Mary, Queen of Cakes

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Mary Berry is a beloved and inspiring cook, a true national treasure. But beyond that, she’s remarkably savvy and strategic, much like a successful business leader. It’s easy to overlook this side of her, especially considering she earned just £4.75 for one of her earliest television appearances – a demonstration on how to use a freezer!

We met with Dame Mary near her home in Oxfordshire for a photoshoot and interview. She’s wonderfully polite and genuinely welcoming – it’s as if we were a perfectly roasted chicken! At 91 years old (she turned 90 on March 24th), she brought along Freddie, one of her two energetic working cocker spaniels. Even after a long walk, Freddie kept looking at her for attention. I could relate – everyone wants a little of Dame Mary’s time and kindness.

I first met Mary Berry 31 years ago when she was simply Mrs. Berry, and I took a cooking class at her house. Even after three decades, she still has a keen eye for detail, carefully choosing her outfits and praising her assistant’s sweater. She’s created a new six-episode series, *Mary at 90: A Lifetime of Cooking*, where she reflects on her television career and updates some of her classic recipes. She cooks with six well-known personalities, including Jamie Oliver, Gabby Logan, and Tom Allen.

Old ITV clips from the 1970s show Mary as sweet-looking and proper, with a classic British accent and wearing floral clothing. However, beneath her gentle appearance and soft voice is a determined and ambitious personality. She explains, “Life is competitive. It’s important to strive for excellence in everything you do, whether it’s work or sports.”

She’s like a living history book when it comes to food, remembering when ingredients like five spice, fennel, and fresh ginger first became popular. She even recalls exactly when aluminum foil arrived on the scene. She was working at *Home and Freezer Digest* when the editor excitedly showed off a shipment from America, and the first question everyone asked was whether to use the shiny or dull side – and if it even made a difference!

She’s written over 70 books, selling more than five million copies in total. Years ago, a visit from Delia Smith revealed she wasn’t earning enough from her writing. Delia, along with her husband Michael, noticed during a chat and broke the usual rule of avoiding money talks. She told her, ‘You deserve better pay,’ and immediately contacted her agent, Felicity Bryan. The next day, she received a postcard from Felicity arranging a meeting, and she’s been with that agency ever since. [Felicity Bryan passed away in 2020.]

I had one aim. To get people to cook and enjoy it as much as I did

When Mary looks back at old TV footage, she realizes how much easier things are for chefs today. She remembers her first TV appearance in the mid-1970s on ITV’s *Good Afternoon*, where she was asked to explain how to use a freezer. She’d actually written a book for Marks & Spencer on the topic, explaining that freezing doesn’t improve the quality of food – if you freeze something bad, it will still be bad when it comes out.

I received no support for the TV show – I had to bring absolutely everything myself, from all the cookware and utensils to all the ingredients like vegetables, fish, and meat. They’d pick me up by taxi in the dark and I’d arrive at the studio to find the tables still covered with newspapers from the previous night’s news. They’d quickly set up a kitchen, including a clock, but it was very basic. The drawers wouldn’t open, and there wasn’t a sink – water just emptied into a bucket at my feet. If I turned the tap on too hard, especially while talking to Judith Chalmers, the bucket would overflow and we’d end up with water all over the floor.

Following an initial appearance, Mary became a frequent guest on the show, cooking alongside Chalmers. Little did she know, her first job with the Electricity Board in Bath – teaching people how to bake with electric ovens – was perfect preparation for her future career.

Mary couldn’t stop laughing while watching old recordings of herself. “My voice was so squeaky!” she exclaimed. “But I had one goal: to inspire people to cook and love it as much as I do.” She offered recipes to viewers, but with a quirky catch – they had to send in a self-addressed, stamped envelope. “If you ask young people today what an SAE is, they have no idea!” she says, amused. As for her on-screen image, she never worried about appearances. “There was no makeup, no special outfits. I just wore my own clothes, and I’d often bring in daisies I’d picked from the garden.”

Mary became well-known to a new audience when she first appeared on *The Great British Bake Off* in 2010. She got the job after an audition, but she admitted she needed help with bread. She explained, ‘I’m not very good at bread – it’s not my strength.’ This led to Paul Hollywood joining the show. She and Paul had different approaches; Mary preferred to offer constructive advice rather than dwell on mistakes. For example, if a bake didn’t turn out perfectly, she’d tell a contestant, ‘You could fix that by scooping some out and filling it with fruit and cream – it would become a delicious pudding!’

After *The Great British Bake Off* moved to Channel 4 in 2017, Mary Berry chose to remain with the BBC. She explains, “I felt very valued by the BBC, and it felt right to stay.” This allowed her television career to continue, including shows like *Classic Mary Berry* and numerous Christmas specials.

When she’s not working, she enjoys activities like croquet, reading, dog walking, and cooking with her grandkids. She stays active without going to the gym, preferring to get her exercise walking her dogs. She also keeps up with what’s new, both in food – her latest show features many plant-based recipes – and technology. “It’s important to stay current,” she says, adding, “and yes, we’re on Instagram!”

She was saddened that her parents weren’t alive to witness her receiving her Damehood at Windsor Castle in 2021. She believes strongly in the influence of family and remembers her father as an extraordinary man. Her parents were wonderful role models, and while she wished she could have shared the news with them, she feels they were watching over her and would have been proud. She jokingly added that children often don’t fully appreciate such moments.

Mary has always been remarkably positive, even after the devastating loss of her son, William, who died in a car accident at age 19 in 1989. Following his death, she began teaching Aga courses from her home, but she never let her grief show. She remained as warm and cheerful as she is now, and it’s possible that teaching helped her cope and stay strong.

You have to go with the trends, and yes, we’re on Instagram

I think about William constantly. If he walked in right now, I’d definitely ask him where he’s been! I’m still incredibly proud of him and cherish the happiness he brought to our lives. He was a wonderful child. But when I think about things, I realize how lucky I am to have had supportive parents, and now, two other children, Annabel and Tom, as well as my grandchildren. It would be heartbreaking to only have one child. I feel very fortunate, especially to have a husband who’s 93 years old.

She believes the key to a happy marriage is avoiding arguments altogether. Her husband jokes that he agrees with everything she says and then does what he wants, but she explains that when she senses a disagreement starting, she simply leaves the room. She’ll often go outside to do something like pick flowers or gather apples. She finds that walking away is surprisingly effective.

Living on a higher floor would be challenging, but thankfully, we get along well. I feel fortunate because he’s become much more appreciative as he’s gotten older, and I’m happy to care for him – it’s something I promised to do, through all of life’s ups and downs. We’re very content with how things are as we grow older together.

Mary doesn’t seem like someone who argues often, if at all. She’s very likeable and gets along well with everyone on the new show, especially Jamie Oliver. She explains, “We both didn’t finish school, so we have that in common.”

When asked which guest benefited most from cooking with her, she instantly replied, “Alan Titchmarsh.” They made spaghetti with salmon, and he admitted he didn’t know how to cook it. However, he was very enthusiastic. She was particularly pleased when, ten days after filming, he emailed her a photo of a beautifully set table featuring the pasta dish and a glass of wine. He wrote that he’d followed her instructions exactly and was really proud of the result.

She smiles, explaining that seeing someone succeed is what she enjoys most. She loves when people tell her they started cooking because of her show. That’s the power of television – it’s like a massive cooking lesson for millions of viewers. Her hope has always been that if she demonstrates something well, people will be inspired to try it at home, and that goal remains true today.

A new book, Mary 90: My Very Best Recipes, is available now (BBC Books)

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2025-10-14 17:48