Mary Berry facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mary Berry
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Berry at the Chelsea Flower Show in May 2017
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Mary Rosa Alleyne Berry
24 March 1935 Bath, Somerset, England
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| Other names | Mary, Queen of Cakes |
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| Television |
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Paul Hunnings
(m. 1966) |
| Children | 3 |
Dame Mary Rosa Alleyne Hunnings (born 24 March 1935), known as Mary Berry, is a famous English food writer, chef, baker, and TV presenter. She was encouraged to cook in school and later studied catering at college. At 22, she went to France to learn more at the Le Cordon Bleu cooking school.
Mary Berry has written over 75 cookbooks, including her very popular Baking Bible in 2009. Her first book, The Hamlyn All Colour Cookbook, came out in 1970. She has hosted many TV shows for the BBC and Thames Television. Many people know her as a judge on the TV show The Great British Bake Off, a role she had until 2016.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Mary Berry was born on 24 March 1935. She was the second of three children. Her father, Alleyne William Steward Berry, was a surveyor and planner who became the Mayor of Bath in 1952. He also helped start the University of Bath. Mary's great-great-grandfather was a master baker in the 1860s. Her mother lived to be 105 years old.
When Mary was 13, she got polio, a serious illness. She had to stay in a special hospital for three months. This illness caused her to have a twisted spine, a weaker left hand, and a thinner left arm. She has said that this time away from her family made her stronger and taught her to make the most of every chance she got.
Mary went to Bath High School. She felt she wasn't good at school until she took cooking and home skills classes. Her teacher, Miss Date, really encouraged her. Mary's first dish in class was a treacle sponge pudding. She took it home, and her father said it was as good as her mother's! After school, she studied catering at Bath College of Domestic Science.
Mary Berry's Career Journey
Mary Berry's first job was at a shop that sold electric ovens. She would visit homes to show new customers how to use their ovens. She often baked a Victoria sponge cake to demonstrate. She drove a company car around the Bath area for these visits.
Mary wanted to move to London, but her parents wouldn't let her until she was 21. At 22, she got a job at the Dutch Dairy Bureau. In the evenings, she took more cooking courses. She then convinced her boss to pay for her to study at the famous French Le Cordon Bleu school.
After that, she became a recipe tester for a company that helped businesses. This is where she started writing her first book. She has also cooked for groups that promote foods like eggs and flour. From 1970 to 1973, she was the food editor for Ideal Home magazine.
Her first cookbook, The Hamlyn All Colour Cookbook, was published in 1970. In 1994, she started her own line of salad dressings and sauces with her daughter, Annabel. These products were first sold at Mary's cooking school and are now sold in many stores across Britain, Germany, and Ireland.
In 2012, Mary became the first president of the Bath Spa University Alumni Association. She has also appeared on TV shows like The Great British Food Revival and her own show, Mary Berry Cooks, which started in 2014.
In her own kitchen, Mary uses a KitchenAid mixer, which she says she can't live without. She has always had an AGA cooker and used to teach cooking classes for people who owned them. She enjoys eating at Raymond Blanc's restaurant Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons.
In 2015, Mary was part of a TV show for the charity Comic Relief. She also started a new BBC Two series called Mary Berry's Absolute Favourites. Later that year, a two-part documentary called The Mary Berry Story was made about her life. She also judged an American version of The Great Holiday Baking Show.
Mary became president of the National Garden Scheme in 2016. For over 20 years, she has opened her own garden to the public to raise money for charity.
In November 2016, it was announced that Mary would present a new six-part series called Mary Berry Everyday. In this show, she shares cooking tips and family recipes. The show aired on BBC Two.
In April 2017, Mary launched a line of cakes that could be bought in supermarkets. From November to December 2017, Mary presented Mary Berry's Country House Secrets on BBC One. In this series, she visited four of the UK's grand old houses and explored their food and history.
In 2018, Mary was a judge on Britain's Best Home Cook. Her new six-part series, Mary Berry's Simple Comforts, started in September 2020 on BBC Two.
Mary has continued to appear in many Christmas specials and cooking shows, including Mary Berry Saves Christmas (2020), Mary Berry's Festive Feasts (2021), Mary Berry's Fantastic Feasts (2022), and Mary Berry Cook And Share (2022). In 2023, she presented Mary Makes It Easy and Mary Berry's Highland Christmas. In 2024, she presented Mary’s Foolproof Dinners and Mary Makes Christmas.
Judging on The Great British Bake Off
From 2010 to 2016, Mary Berry was one of the judges on The Great British Bake Off. She judged alongside Paul Hollywood, who is known for baking bread. Mary has said she learned from him while working together. Some viewers were upset in the first series when contestants had to use one of Paul's scone recipes instead of Mary's.
Their partnership on the show was very popular. In September 2016, it was announced that the show would move from the BBC to Channel 4. The show's hosts, Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, said they would not move with the show. Mary Berry also announced she was leaving Bake Off on the same day Paul Hollywood said he would stay. She was replaced by Prue Leith.
The Platinum Pudding Competition
In January 2022, Mary Berry was chosen to lead and judge The Platinum Pudding Competition. This was a baking competition across the United Kingdom. It was launched by Buckingham Palace to find a new pudding dedicated to Queen Elizabeth II. This was part of the official celebrations for her Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years since she became Queen in 1952.
Personal Life and Interests
Mary Berry married Paul John March Hunnings in 1966. He used to work for a wine company and sold old books. They had two sons and a daughter. Sadly, one of their sons died at age 19 in a car accident in 1989. In 2011, Mary's mother passed away at 105 years old.
In 2013, Mary was named one of the best-dressed people over 50 by The Guardian newspaper. In 2014, she was featured on the BBC show Who Do You Think You Are?, where she learned about her family history.
In 2018, Mary and her husband moved to Henley-on-Thames. They had lived in Penn, Buckinghamshire for over 40 years before that.
Mary is a member of the Church of England. She has attended Holy Trinity Church in Penn since 1989, just like her mother did. In 2016, for a BBC Two show called Mary Berry's Easter Feast, she visited the home of the Archbishop of York, a very important church leader, and filmed a cooking segment with him.
Mary Berry is also a supporter of Child Bereavement UK, a charity that helps families after a child dies.
Awards and Recognition
Mary Berry has received many awards for her work in cooking and television:
- In June 2009, she won the Guild of Food Writers Lifetime Achievement Award. This is a special award for her long career in food writing.
- In 2012, she was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by the Queen for her services to cooking.
- Also in 2012, she received a special award from Bath Spa University, where she had studied.
- In 2014, she was given the Freedom of the City of Bath and the Freedom of the City of London. She also became a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Bakers.
- In December 2014, she won the "Outstanding Achievement" prize at the Specsavers National Book Awards.
- On 25 January 2017, Mary won the award for Best TV Judge at the National Television Awards for Great British Bake Off.
- In 2020, she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for her services to broadcasting, cooking, and charity. This is a very high honour, and she received it at Windsor Castle in October 2021.
See also
In Spanish: Mary Berry para niños
