Thousands audition. Only 50 are chosen.
And two of them are from Ottawa.
They are the amateur cooks who qualified to compete on the TV reality show Masterchef Canada. Season II debuts on Sunday immediately following the Super Bowl on CTV.
Anh Nguyen and Ted Meisner are both federal public servants by day, and avid cooks at home.
Meisner, a former O.P.P officer who now works in security, says he took to cooking when on paternity leave with his first son.
At 23 years old, Nguyen is the show’s youngest competitor. He began cooking to help out his mother around the house.
Now they are about to make their reality show debut on one of TV’s biggest nights.
“I’m a pretty shy guy,” says Meisner. “I never saw myself on that program to be honest with you. So the whole experience was surreal.”
Nguyen remembers when he got the call that he was a finalist. He was walking down the street. He’s not sure but he might have danced. “I’m pretty sure a few people honked,” he laughs.
Masterchef Canada pits amateur cooks from across the country against each other. The winner takes home $100,000. The pressure is high and the three judges – all professional chefs – can be demanding. “It’s very humbling. You learn to realize that there are people out there just as good as you if not better than you,” says Meisner.
Adding to the pressure is the fact the show has already finished taping. Meisner and Nguyen are sworn to secrecy over the results. They can’t even tell their immediate families. “Honestly. You don’t want to ruin it for anyone else,” says Nguyen.
That means we’ll have to wait and watch to see if the next Masterchef hails from Ottawa.
