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The Food Programme: Mary Berry: A Life Through Food

02/02/2020

Mary Berry: A Life Through Food

BBC Radio 4 - The Food Programme, Mary Berry: A Life Through Food

Sheila Dillon meets baking guru, TV judge and home-cooking champion, Mary Berry

Sheila Dillon sits down with baking guru Mary Berry, to learn more about her passion for home cooking - and her determination to succeed as a woman in  the world of food...

Sheila Dillon speaks to a veteran of the British food scene; a writer and television presenter who has made cooking – in particular baking – accessible, and achievable, for millions: Mary Berry.

In a candid conversation over exemplary lemon drizzle cake, Mary talks us through her life through food: from the challenges of forging a culinary career as a woman and a mother in the 1960s, to learning how to handle celebrity in her seventies. 

With the new series of Best Home Cook, Mary is continuing her quest to educate people of all ages about the joys of cooking. But, as Sheila discovers, this ambitious cook is also a huge advocate for women in the industry - as Mary shares tales of her own struggles to carve out a niche in the culinary world, challenging female stereotypes and sexual harassment in the kitchen… 

Over the course of the programme, Sheila gets some insight into ‘the real Mary’ from her long-term collaborator and cookbook co-author Lucy Young - as the renowned TV judge discusses careers highlights to date, including Bake Off, becoming a style icon and meeting Royalty; as well as opening up about trials she has faced in her lifetime, including the tragic death of one of her children.

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