Winner, winner, chicken dinner.
It's a phrase that's been used for decades to celebrate a personal victory, but how often has it ever been precisely literal? Jen Jenkins got to say it on this week's episode of MasterChef Canada because that's exactly what happened. She and her team of contestants made the best chicken dinner - under a stressful deadline with limited space and ingredients - and got to automatically survive the week's elimination.
Jenkins was raised largely in Prince George but now calls Dawson Creek home. She is one of the original 12 home cooks cast in this year's season of MasterChef Canada, the prime time cooking show heating up Tuesday nights on CTV.
"As soon as the red flags dropped (indicating Team Red had defeated Team Blue in the chicken showdown), that's when the realization hit," she said. "We won the challenge, we are all in the Top 10. Now that I'm watching it, it feels real, but then it was like this amazing dream I was in. I couldn't even lie about it, at this point, it's too heavily documented and verified that I'm in the Top 10. That can never be taken away from me."
Another win means another episode. As each week goes by, more of her friends and acquaintances all over the country discover that she's on MasterChef Canada and reach out to say hello.
So, too, are the people on the streets of Dawson Creek.
She was always a standout in the small Peace Country town. That splashy hair and those metallic facial adornments aren't something she cooked up for MasterChef Canada.
"The first time I did it was 18, and I've had it blue, orange, red, my wedding photos showed it all purple and gorgeous. The side-shave I did just four years ago. Same with some of the piercings. It was my stand, coming out of a bad relationship. I decided to look exactly how I wanted to look, not how other people thought I should look. And I really enjoy my look."
She isn't the only one. Her career as a TV personality is only three weeks old and a local woman already presented her with a touching fan's gesture.
"A lady in town here crocheted me a doll... of me! It's the cutest thing I've ever seen. It even has my piercings. How adorable."
Another fan brought tears to her eyes when the viewer told her in a grocery store that Jenkins was a positive role model for their six-year-old daughter who was awed by the town's famous TV star.
"The support has been a constant. A lot of people who I don't even know are saying 'good job, rooting for you' when you pass on the street. That's so amazing," Jenkins said.
"In a small town like this, people already kind of know you, but now I'm in people's houses once a week. And I'm riding it. I'm very social, so when people want to chitchat, I'm right in on that."
There will be even more to talk about next Tuesday after the next episode of Jenkins cooking for her TV life on MasterChef Canada.
