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Mary Berg (chef)

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Mary Berg
Mary Berg at the 2019 CFC Garden Party
Born (1989-12-13) 13 December 1989 (age 34)
Pickering, Ontario, Canada
Alma mater
Occupations
Known for
Websitewww.asmallstove.com

Mary Berg is a Canadian television host, author and cook, who rose to fame as the winner of the third season of MasterChef Canada. She has been the host of two television cooking shows, Mary's Kitchen Crush and Mary Makes It Easy, and the daytime talk show, The Good Stuff with Mary Berg. She has released three cookbooks, Kitchen Party, Well Seasoned and In Mary's Kitchen.[1]

Early life

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Berg was born in Pickering, Ontario.[2] When she was four years old, Berg was in a car accident in which her father died.[3][4] Her mother and brother survived the accident with injuries, but Berg survived relatively unscathed.[5] Berg helped out preparing meals for her family from about age 7 and by age 13 was cooking dinner for her family on her own.[6]

Berg attended Pine Ridge Secondary School in Pickering, Ontario, and later went on to obtain her bachelor's degree from Wilfrid Laurier University, double majoring in history and English.[7] She then pursued a master's degree in information science at the University of Toronto.[2]

Career

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After university, Berg became an insurance broker. She left her job to compete in MasterChef Canada in 2016.[8][9] Berg was the winner of season 3 of MasterChef Canada and the first ever female winner of the show.[10][6]

Since winning MasterChef Canada, Berg has appeared as a regular food expert on television shows like Your Morning and The Marilyn Denis Show.[11] In 2017, Berg starred in an eight-episode cooking show on Gusto called Mary's Big Kitchen Party.[6][12] She served as a culinary consultant for the Star Trek: Discovery episode, "Vaulting Ambition."[13]

Berg is the first MasterChef Canada winner to host her own cooking show, Mary's Kitchen Crush. The show premiered on CTV in April 2019.[14] Mary's Kitchen Crush won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Lifestyle Series, and Berg won for Best Lifestyle Host, at the 8th Canadian Screen Awards in 2020.[15] Mary’s Kitchen Crush won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Lifestyle Series again in 2021 at the 9th Canadian Screen Awards, where Berg also won Best Lifestyle Host.[16]

Berg's first cookbook, Kitchen Party, was published in September 2019.[3]

In 2021, Berg premiered the new series Mary Makes It Easy, designed around simple, easy-to-make recipes for people who struggle with their cooking skills, on CTV Life Channel.[17] That same year, she released her second cookbook, Well Seasoned.[18] Well Seasoned won the gold medal at the 2022 Taste Canada Awards for best general cookbook.[19]

On 6 April 2022, Berg won the Canadian Screen Award for Host, Lifestyle at the 10th Canadian Screen Awards. Mary Makes It Easy also won the award for Lifestyle Program or Series, on which Berg is a co-executive producer.[20]

On 12 April 2023, Berg hosted the 11th Canadian Screen Awards ceremony for Lifestyle and Reality Television categories. Mary Makes It Easy won in three categories, including 'Best Lifestyle Program or Series', 'Best Direction, Lifestyle or Information', and 'Best Photography, Lifestyle or Reality/Competition'.[21]

In February 2022, Mary Makes It Easy premiered on Food Network in the USA.[22] She served as co-host for the CTV show, Cross Country Cake Off, which premiered in December 2022.[23][24]

In June 2023, Berg was announced as the host of The Good Stuff with Mary Berg, a new daily talk and lifestyle series replacing The Marilyn Denis Show on CTV's daytime schedule.[25] The show's name came from a quote Berg included in her first cookbook from Ratatouille: "‘If you are what you eat, then I only want to eat the good stuff."[26] The Good Stuff premiered on 5 September and airs weekdays at 10am Eastern Time.[27]

In July 2023, Berg announced that she will be hosting a podcast called Mary's Reservation for Two.[28] Her third cookbook, In Mary’s Kitchen: Stress-Free Recipes for Every Home Cook was published in October 2023.[29][30] In Mary's Kitchen won a 2024 Taste Canada Awards in the General Cookbooks category.[31]

A series of poorly photo-shopped ads were taken out on X in January 2024 falsely claiming Berg had been arrested.[32][33] The Good Stuff addressed the ads on X on 5 January, writing "We are aware of the ongoing issue of fake advertisements targeting Mary Berg. We encourage our followers to remain vigilant against these deceptive ads and report suspicious content to the platform they're using." The ads were determined to be a cryptocurrency scam.[34][35]

Bibliography

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  • Kitchen Party: Effortless Recipes for Every Occasion (Appetite by Random House, 2019)[36]
  • Well Seasoned: A Year's Worth of Delicious Recipes (Appetite by Random House, 2021)[37]
  • In Mary’s Kitchen: Stress-Free Recipes for Every Home Cook (Appetite by Random House, 2023)[citation needed]

Filmography

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Television

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Year Show Role Notes
2016 MasterChef Canada self Season three winner
2018-2023 The Marilyn Denis Show self
2018 Star Trek: Discovery Culinary consultant Episode: Vaulting Ambition
2019-2020 Mary's Kitchen Crush self host
2021-2023 Mary Makes it Easy self host
2022-2023 Cross Country Cake-Off self co-host
2023-pres. The Good Stuff with Mary Berg self host

Personal life

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Berg lives in Toronto, Ontario, with her husband, engineer Aaron Mariash.[38] She has been a Pescatarian for more than 15 years, though she cooks meat on her show.[39][40]

