When one thinks of Mary Berry, greasy take-outs don’t really come into the equation.
And perhaps unsurprisingly, the queen of home cooking has admitted she has ‘never’ indulged in such culinary treats.
Speaking to The Times Magazine, the former Bake Off star, 82, declared: ‘I’ve never had a takeaway. I’d have to go and fetch it!’
‘I’ve never had a takeaway!’ Mary Berry makes a shocking admission about her experiences with fast food and claims ‘M&S Dine In For £10’ dinners are ‘more fun’
She added: ‘But I will go into M&S on my way home and buy a£10 meal. That to me is more fun than a takeaway.’
The culinary whiz also branded clean eating ‘a fad, like nouvelle cuisine’.
Last year, Mary broke the hearts of the nation when she announced she was stepping down from her judging duties on the Great British Bake Off, following its channel move.
She admitted last week that she did have some concerns about who would replace her for the show’s revamped Channel 4 version, confessing that if she felt the chosen candidate hadn’t been experienced enough, she would have been ‘sad’.
However, the veteran celebrity chef, 82, insisted that she was more than happy to hear fellow cooking star Prue Leith would be filling her shoes and in an interview with The Sun, Mary praised her successor for her ‘fair’ judging critique.
Worries: Mary Berry, 82, has admitted that she did have some concerns about who would replace her for on the Great British Bake Off for its revamped Channel 4 series
After seven years on the Great British Bake Off, Mary decided to quit the show out of loyalty to the BBC and not move with it to Channel 4, when its new home was announced last year.
Instead, viewers have seen Prue join Paul Hollywood in the tent to judge this year’s aspiring bakers and winning the seal approval from Mary, the former Bake Off star gushed: ‘Prue is just the person to do it!’
Although, Mary did confess that she would have been left upset if someone without Prue’s expertise had been chosen for the job instead.
She confessed: ‘If [show producers] had chosen somebody who I knew couldn’t do the job and hadn’t the experience, I would have been sad – but I’m certainly not with Prue, she knows how to judge.
Seal of approval: Confessing that if she felt the chosen candidate hadn’t been experienced enough, she would have been ‘sad’, but was more than happy that Prue Leith has been chosen to fill her shoes
‘She’s got the knowledge and she’s fair… that’s all we ask.’
Mary went on to reveal that despite her close bond with her former co-judge Paul, she hasn’t seen much of him since her Bake Off exit.
However, Paul had claimed during a recent appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show that he and Mary do text one another to stay in touch.
He said: ‘We’ve swapped texts and emails occasionally. We were meant to meet, I was at Chatsworth a couple of weeks ago doing a demonstration, Mary was doing, I think the Saturday or the Sunday, and I was doing the day before and we just missed each other by about half an hour. We do sort of text and email each other.’
Moving on: After seven years on the Great British Bake Off, Mary decided to quit the show out of loyalty to the BBC and not move with it to Channel 4, when its new home was announced last year
Staying in touch: Mary revealed that despite her close bond with her former co-judge Paul, she hasn’t seen much of him since her Bake Off exit, but he insists the pair do text and email
Paul had remained with the show despite the furore caused by its channel move, that saw Mary and its old hosts Sue Perkins and Mel Giedoryc leave.
Justifying his decision, Paul had admitted he was worried about the longevity of his career, claiming he wouldn’t go on to have as such long-standing success as Mary.
‘Obviously it came down to my job was still there and I didn’t want to lose my job,’ he explained. ‘I love doing what I do. At the end of the day, I’m a baker by trade, that’s all I am.
‘I’ve got a family and I’m just coming to the end of my career I suppose, I’m 50 odd, I haven’t got long left. I’m not going to last like Mary, 81. I’ll never last until I’m 81 but while it’s here, I will carry on doing my job as a judge.’
Paul is the only original Bake Off star to have stuck with the show, with Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig replacing Mel and Sue as the series’ new hosts.
Revamped: Paul is the only original Bake Off star to have stuck with the show, with Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig replacing Mel and Sue as the series’ new hosts
Sure hit! And the presenthing duo appear to have won over viewers so far, especially Sandi for her heartfelt displays of emotion when it comes to the contestants
And the duo appear to be a hit with viewers so far, especially Sandi for her heartfelt displays of emotion when it comes to the contestants. On Tuesday’s episode, she was seen tearing up as she delivered the news that Julia Chernogorova had become the sixth person to leave the Great British Bake Off.
Her voice appeared to falter and the 59-year-old comedian seemed to have tears in her eyes, as she told Julia she was ‘so sorry’ to see her go.
Sandi appeared to come over all emotional yet again when discussing the contestants currently competing on the Channel 4 series of the show during an appearance on ITV’s Lorraine on Wednesday morning.
She found it hard to keep her composure while watching back a clip of Julia’s exit, commenting that ‘even now’ – many months later down the line – she still finds it hard not to tear up.
Tearing up: Sandi came over all emotional yet again as she discussed Julia Chernogorova’s exit from the Great British Bake Off on Lorraine on Wednesday morning
Filming for Bake Off wrapped earlier this year, with viewers only now getting to watch all the action that had unfolded in the tent.
Addressing the latest exit from the show on Lorraine, Sandi commended all the baker’s on the ‘effort they put in’ to the competition, adding: ‘They put their hearts and souls into it.’
