Mary Berry Popular Books

Mary Berry Biography & Facts

Dame Mary Rosa Alleyne Hunnings (née Berry; born 24 March 1935) is an English food writer, chef, baker and television presenter. After being encouraged in domestic science classes at school, she studied catering at college. She then moved to France at the age of 22 to study at Le Cordon Bleu culinary school, before working in a number of cooking-related jobs. Berry has published more than 75 cookery books, including her best-selling Baking Bible in 2009. Her first book was The Hamlyn All Colour Cookbook in 1970. She hosted several television series for the BBC and Thames Television. Berry is an occasional contributor to Woman's Hour and Saturday Kitchen. She was a judge on the television programme The Great British Bake Off until 2016. Early life Berry was born on 24 March 1935, the second of three children, to Margaret (‘Marjorie’, née Wilson; 1905–2011) and Alleyne William Steward Berry (1904–1989). Alleyne was a chartered surveyor and planner who served as Mayor of Bath in 1952 and was closely involved in establishing the University of Bath at Claverton Down. Mary's great-great-grandfather on her father's side, Robert Houghton, was a master baker in the 1860s who provided bread for a local workhouse in Norwich. Her mother died in 2011, aged 105.At the age of 13, Berry contracted polio and had to spend three months in the Claverton Down Isolation Hospital. Her illness resulted in her having a twisted spine, a weaker left hand and thinner left arm. She has said that the period of forced separation from her family while in the hospital "toughened [her] up" and taught her to make the most of every opportunity she would have.Berry attended Bath High School, where she described her academic abilities as "hopeless" until she attended domestic science classes with a teacher called Miss Date, who was particularly encouraging of her cooking abilities. Her first creation in the class was a treacle sponge pudding which she took home, and her father told her that it was as good as her mother's. She then studied catering at Bath College of Domestic Science. Career Berry's first job was at the Bath Electricity Board showroom and then conducting home visits to show new customers how to use their electric ovens. She would typically demonstrate the ovens by making a Victoria sponge, a technique she would later repeat when in television studios to test out an oven she had not used before. Her catchment area for demonstrations was limited to the greater Bath area, which she drove around in a Ford Popular supplied as a company car.Her ambition was to move out of the family home to London, which her parents would not allow until she was 21. At the age of 22, she applied to work at the Dutch Dairy Bureau, while taking City & Guilds courses in the evenings. She then persuaded her manager to pay for her to undertake the professional qualification from the French Le Cordon Bleu school.She left the Dutch Dairy Bureau to become a recipe tester for PR firm Benson's, where she began to write her first book. She has since cooked for a range of food-related bodies, including the Egg Council and the Flour Advisory Board. In 1966 she became food editor of Housewife magazine. She was food editor of Ideal Home magazine from 1970 to 1973.Her first cookbook, The Hamlyn All Colour Cookbook, was published in 1970. She launched her own product range in 1994 with her daughter Annabel. The salad dressings and sauces were originally only sold at Mary's AGA cooking school, but have since been sold in Britain, Germany and Ireland with retailers such as Harrods, Fortnum & Mason and Tesco.In December 2012, Berry became the first president of the new Bath Spa University Alumni Association. She has also appeared on a BBC Two series called The Great British Food Revival, and her solo show, Mary Berry Cooks, began airing on 3 March 2014.In her own kitchen, she uses a KitchenAid mixer which she describes as being the one gadget she could not live without. She has always had an AGA cooker, and used to run cooking courses for AGA users. She describes Raymond Blanc's restaurant Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons as one of her favourites as well as the Old Queen's Head, local to where she lives in Penn, High Wycombe.In February 2015, Berry featured in a programme in aid of the Third World charity Comic Relief. In May 2015, she began presenting a new BBC Two series called Mary Berry's Absolute Favourites. In November 2015, she was the subject of a two-part biographical documentary entitled The Mary Berry Story. Starting on 30 November 2015, she was one of the two judges for a four-week American edition of the popular baking competition The Great Holiday Baking Show on ABC, which followed a similar format to the British competition.Berry became President of the National Garden Scheme in 2016; for over 20 years, she had opened her garden for charity.In November 2016, it was announced that Berry would present a new six-part series, Mary Berry Everyday in which she would share her cooking tips, family favourites and special occasion recipes. The show aired on BBC Two.In April 2017, Berry launched a series of cakes that could be bought from supermarkets. The cakes contain emulsifiers and preservatives that Berry has previously described as "unwanted extras". From 22 November 2017 to 13 December 2017, Berry presented a 4-part series called Mary Berry's Country House Secrets on BBC One. In this series, she ventured to four of the UK's stately homes and explored each through the prism of food and history. The locations were Highclere Castle, Scone Palace, Powderham Castle and Goodwood House.In 2018, Berry was a judge on Britain's Best Home Cook alongside chef Dan Doherty and Chris Bavin. Berry's new six-part television cookery series called Mary Berry's Simple Comforts premiered on BBC2, 9 September 2020.Mary Berry Saves Christmas, a BBC1 special in which Berry helps a group of amateur cooks make a Christmas feast for their families, was shown on Christmas Day 2020.In 2021, Berry was a celebrity judge on the BBC series Celebrity Best Home Cook alongside Angela Hartnett and Chris Bavin; while Claudia Winkleman was the show's presenter. In December 2021, Berry presented Mary Berry's Festive Feasts, a BBC TV special in which she teaches three novice cooks to create a Christmas feast.In 2022, Berry was named as one of the judges for the Platinum Pudding, a competition to create a British pudding to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. In March 2022 BBC One aired the three-part series Mary Berry's Fantastic Feasts. In May 2022, Berry was a judge on the BBC One programme The Jubilee Pudding: 70 Years in the Baking, where she helped chose a brand new pudding to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. In June 2022, the BBC commissioned the BBC Two series Mary Berry Cook And Share; which premiered on 7 September 2022.In September 2022, the BBC commissioned Mary Berry’s Ultimate Christmas, a Christmas special that Berry.... Discover the Mary Berry popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Mary Berry books.

