Fort St. John rancher shares journey to MasterChef Canada ahead of season premiere

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — An aspiring chef from Fort St. John is set to appear on MasterChef Canada’s upcoming season.

With the premiere of MasterChef Canada season eight just a week away, Fort St. John-based contestant Marianne Smeaton has shared more about her journey to the popular cooking competition.

Smeaton, who grew up on a cattle ranch in Cache Creek after her parents immigrated from Switzerland, said her love of food and cooking started early.

“Everything was made from scratch,” Smeaton told Energeticcity.ca. “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 mom in Fort St. John, Smeaton said she never expected to compete on a national cooking show. In fact, she credited her husband with encouraging her to take the leap.

“The audition was not my idea, it was my husband’s idea,” she said. “In fact, this is totally outside of my comfort zone, but I’m glad I did it.” 

Smeaton said when she got the call from producers that she would be on the show, the news left her stunned.

“I was pretty shocked,” she said. “They said they had a few follow-up questions, and that’s when they told me. I was pretty speechless, actually.”

Because of confidentiality, only her husband knew at first. Once the news went public, though, Smeaton says her family and friends were thrilled.

Now, as the competition gets underway, she said she’s ready to give it her all as not only the sole contestant from the Peace region, but B.C. as a whole.

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

The first episode of MasterChef Canada season eight premieres on Thursday, October 2nd at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV and Crave.

Those who want to follow Smeaton’s journey can find her on Instagram.