Dame Mary Berry

Most recently, Mary was on our screens in December with her Christmas programme Mary Berry’s Festive Feasts (BBC1), in which Mary taught some of her wonderful festive recipes to three novice cooks. Last year Mary also presented her most recent cooking series, Love to Cook, which aired on BBC2 in November, and she returned as a judge for the first celebrity series of Best Home Cook (BBC 1).

In 2020, Mary guest edited a unique episode of Countryfile where she explored food and farming practices close to her heart. She also helped to spread some festive magic in her festive special, Mary Berry Saves Christmas (BBC1). Mary Berry’s Simple Comforts (BBC2) was also broadcast in 2020, and her previous series have included Mary Berry’s Quick Cooking (BBC2) Classic Mary Berry (BBC 2), Mary Berry Everyday (BBC 2) and Mary Berry’s Country House Secrets (BBC 1). She has hosted two annual episodes of Mary Berry’s Christmas Party (BBC 1) and in 2017 reunited with Mel and Sue for a one off festive special, Mary, Mel and Sue’s Big Christmas Thank You (BBC1).

In 2019, the fantastically festive A Berry Royal Christmas was broadcast on BBC1, where Mary met the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and helped them prepare a festive feast to thank all those working and volunteering over the Christmas period.

Mary trained at The Cordon Bleu in Paris and Bath School of Home Economics, and in the swinging ’60s Mary became the cookery editor of Housewife magazine, and later, Ideal Home magazine. She first appeared on television in the 1970’s when she became the resident cook on Afternoon Plus with Judith Chalmers.

Combining motherhood and work, she continued writing books and filming television series for BBC from her home. She launched the extremely successful Aga Workshops, a cookery school which had over twelve thousand students over sixteen years. She has written over eighty cookery books with sales of over six million copies.

Mary is a Patron of the Child Bereavement Trust, an Ambassador for the RHS and President of the National Garden Scheme. She has won many awards including Good Housekeeping Award for Food Book of the Year and an NRTA for Best Television Chef. In 2012 Mary was honoured with a CBE for services to culinary arts and in 2017 she won the title of Best TV Judge at the National Television Awards.

Mary was delighted to have been made a dame for services to broadcasting, the culinary arts and charity in the Queen’s 2020 Birthday Honours List.

Mary lives in Oxfordshire with her husband, has two grown up children and five grandchildren as well as her working cocker spaniel dogs Darcey and Freddie. She continues to work alongside her assistant of 30 years Lucy Young, who has also co-authored some of Mary’s later books.