MasterChef Canada Season 6 aired in the spring of 2019, introducing a fresh judge-invitation twist to the Top 18 selection process and closing out with a genuinely historic finale result. Here’s the complete breakdown.
Season 6 at a Glance
The season premiered with a special two-hour episode on April 8, 2019, on CTV, and concluded June 10, 2019, running 12 episodes. Filming took place from early December 2018 through mid-February 2019. This was the penultimate season narrated by Charlie Ryan, and the second-to-last to feature Claudio Aprile, Alvin Leung, and Michael Bonacini together as the show’s three main judges.
The season introduced a genuine format change: rather than the tag-team challenge that had run through the first five seasons, each of the three judges personally selected six home cooks to invite into the Top 18, with invitations hand-delivered by courier.
Who Won MasterChef Canada Season 6?
Jennifer Crawford, a senior policy analyst from Kingston, Nova Scotia, was crowned the winner, taking home the MasterChef Canada title and a $100,000 grand prize. Crawford made history as the first non-binary person, and the first person from the Maritimes, to win the competition. In the finale’s decisive three-course, three-hour cook-off, Crawford’s standout dishes included a playfully reimagined “ants on a log” course with poached figs and blue cheese mousse, and a complex, visually striking dish called “Mary’s Little Lamb” that impressed judges despite one minor cooking slip. After the win, Crawford reflected: “I hope this win shows that actual magic can happen with simply taking good care of your squishy heart, honouring your own weird precious self, and showing up as best you can for others, one day at a time.”
Runner-Up
Andre Bhagwandat, a hospital housekeeper from Scarborough, Ontario, finished as runner-up after a strong final cook that included an impressive lobster rundown with callaloo puree, despite a texture issue with his dumplings earlier in the finale. Bhagwandat later returned for the all-star Season 7 (“Back to Win”), where he placed seventh.
Prize Money
The winner took home CAD $100,000 in cash prize money, along with the MasterChef Canada title — consistent with the grand prize structure the show has used across its Canadian seasons.
Judges
The judging panel featured the same trio that had anchored the franchise since its debut:
- 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 6 stands out for genuinely breaking new ground with Jennifer Crawford’s win, while the new judge-invitation twist for selecting the Top 18 gave the season a slightly different flavor from its five predecessors. Andre Bhagwandat’s return the following year for the all-star “Back to Win” season also gave this season’s story an extra chapter, tying it directly into one of the franchise’s more memorable follow-up seasons.