She鈥檚 only 19 years old and yet she鈥檚 already moved across the world, switched provinces and鈥攎ore importantly鈥攖aken the Canadian culinary world by storm.
Beccy Stables is this year鈥檚 winner of Masterchef Canada, the youngest contestant to ever snag the culinary title.
鈥淚t meant the world to me. I can inspire kids to get back in the kitchen, people of my age, the young adults,鈥� Stables said from her Kelowna home.
Those young people, often who go for the take-out option instead of cooking a meal themselves, Stables said.
鈥淚 think we are losing some of that. Cooking for yourself, having your friends over and having a dinner party. That is what makes memories, that is how you spend time with people, around the table,鈥� she said.
鈥淧eople have so many food memories. A certain smell and you think, 鈥極h my God, that reminds me of one time with me mom.鈥� It takes you back places and I love that. I really want to inspire the younger generation to get back in the kitchen.鈥�
While she was the youngest contestant to win, Stables said age was just a number on the Masterchef set.
鈥淏eing the youngest was strange at first because you think people are going to treat you like a baby, but they didn鈥檛. The group of contestants were like a family, everyone was just so welcoming to each other. It was very nice to be in an environment where age didn鈥檛 matter.鈥�
One of the things that set Stables apart this season was the 鈥渞ag to riches鈥� story line portrayed on the show. Unlike some of the other contestants, Stables鈥� culinary experiences were limited as she had zero professional experience or training and had never tasted or worked with many of the higher-end ingredients contestants are given.
鈥淚 grew up on a lot of English food 鈥� so starchy, kind of wintery food.
鈥淚t was very interesting to work with these ingredients, I loved it and I could learn so much. I had never worked with them before and its the best opportunity to work them, because you don鈥檛 have to pay for it,鈥� she added with a laugh.
While her initial plan on the show was to use the winnings to attend culinary school, Stables has chosen a different path.
鈥淚 want be a self-taught cook, I think that鈥檚 really special to have that because not many people do that anymore,鈥� she added.
While Stables was born in Grimsby, U.K., she spent the last decade in Sherwood Park, Alta., and now Canada鈥檚 Masterchef is calling the Okanagan home.
鈥淭he Okanagan provided a better lifestyle for us and my niece, she loves the water and the hotter environment,鈥� said Stables about their move across the provincial line.
鈥淎nd, the type of food I want to do is this naturesque kind of thing and it is just so beautiful here. You look out, see a mountain and I think, ya I am going to put that on a plate.鈥�
She also said the abundance of great local produce is something the Okanagan had over Alberta. All reasons she鈥檚 decided to open her first venture right here on the shores of Okanagan Lake.
鈥淢y and my family started a catering company here in Kelowna that鈥檚 called Bec Catering and it is letting me be myself,鈥� said Stables.
鈥淚 want to put nature back on the plate. I want to 鈥榰n-Americanize鈥� Canadian cuisine and bring it into its own. When you think Canada, you think maple syrup and poutine and ya they鈥檙e good, they鈥檙e very good, but that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e known for, but we have all this and no one is capitalizing on it the way I want to do it. I want to show people what this country has to offer in a way no one else is really doing it right now.鈥�
Stables and her family moved to the Kelowna area just two weeks ago, all of them geared towards making Stables鈥� new venture a success.
鈥淚t is just so beautiful here, we are so lucky to live here.
鈥淩each out if you have any questions. If you want us to do a private dinner, you want to do canapes, just desserts, we can cater if for you. Check us out.鈥�
And it is a true Stables family venture with her sister as manager, her dad as a cook and her mom as a dual babysitter/dishwasher.
Her journey to running her own boutique catering company in Kelowna all began with her love of food, of cooking and of the TV show Masterchef.
鈥淚 applied as it just seemed like such a great opportunity, it looked like so much fun, there were so many young people and it just looked like such a great opportunity to get my name out there,鈥� said Stables.
鈥淚 love the learning aspect of food, I find it so interesting. There is so much to learn all the time, there is always something new and everywhere you go has a different culture.鈥�
She applied and didn鈥檛 think too much of it until she got the call that turned her life into a whirlwind.
鈥淚 was just like, 鈥極h my God,鈥欌�� said Stables. 鈥淚f you can get the call you鈥檙e on, it is very rushed after that. They tell you, you need this, this, this and this and plane tickets and pack this and you鈥檙e there and it鈥檚 a rush.鈥�
She said that while some viewers believe the show appears scripted, what you see is what you get.
鈥淲hen you see them cheering on the balcony, that鈥檚 real. When Kaegan dropped his cake, that was real, like that actually happened, you cannot even script that stuff,鈥� said Stables. 鈥淓verything that happened, happened.鈥�
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