Best Seller Mary Berry Books of 2024

  • Everyday Super Food synopsis, comments

    Everyday Super Food

    Jamie Oliver

    Let Jamie show you how creating healthy meals can be easy, delicious and fun in Everyday Super Food, the perfect way to boost your nutrition in 2022'Packed with vitamins, bursting ...

  • French Country Cooking synopsis, comments

    French Country Cooking

    Elizabeth David

    French Country Cooking first published in 1951 is filled with Elizabeth David's authentic recipes drawn from across the regions of France.'Her books are stunningly well written ....

  • Entertaining with Mary Berry synopsis, comments

    Entertaining with Mary Berry

    Mary Berry & Lucy Young

    "Here it is the muchrequested book to answer all your party needs and put your mind at rest when cooking for a crowd."In this extraspecial updated edition of Mary Berry's popular ...

  • Mary Berry Cooks synopsis, comments

    Mary Berry Cooks

    Mary Berry

    THE NUMBER 1 BESTSELLER!In this brandnew official tiein to Mary’s muchanticipated BBC2 series, the nation's bestloved home cook invites you into her kitchen to share the secrets of...

  • The Wife Before synopsis, comments

    The Wife Before

    Shanora Williams

    Fans of Verity will be engrossed by this unpredictable novel of suspense as a new bride’s fairytale marriage becomes a prison of secrets. From the New York Times and USA Today best...

  • Mary Berry Everyday synopsis, comments

    Mary Berry Everyday

    Mary Berry

    ‘Everyday cooking is about sharing your love of food with family and friends. With this book I hope that you will feel encouraged to create new favourites, making everyday meals in...

  • My Face Is Black Is True synopsis, comments

    My Face Is Black Is True

    Mary Frances Berry

    Acclaimed historian Mary Frances Berry resurrects the remarkable story of exslave Callie House who, seventy years before the civilrights movement, demanded reparations for exslaves...

