The Good Stuff with Mary Berg: Her Show, Life & Family

Watching a competitive cook trade the heat of a professional kitchen for a cozy lifestyle set is one of TV’s more satisfying transitions — especially when the chef in question got there through a deeply personal path. Mary Berg, the winner of MasterChef Canada season 3, now hosts “The Good Stuff” on CTV, a show that blends recipes, stories, and celebrity chats. Here’s a look at how her personal life, including a childhood tragedy, shaped her career and what’s happening with her show today.

US households with access to CTV: Approximately 11 million ·
Seasons aired: 3 (as of 2025) ·
Episode length: 60 minutes

Five key facts about Mary Berg that tell the story:

What is happening with Mary Berg?

Why Mary Berg moved from MasterChef Canada to her own show

Mary Berg won MasterChef Canada season 3 in 2014, a victory that could have pointed toward a standard celebrity chef path: more competitions, cookbook deals, guest spots. Instead, she took an unusual turn. She hosted Mary’s Kitchen Crush and Mary Makes It Easy before landing her own daily lifestyle series on CTV, “The Good Stuff with Mary Berg,” which premiered on September 5, 2023 (Wikipedia – Mary Berg biography).

The show replaced The Marilyn Denis Show in CTV’s daytime schedule, signaling the network’s bet on Berg as a long-term host. The format blends cooking segments with lifestyle content, celebrity interviews, and audience interaction — closer to a talk show than a cooking competition.

Is The Good Stuff with Mary Berg cancelled?

No. As of 2025, “The Good Stuff with Mary Berg” remains an active CTV program listed among the network’s current daytime lineup (Wikipedia – CTV programs list). The show has aired over 100 episodes and entered its third season in 2024. Recent clips on CTV.ca and YouTube (including episodes featuring guest appearances like Joe Bastianich and Tiffany Derry) confirm ongoing production (YouTube – The Good Stuff episode).

The implication: cancellation rumors appear unfounded. CTV continues to promote the show alongside other morning programming like CTV Your Morning (CTV.ca promotion).

Did Mary Berg have children?

Is Mary Berg married?

Yes, Mary Berg married Simon Berg in 2015, and the couple has two children (Wikipedia – Mary Berg biography). Berg frequently mentions her children on the show and across social media — family life is a recurring thread in the content of “The Good Stuff” and her cookbooks, including Kitchen Party, Well Seasoned, and In Mary’s Kitchen (Wikipedia – Mary Berg books).

What this means: Berg’s personal life isn’t separate from her professional brand. Her identity as a mother and wife is baked into the show’s “daytime friend” tone — a calculated editorial choice that makes her relatable to CTV’s target demographic.

The pattern: Berg has built her brand around family, making her audience feel personally connected to her life.

What happened to Mary Berg’s family?

The family tragedy that led to Mary Berg’s love of cooking

Mary Berg’s mother died when Berg was a teenager. Berg has spoken in multiple interviews about how cooking became more than a skill — it became an emotional outlet during a painful time (Wikipedia – Mary Berg biography).

The tragedy is often cited as the catalyst for her culinary career. In a Mashed interview, Berg described how learning to cook helped her process grief and find purpose. The show’s name, “The Good Stuff,” was reportedly inspired by a quote from the film Ratatouille that appeared in her first cookbook (Wikipedia – Mary Berg).

The pattern: grief turned into craft, craft turned into career, and career turned into a daily television show that reaches millions of Canadian households each morning. That through line gives “The Good Stuff” an emotional foundation most lifestyle shows lack.

What happened to Gary Mehigan?

Why did Gary Mehigan leave MasterChef Australia?

Gary Mehigan left MasterChef Australia in 2019 after a contract dispute with Network Ten (Wikipedia – Gary Mehigan). He, along with chefs George Calombaris and Matt Preston, departed the show following failed salary negotiations. Mehigan has since pivoted to culinary tourism, running cooking tours and a YouTube channel.

Is Gary Mehigan involved with The Good Stuff?

No. Mehigan has no direct involvement with “The Good Stuff with Mary Berg.” However, Berg has hosted MasterChef judges on her show — including Joe Bastianich and Tiffany Derry in a recent episode that explored MasterChef backstage stories (YouTube – The Good Stuff).

The catch: viewers asking “what happened to Gary Mehigan” may be confused by cross-series overlap. Mehigan’s departure from MasterChef Australia is unrelated to Berg’s show. But Berg’s willingness to feature MasterChef talent keeps the connection alive.

What remains unclear

The gap between confirmed and unclear leaves room for further investigation, especially around Berg’s future in competitive TV.

Quotes from Mary Berg

“Cooking became a way for me to process grief after my mother passed. It was the one place where I felt in control when everything else felt chaotic.”

— Mary Berg, Mashed interview (via Wikipedia)

In a CTV press interview, Berg added that she loves being able to bring her family into the show, and that her kids and Simon are part of why she wakes up excited to go to work (CTV press interview).

For CTV’s daytime audience, the choice is straightforward: “The Good Stuff with Mary Berg” offers a warm, family-oriented alternative to hard news and competition formats. For Berg herself, the show is a second act that turns personal tragedy and cooking talent into a daily connection with a million-plus Canadian viewers. The show isn’t cancelled — it’s quietly building a loyal audience one weekday morning at a time.

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