References

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  1. ^ Dowling, Amber (13 December 2022). "How Mary Berg Went From 'MasterChef' Hopeful to a Millennial Ina Garten". Variety.
  2. ^ a b Fillatrau, Shana (7 May 2018). "Pickering TV chef Mary Berg will debut her first cookbook next year". DurhamRegion.com. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  3. ^ a b Huras, Jessica (31 March 2020). "MasterChef winner Mary Berg on becoming a better home cook". TRNTO.com. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  4. ^ "Masterchef Canada winner Mary Berg's recipe for stress-free cooking". CBC Radio. 6 December 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  5. ^ David, Lauren (12 January 2022). "The Family Tragedy That Led To Mary Berg's Love Of Cooking". Mashed.com. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  6. ^ a b c Yeo, Debra (24 April 2019). "MasterChef Canada winner Mary Berg warms up the TV screen with her own show". Toronto Star. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  7. ^ "The Winner of MasterChef Canada Explains How a Terrible Accident Made Her a Pathological Saver". Magazine. 16 November 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  8. ^ "Saying Farewell to Mary Berg". Cade Associates Insurance Brokers Limited. 16 March 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  9. ^ Borowiecki, Anna (21 April 2018). "Celebrity chef Mary Berg cooks with love". StAlbertToday.ca. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  10. ^ Van Rosendaal, Julie (25 September 2019). "MasterChef Canada winner and author Mary Berg on how to plan a dinner party and what she's reading now". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  11. ^ Buchar, Lara (27 March 2020). "Mary Berg's Super Versatile White Beans on Toast". The Kit. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  12. ^ Frayn, Mallory (11 November 2017). "From home kitchen to cooking show: hosting a kitchen party with Mary Berg". Eat North. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  13. ^ Walker, Kylie (27 April 2021). "For Mary Berg, cooking is a love letter to family and friends". SBS Food. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  14. ^ Ball, Daniel (5 November 2019). "One Day in Toronto: Masterchef Canada winner Mary Berg". Eat North. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  15. ^ Brent Furdyk, "Canadian Screen Awards: Winners Revealed In Lifestyle And Reality, Children's And Youth Categories". ET Canada, 26 May 2020.
  16. ^ Marisska Fernandez, "Canadian Screen Awards 2021: News, Documentary, Lifestyle and Reality". Tribute, 18 May 2021.
  17. ^ Greg David, "Award-winner Mary Berg is back on TV with Mary Makes it Easy". TV, eh?, 3 September 2021.
  18. ^ Brehaut, Laura (26 November 2021). "'Food, it's infinite': TV host Mary Berg shares seasonal favourites from her family table in new cookbook". O Canada. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  19. ^ "Celebrity chef Mary Berg wins best cookbook of the year at 2022 Taste Canada Awards". CBC. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  20. ^ Greg David, "Corner Gas Animated, The Hardy Boys, Mary Berg and Canada’s Drag Race win during Night 3 of the 2022 Canadian Screen Awards". TV, eh?, 6 April 2022.
  21. ^ Connie Thiessen, "2023 Canadian Screen Awards: Lifestyle & Reality winners". Broadcast Dialogue, 12 April 2023.
  22. ^ Victoria Priola, "How to watch Mary Berg’s ‘Mary Makes it Easy’ cooking show: Date, time, channel, live stream info". The Patriot-News, 5 February 2022.
  23. ^ Ball, Daniel (16 November 2022). "New CTV series Cross Country Cake Off premieres December 4". Eat North. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  24. ^ CTV. "CTV's Original Competition Series CROSS COUNTRY CAKE OFF Premieres with Special Two-Night Event Beginning December 15". News Wire. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  25. ^ Greg David, "CTV orders new daytime series, The Good Stuff with Mary Berg, premiering fall 2023". TV, eh?, 8 June 2023.
  26. ^ Dowling, Amber (1 September 2023). "How Mary Berg's 'Ratatouille' obsession led to 'The Good Stuff'". etalk. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  27. ^ Greg David, "CTV’s new daytime series, The Good Stuff with Mary Berg, debuts Sept. 5". TV, eh?, 23 August 2023.
  28. ^ "Mary's Reservation for Two". iHeart. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  29. ^ "5 exciting new Canadian cookbooks to buy this fall". Eat North. 5 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  30. ^ Brehaut, Laura (24 November 2023). "Cook This: Three recipes from In Mary's Kitchen, including Irish onion soup". National Post. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  31. ^ "Mary Berg among winners of the 2024 Taste Canada Awards celebrating Canadian food writing". CBC. 22 October 2024. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  32. ^ Singh, Simran (15 January 2024). "People are once again getting spammed by bizarre fake ads involving CTV host Mary Berg". Daily Hive Canada. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  33. ^ Fletcher, Jack Reuben (6 January 2024). "Mary Berg Fake X Ads Controversy Here's What We Know So Far?". The Llanelli Herald. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  34. ^ Casemore, Jamie (18 January 2024). "Why X is full of ads spouting false claims about CTV chef Mary Berg". National Post. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  35. ^ Gault, Matthew (17 January 2024). "X Flooded With Bizarre Ads Smearing TV Chef to Promote Crypto Platform". Vice. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  36. ^ "Eight delicious recipes from Mary Berg's first-ever cookbook". The Loop. 11 September 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  37. ^ David, Greg (18 August 2021). "New original culinary series Mary Makes it Easy premieres Sept. 6 on CTV Life Channel". www.tv-eh.com. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  38. ^ Bridges, Katie (14 April 2022). "At Home With... MasterChef Winner Mary Berg Has Cooked Up Her Dream House". STOREYS. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  39. ^ Slotek, Jim (20 June 2016). "'MasterChef Canada' winner Mary Berg show's first female champ". Brantford Expositor. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  40. ^ Easton, Megan (23 November 2016). "Profiles of U of T alumni: hail to the chef!". University of Toronto News. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
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