She has become known for her heartfelt reactions towards all the contestants and when Lorraine Kelly pointed out how emotional Sandi had got over Julia’s exit from Bake Off, Sandi’s voice began to falter, as she joked she still hadn’t recovered, saying: ‘Ahh even now.’
Emotional: She was seen to have a catch in her throat as she announced Julia had become the sixth person to leave the competition on Tuesday night’s episode of the show
Sweet: Sandi commended all the baker’s on the ‘effort they put in’ to the competition and joked that even now she still can’t watch back contestants leaving without welling up
Sandi went on to revealed that the presenting team have a WhatsApp group with all the show’s contestants and that they all still keep in touch. She commented on how well she, Noel and judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith get on during filming – adding that Noel often refers to her as his ‘little Danish wife’.
Her appearance on Lorraine came after fans saw Julia sent home from the Great British Bake Off after failing to impress Paul and Prue with her three creations for pastry week.
The 21-year-old from Russia, who lives in West Sussex with her husband, was told her fate by Sandi who appeared to have tears in her eyes, as she told Julia she was ‘so sorry’ to see her go.
Close bond: The star then went on to revealed that the Bake Off presenting team have a WhatsApp group with all the show’s contestants and that they all still keep in touch
Good fun: She also commented on how well she, Noel and judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith get on during filming – adding that Noel often refers to her as his ‘little Danish wife’
Emotional exit: The Great British Bake Off’s Julia said she knew she “would not win or get to the final” as she became the sixth baker eliminated from the competition on Tuesday night
As she revealed the latest casualty of the Bake Off, Sandi’s voice faltered, as she said: ‘I have the horrible job, you are all amazing, you’re down to the last seven which is incredible, somebody has to go home and it’s really painful.’
Announcing the name of the sixth hopeful to be eliminated, Sandi had to regain her composure, as she stuttered Julia’s name.
Bringing in Julia for a hug, an emotional Toksvig told her: ‘I am so sorry, sorry sweetheart. You did amazing. You know that, right? You did incredible.’
The signature challenge, which saw the seven remaining bakers tasked with creating four savoury shortcrust pies, was Julia’s first downfall, as she included baking powder in her pastry – a move later dubbed a “mistake” by Leith.
Sad: Her exit had left show host Sandi Toksvig, 59, all emotional and on announcing the result, the comedian’s voice appeared to falter
Disappointed: Julia appeared to know her fate as Sandi announced the news that she had been given the boot
Tearing up: Host Sandi had tears in her eyes as she told Julia she was ‘so sorry’ to see her go
Hugging it out: The comedian made sure to comfort Julia, after telling this year’s contestants that she had the ‘painful’ job of revealing who had to go
Julia came in last place in the technical challenge, due to her pasteis de nata – Portuguese custard tarts – resembling shortcrust pastry rather than the desired flaky pastry it is known for.
In the showstopper round, Julia’s hand-raised pie with a hot water crust pastry base received criticism from both Hollywood and Leith.
They said her effort could have been neater, that the pastry was ‘undercooked’ and that her shredded chicken filling was ‘dry’.
Farewell: The 21-year-old from Russia, who lives in West Sussex with her husband, failed to impress judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood with her three pasty creations
Half-baked effort: The signature challenge, which saw the seven remaining bakers tasked with creating four savoury shortcrust pies, was Julia’s first downfall
Following her exit from the programme, Julia said: ‘I knew that I wouldn’t win or get to the final, but I enjoyed every week, and to get to over half way through the series is something I am really grateful for.
‘I enjoyed every minute of it, and I would love to do it again now I have the knowledge of how it all works!’
Julia said that being named Star Baker during bread week was her highlight in the tent, and that she enjoyed getting to know Toksvig and her co-presenter Noel Fielding.
Look on the bright side: Julia said that being named Star Baker during bread week was her highlight in the tent, and that she enjoyed getting to know Toksvig and her co-presenter Noel Fielding (pictured)
She said: ‘They always made me laugh and we were always on the same wavelength.
‘We just got each other, and I think I made them laugh too, it was so comfortable I felt like I had known them both for a long time.
‘Sandi was like my mum and I really loved her, she was so incredibly supportive.’
Julia said her family back at home in Russia have not yet been able to watch her progress on the Channel 4 show as they do not speak English, but that “hopefully I will be able to take some DVDs of the show so they can see it”.
Main man: Liam, 19, was named Star Baker for his efforts in pastry week, his first time with the accolade
Well done: Prue Leith praised Liam, this year’s youngest baker, as being a “genius”, particularly with his flavours
She added: ‘My husband Matt’s family have of course been able to watch it, and his nan cries each week, and was in pieces the night I left.
‘They have been so incredibly supportive, and that means so much to me.
‘My husband Matt has been my rock, he is the one who has always believed in me. I would have gone crazy without him!’
Liam, 19, was named Star Baker for his efforts in pastry week, marking his first time receiving the accolade.
Leith praised Liam, this year’s youngest baker, as being a “genius”, particularly with his flavours.
The Great British Bake Off continues on Tuesday at 8pm on Channel 4.
Stay tuned: The Great British Bake Off continues on Tuesday at 8pm on Channel 4