  • The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook synopsis, comments

    The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook

    Tarek Malouf

    The number one bestseller (more than 830,000 copies sold) now updated with new recipes.From their first shop in Notting Hill's Portobello Road, The Hummingbird Bakery introduced Lo...

  • Cook Now, Eat Later synopsis, comments

    Cook Now, Eat Later

    Mary Berry

    In our timestrapped lives, it isn't always easy to eat healthy homecooked food every day of the week. You need never go hungry again with these delicious, straightforward recipes f...

  • Fast Cakes synopsis, comments

    Fast Cakes

    Mary Berry

    Fast Cakes is an unmissable, definitive new baking book from Mary Berry. Proper cakes that take 10 minutes or less to make and under an hour to bake. If you miss Mary's wisdom and ...

  • The Birth of Loud synopsis, comments

    The Birth of Loud

    Ian S. Port

    “A hotrod joy ride through mid20thcentury American history” (The New York Times Book Review), this oneofakind narrative masterfully recreates the rivalry between the two men who in...

  • One Tin Bakes synopsis, comments

    One Tin Bakes

    Edd Kimber

    ONE TIN, 70 BAKESBBC Good Food Best Food Books of 2020The Guardian Best Food Books of 2020 New York Times Best Cookbooks of 2020 Washington Post Top Cookbooks for 2020'A brilliant ...

  • Easy Indian Vegetarian synopsis, comments

    Easy Indian Vegetarian

    Chetna Makan

    Simple and satisfying meatfree dishes from bestselling author Chetna MakanCelebrating the incredible vegetarian food that India has to offer, Easy Indian Vegetarian delivers fresh,...

  • The Happy Pear synopsis, comments

    The Happy Pear

    David Flynn & Stephen Flynn

    THE IRISH NO.1 BESTSELLING COOKBOOK! DELICIOUS PLANTBASED, RECIPES LOVED BY VEGETARIAN AND MEATEATERS ALIKE!'These lovely boys always create incredibly tasty food' Jamie Oliver Let...

  • The Girl Who Was Taken synopsis, comments

    The Girl Who Was Taken

    Charlie Donlea

    The bestselling author of Twenty Years Later delivers a chilling thriller where nothing is at it seems and each reveal is more shocking than the last…right up to the jawdropping fi...

  • The Sourdough School synopsis, comments

    The Sourdough School

    Vanessa Kimbell

    'Master the art of sourdough with Vanessa and you will learn how to look after your own gut microbes and health.' Tim Spector, author of The Diet Myth At her renowned Sourdough Sc...

  • The Third Secret synopsis, comments

    The Third Secret

    Steve Berry

    Explosive in both its pace and its revelations, The Third Secret is a remarkable international thriller. Bestselling author Steve Berry tackles some of the most controversial ide...

  • Mary Berry Cooks to Perfection synopsis, comments

    Mary Berry Cooks to Perfection

    Mary Berry

    Make the most delectable and perfect meals with Mary Berry and over 100 of her best recipes at your fingertips.Your favorite star from The Great British Baking Show, Mary Berry, is...

  • Crumb synopsis, comments

    Crumb

    Richard Bertinet

    Finalist for the Guild of Food Writers Specialist or Single Subject Cookbook Award 2020'If you only have one book about how to make bread, this should really be it.' Nathan Outlaw'...

  • Baking with Mary Berry synopsis, comments

    Baking with Mary Berry

    Mary Berry

    A sweet and savory collection of more than 100 foolproof recipes from the reigning "Queen of Baking" Mary Berry, who has made her way into American homes through ABC's primetime se...

  • Cooking with Mary Berry synopsis, comments

    Cooking with Mary Berry

    Mary Berry

    150 everyday recipe favorites from the star judge of the ABC series The Great Holiday Baking Show and the PBS series The Great British Baking Show.Cooking with Mary Berry covers a ...

  • The Golden Spoon synopsis, comments

    The Golden Spoon

    Jessa Maxwell

    “This delicious combination of Clue and The Great British Bake Off kept me turning the pages all night!” Janet Evanovich, #1 New York Times bestselling authorOnly Murders in the Bu...