Mary Berry Quotes

I think baking is very rewarding, and if you follow a good recipe, you will get success.

I love a good madeira cake. Nice and simple. The most important thing is that a cake is moist. Most people overcook cakes, which dries them out.

I think to eat cake is very good for us, but it’s the size of the slice and how often you have it.

I never leave anything until the morning. I put my jumpers, scarves, and shoes out the night before. You never know what is going to happen. You don’t want to get stressed.

It is something you can’t predict, and it is the huge sadness in your life, losing a child.

Cooking and baking is both physical and mental therapy.

I think my father couldn’t wait to get home to his wife, but I don’t know if he was so keen on us children.

So often, when somebody dies in the family, whether a child or a parent, there is no one to lean on. When something like that happens, you go into a shell, but on the other hand, it’s a really good thing to talk it over and say how you feel.

I usually wear only a bit of pink lippy, but for TV, they add a few extra lashes to brighten my eyes and some colour to my face, as without it, I look pale and uninteresting.

I am not great at computers. If I were to try shopping through Google, I’d end up with 33 vests.

My favourite TV show is… ‘Downton Abbey.’ The characters are wonderful, and the style is created so beautifully on screen. Everything from the table settings to the linen seem perfect to me. While I’m watching it, I’m in a totally different world.

Looking back, I don’t feel that I was the most brilliant mother. I was always very good at giving my children the right food, but it was one of my regrets in life that I didn’t spend more time listening to them or playing with them.

Reluctant as I am to regard myself as a style icon, I would love to think I could inspire older women to make the most of themselves.

One of my first jobs was as a recipe tester for a PR agency. One week, the editor of ‘Housewife‘ magazine called my boss and asked me to write a column – the cookery editor had gone away on a press trip. I was terrified.

When I thought I couldn’t write recipes, my boss at the time advised, ‘Write as you talk.’

I make myself eat one piece of toast for breakfast. When I’m doing ‘Bake Off,’ I eat soup for lunch. I know what puts on weight for me; it’s just over-indulgence.

I do like going out and finding free food. I’ve done it since I was a child. Fishing prawns and shrimps from the sea is wonderful, as is picking blackberries, sloes and mushrooms. Having a guide while out looking for mushrooms is really important, though, as picking the wrong type can be quite dangerous.

Some of my fondest memories are holidays by the seaside.

Oh, I’d never put my elbows on the table.

I love Michel Roux, Jr., and James Martin – the chefs who are experts in their own right, like Rick Stein on fish. But I don’t watch them very much because I don’t think it’s fair for my husband to be in a total food environment all the time! So we watch programmes about gardening more.

I won’t do ‘Strictly‘ or any of those ghastly reality programmes. ‘I’m a Celebrity‘ would be the end. It makes me shudder.

My bread and croissants wouldn’t win a prize! I’m not an expert in yeast cookery.

I know people think I invented the Victoria sandwich, but I’m really not that old.

I hope that I dress for my age. Because there’s no need to be dowdy, is there? But I don’t go with all the colours that everybody is wearing. I’m not very fond of lime green or orange, so I don’t do that. I read all the fashion magazines, but most things are totally unsuitable for somebody of 79.

At my dinner parties, I like to serve cheese after the main course because you still have red wine in the glass, and it goes very well with the cheese. And that is what they do in France, and I think they set a good example.

I don’t like tattoos because tattoos are forever.

My husband is not in the slightest bit domesticated, but as the years go, by he’s getting better. He can make an excellent omelette.

My son is a tree surgeon and gets me a lovely tree. I like to put it up early, as I can’t wait for Christmas. We dress it with decorations that have been in the family for years.

I’ve always had a strong interest in how food is produced and in knowing where it comes from.

I won’t cook in deep fat. Years ago, I met a fireman who said most kitchen fires were caused by deep fat, and I don’t think that’s changed. Oven chips are good enough for my grandchildren, and they’re chuffed with that.

I don’t go to fancy Michelin-starred restaurants often.

I don’t like showing cleavage because I get cold, and if I had fantastic legs, I might wear short skirts – but I think at 78, one’s got to act one’s age.

A lot of other reality shows on television can be bullying and aggressive, but we wanted ‘The Bake Off’ to be an antidote to that.

When our William was killed, there wasn’t a child bereavement charity. I was extremely blessed with a very close family, wonderful friends, a supportive husband, and two further children.

If you are buying a larger turkey than usual, make sure it will fit in the oven.

I admire my fellow judge Paul Hollywood enormously, though we often argue. He believes presentation and uniformity are paramount; I’m more interested in taste. I don’t mind if one bun is smaller than the others, or if there’s a little pastry cracking, though I don’t want a soggy bottom.

Having children is the greatest thing that can happen to you as a husband and wife. They are infuriating at times when they’re little, but on the whole, they’re such a joy. I don’t think I was the most brilliant mother when they were young. I had quite a bit of help because I was working and I enjoyed my work.

Freak diets I don’t think work. It’s control.

Wherever possible, I like to use home-grown or locally produced ingredients.

When I started, you had cochineal food colouring that would turn things pink, but you could never make it red. Now, red is no problem – and if you look at supermarket bakery sections since ‘Bake Off’ began, you can get everything.

‘The Great British Bake Off’ is family entertainment. There aren’t many programmes where all ages can sit and watch from beginning to end. Everything else is violent, cruel, and noisy. We’re educational without viewers realising it.

What a privilege and honour it has been to be part of seven years of magic in a tent – ‘The Great British Bake Off.’

Before the start of each new series, I go shopping for my ‘Bake Off’ wardrobe. I’ve got increasingly confident with my look and now wear much more colour than I did at the start.

While we’re filming ‘Bake Off,’ I can get really cold, so I’m often holding a hot-water bottle or layered up under an anorak and a warm hat.