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Dame Mary Rosa Alleyne Hunnings (; born 24 March 1935), known professionally as Mary Berry, is an English food writer, chef, baker and television presenter. After being encouraged in
domestic science
Home economics, also called domestic science or family and consumer sciences, is a subject concerning human development, personal and family finances, consumer issues, housing and interior design, nutrition and food preparation, as well as texti ...
classes at school, she studied catering at college. She then moved to France at the age of 22 to study at
Le Cordon Bleu
Le Cordon Bleu (French for " The Blue Ribbon") is an international network of hospitality and culinary schools teaching French ''haute cuisine''. Its educational focuses are hospitality management, culinary arts, and gastronomy. The instituti ...
culinary school, before working in a number of cooking-related jobs.
She has published more than 75 cookery books, including her best-selling ''Baking Bible'' in 2009. Her first book was ''The Hamlyn All Colour Cookbook'' in 1970. She hosted several television series for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
and
Thames Television
Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a Broadcast license, franchise holder for a region of the British ITV (TV network), ITV television network serving Greater London, London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until th ...
. Berry is an occasional contributor to ''
Woman's Hour
''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946.
History
Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by A ...
'' and ''
Saturday Kitchen
''Saturday Kitchen Live'' is a British cookery programme, that is broadcast live on BBC One every Saturday between 10.00am and 11.30am produced by Cactus TV.
History
2002–2003
After a pilot hosted by Ainsley Harriott on 14 April 2001, the ...
''. She was a judge on the
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
(originally
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
) television programme ''
The Great British Bake Off
''The Great British Bake Off'' (often abbreviated to ''Bake Off'' or ''GBBO'') is a British television baking competition, produced by Love Productions, in which a group of amateur bakers compete against each other in a series of rounds, att ...
'' from its launch in 2010 until 2016, when it relocated to
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
.
Early life
Berry was born on 24 March 1935, the second of three children, to Margaret (‘Marjorie’, ''née'' Wilson; 1905–2011) and Alleyne William Steward Berry (1904–1989). Alleyne was a surveyor and planner who served as
Mayor of Bath in 1952 and was closely involved in establishing the
University of Bath
(Virgil, Georgics II)
, mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind
, established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...
at
Claverton Down
Claverton Down is a suburb on the south-east hilltop edge of Bath, Somerset, England. It is linked to the Bathwick area of the city by Bathwick Hill.
Primarily a rural area with relatively few houses, it is home to the University of Bath, the he ...
. Mary's great-great-grandfather on her father's side, Robert Houghton, was a master baker in the 1860s who provided bread for a local
workhouse
In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse'' ...
in Norwich. Her mother died in 2011 aged 105.
At the age of 13, Berry contracted
polio
Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...
and had to spend three months in hospital. This resulted in her having a twisted spine, a weaker left hand and thinner left arm. She has said that the period of forced separation from her family while in the hospital "toughened
erup" and taught her to make the most of every opportunity she would have.
Berry attended
Bath High School
Royal High School Bath is an independent day and boarding school for girls and in the city of Bath, Somerset, Bath, Somerset, England, catering for up to 650 pupils. The school is on Lansdown Road, just outside Bath city centre, and has boardin ...
, where she described her academic abilities as "hopeless" until she attended
domestic science
Home economics, also called domestic science or family and consumer sciences, is a subject concerning human development, personal and family finances, consumer issues, housing and interior design, nutrition and food preparation, as well as texti ...
classes with a teacher called Miss Date, who was particularly encouraging of her cooking abilities.
Her first creation in the class was a
treacle sponge pudding
A treacle sponge pudding is a traditional British dessert dish consisting of a steamed sponge cake with treacle cooked on top of it, sometimes also poured over it and often served with hot custard.
The dish has been mass-produced and imported in ...
which she took home, and her father told her that it was as good as her mother's.
She then studied catering at
Bath College of Domestic Science
Bath College of Domestic Science was a small college in Bath, Somerset, England.
The teaching of domestic subjects in Bath started in 1892 at 19 Green Park with the founding of the Bath Technical Schools. The Technical Instruction Act of 1889 had ...
.
Career
Berry's first job was at the Bath
Electricity Board showroom and then conducting home visits to show new customers how to use their electric ovens. She would typically demonstrate the ovens by making a
Victoria sponge
Sponge cake is a light cake made with egg whites, flour and sugar, sometimes leavened with baking powder. Some sponge cakes do not contain egg yolks, like angel food cake, but most of them do. Sponge cakes, leavened with beaten eggs, originated ...
, a technique she would later repeat when in television studios to test out an oven she had not used before.
Her catchment area for demonstrations was limited to the greater
Bath area, which she drove around in a
Ford Popular
The Ford Popular, often called the Ford Pop, is a car from Ford UK that was built in England between 1953 and 1962. When launched, it was Britain's lowest priced car.
The name Popular was also used by Ford to describe its 1930s Y Type model. Th ...
supplied as a
company car
A company car is a vehicle which companies or organisations lease or own and which employees use for their personal and business travel. Take-home vehicle is a vehicle which can be taken home by company employees. Depending on the company, company ...
.
Her ambition was to move out of the family home to London, which her parents would not allow until she was 21. At the age of 22, she applied to work at the Dutch Dairy Bureau, while taking
City & Guilds
The City and Guilds of London Institute is an educational organisation in the United Kingdom. Founded on 11 November 1878 by the City of London and 16 livery companies – to develop a national system of technical education, the institute has ...
courses in the evenings.
