Fort St. John rancher advances to MasterChef Canada semifinals

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — A Fort St. John local has advanced to the semifinals of MasterChef Canada season eight.

The upcoming episode features an all-female lineup of semifinalists, a first in the show’s history, according to a promotional Facebook post by MasterChef Canada.

Fort St. John’s Marianne Smeaton will compete alongside fellow semifinalists Veronica Wu, Liz Worndl and Bhu Chana.

Smeaton, the only contestant this season to be a current resident of B.C., has steadily progressed through the competition since season eight premiered in October.

Daniel Ebanks, who was a resident of Fort St. John from 2012 to 2016, was eliminated in episode four.

Ahead of the season premiere, Smeaton told Energeticcity.ca her passion for cooking began in her childhood on a cattle ranch in Cache Creek.

“Everything was made from scratch,” she said. “It was truly like farm-to-table. My mom was an amazing cook, and so I think that’s kind of where it started.”

Now a rancher and mother living in Fort St. John, Smeaton said she never expected to audition for a national cooking series and credited her husband for encouraging her to take the leap.

“I’m going to give it my all,” Smeaton said at the time. “I love Fort St. John, so I’m excited to represent this awesome little town.”

Episode 10 of MasterChef Canada’s eighth season airs on Tuesday, December 9th, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CTV and is available to stream the following day on Crave.