winner took home CAD $100,000 in cash prize money, along with the MasterChef Canada title — the franchise’s standard grand prize structure.
Judges
The judging panel featured the franchise’s founding trio:
- Michael Bonacini — Chef and restaurateur
- Alvin Leung — Chef, known for his Michelin-starred restaurant work
- Claudio Aprile — Chef and restaurateur
Final Thoughts
MasterChef Canada Season 3’s stricter, unanimous-vote audition format gave the season a slightly higher entry bar than its predecessors, but its real legacy is Mary Berg’s groundbreaking win — a milestone that also set her on a path back to the franchise years later as a judge herself. With multiple contestants from this season, including Senaris and Baker, returning for the show’s all-star run, Season 3 left a genuinely lasting mark on how the franchise’s later years would take shape.