She then persuaded her manager to pay for her to undertake the professional qualification from the French
Le Cordon Bleu
Le Cordon Bleu (French for " The Blue Ribbon") is an international network of hospitality and culinary schools teaching French ''haute cuisine''. Its educational focuses are hospitality management, culinary arts, and gastronomy. The instituti ...
school.
She left the Dutch Dairy Bureau to become a recipe tester for PR firm Benson's, where she began to write her first book. She has since cooked for a range of food-related bodies, including the Egg Council and the Flour Advisory Board. In 1966 she became food editor of ''Housewife'' magazine. She was food editor of ''
Ideal Home
''Ideal Home'' is a British home decorating magazine, published monthly (11 times a year) by Future plc
Future plc is an international multimedia company established in the United Kingdom in 1985. The company has over 220 brands that span ...
'' magazine from 1970 to 1973.
Her first cookbook, ''The Hamlyn All Colour Cookbook'', was published in 1970.
She launched her own product range in 1994 with her daughter Annabel. The salad dressings and sauces were originally only sold at Mary's AGA cooking school, but have since been sold in Britain, Germany and Ireland with retailers such as
Harrods
Harrods Limited is a department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It is currently owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority. The Harrods brand also applies to other ...
,
Fortnum & Mason
Fortnum & Mason (colloquially often shortened to just Fortnum's) is an upmarket department store in Piccadilly, London, with additional stores at The Royal Exchange, St Pancras railway station, Heathrow Airport in London and K11 Musea In Hong ...
and
Tesco
Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...
.
She has also appeared on a
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
series called ''The Great British Food Revival'', and her solo show, ''
Mary Berry Cooks'', began airing on 3 March 2014.
In December 2012, Berry became the first president of the new
Bath Spa University
Bath Spa University is a public university in Bath, England, with its main campus at Newton Park, about west of the centre of the city. The university has other campuses in the city of Bath, and one at Corsham Court in Wiltshire.
The insti ...
Alumni Association.
In her own kitchen, she uses a
KitchenAid
KitchenAid is an American home appliance brand owned by Whirlpool Corporation. The company was started in 1919 by The Hobart Manufacturing Company to produce stand mixers; the "H-5" was the first model introduced. The company faced competition a ...
mixer which she describes as being the one gadget she could not live without.
She has always had an
AGA cooker
The AGA cooker oven is a Swedish oven and cooker. Invented and initially produced in Sweden, since 1957 all production has been located in the UK.
History
Originally developed to burn coal or anthracite, the Aga cooker was invented in 1922 by ...
, and used to run cooking courses for AGA users. She describes
Raymond Blanc
Raymond Blanc OBE (born 19 November 1949) is a French chef. Blanc is the chef patron at Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, a hotel-restaurant in Great Milton, Oxfordshire, England. The restaurant has two Michelin stars and scored 9/10 in the '' Good ...
's restaurant
Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons as one of her favourites as well as the Old Queen's Head, local to where she lives in
Penn,
High Wycombe
High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, south-southeast of Ayl ...
.
In February 2015 Berry featured in a programme in aid of the
Third World
The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the " First ...
charity
Comic Relief
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.
Definition
Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic episo ...
. In May 2015 she began presenting a new
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
series called ''Mary Berry's Absolute Favourites''. In November 2015 she was the subject a two-part biographical documentary entitled ''The Mary Berry Story''.
Starting on 30 November 2015, she was one of the two judges for a four-week American edition of the popular baking competition ''The Great Holiday Baking Show'' on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
, which followed a similar format to the British competition.
Berry became President of th
National Garden Schemein 2016 having opened her garden for charity for over 20 years.
In November 2016, it was announced that Berry would present a new six-part series, ''Mary Berry Everyday'' in which she would share her cooking tips, family favourites and special occasion recipes. The show aired on BBC Two.
In April 2017, Berry launched a series of cakes that could be bought from supermarkets. The cakes contain emulsifiers and preservatives that Berry has previously described as "unwanted extras".
From 22 November 2017 to 13 December 2017, Berry presented a 4-part series called ''Mary Berry's Country House Secrets'' on
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
. In this series, she ventured to four of the UK's stately homes and explored each through the prism of food and history. The locations were
Highclere Castle
Highclere Castle is a Grade I listed country house built in 1679 and largely renovated in the 1840s, with a park designed by Capability Brown in the 18th century. The estate is in Highclere in Hampshire, England, about south of Newbury, B ...
,
Scone Palace
Scone Palace is a Category A-listed historic house near the village of Scone and the city of Perth, Scotland. Built in red sandstone with a castellated roof, it is an example of the Gothic Revival style in Scotland.
Scone was originally the s ...
,
Powderham Castle
Powderham Castle is a fortified manor house situated within the parish and former manor of Powderham, within the former hundred of Exminster, Devon, about south of the city of Exeter and mile (0.4 km) north-east of the village of ...
and
Goodwood House.
In 2018, Berry was a judge on ''
Britain's Best Home Cook
''Best Home Cook'' (previously ''Britain's Best Home Cook'') is a competitive cooking show produced by KEO Films and distributed internationally by Endemol Shine Group. It premiered on BBC One in May 2018, presented by Claudia Winkleman, with j ...
'' alongside chef Dan Doherty and
Chris Bavin.
Berry's new six-part television cookery series called ''Mary Berry's Simple Comforts'' premiered on
BBC2
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
, 9 September 2020.
''Mary Berry Saves Christmas'', a
BBC1
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
special in which Berry helps a group of amateur cooks make a Christmas feast for their families, was shown on
Christmas Day
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...
2020.
In 2021, Berry was a celebrity judge on the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
series ''Celebrity Best Home Cook'' alongside