Mary at 90 A Lifetime of Cooking Season 1 Episode 2

Reality Insight Hub

Mary at 90 - A Lifetime of Cooking (2025) Season 1 Episode 2  #Maryat90  #RealityInsightHub   🎞 Please subscribe to our official channel to watch the full movie for free, as soon as possible. ❤️Reality Insight Hub❤️ 👉 Official Channel: https://www.dailymotion.com/TrailerBolt 👉 THANK YOU ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Transcript

00:00To mark my 90th birthday, I'm taking a trip down memory lane.

00:06Well, you've got all these tips, I know, and I've read with great pleasure in these Home and Freezer Digest books,

00:11because they're only 15 pence, and they're issued once a month, isn't it?

00:14Once a month, and I think there's lots of cooking ideas that save money.

00:17I'm trying to give myself a haircut there.

00:20It's liable to get lost in that big chest, you know.

00:23It's all over the place.

00:25Celebrating a lifetime of doing what I love is a real honour.

00:30I think they look perfect.

00:32Joined by wonderful old friends.

00:35Cheers!

00:36No, no, no, no.

00:37Oh!

00:38Come on, Barry.

00:39And special new ones.

00:40Delicious.

00:41I've never had a dame in the house before.

00:43Hello, sailor.

00:46We'll cook some of my classics.

00:48You're such a great teacher.

00:51Wow.

00:52I've never been this scared since I did my exams for horticulture.

00:55Update, old favourites.

00:57Chickpeas.

00:58What were chickpeas in the early part of when I was cooking?

01:01And, of course, share some delicious new recipes.

01:05Where on earth would I rather be right now?

01:08Oh, no.

01:09Oh.

01:10Dribbled the custard now.

01:11No, no.

01:12It's all right.

01:13You mean to tell me I did this?

01:14You did that.

01:15Rejoicing in my ongoing passion for home cooking.

01:18You're such an inspiration.

01:35Finding time in our busy lives to cook great meals is certainly a challenge.

01:40I've dedicated my life to helping people save time in the kitchen.

01:45No one deserves it more than my friend, the sports broadcaster and working mum, Gabby Logan.

01:53I'm so excited to spend the day with Mary Berry.

01:57She is such a hero.

01:59It's going to be a fun day.

02:01Mary!

02:02How are you?

02:03You are very much on sort of home ground for you.

02:07Is that OK?

02:08I felt like spending a day...

02:09This is not my comfort zone at all.

02:12You love sport, though.

02:13I love sport, but I love even more the fact that you're joining me today.

02:17I'm very excited about it.

02:19Don't worry, we're not going to play football.

02:21But we are going to cook together, so come on.

02:23Let's go do it.

02:25I want to show Gabby four dishes that span across my career.

02:30All freezer-friendly and perfect to make ahead.

02:36The 1970s go-to dinner party favourite.

02:40Baked New York cheesecake, still popular and still so simple to make.

02:47A classic cured salmon gravlax made much like I did in the 1980s.

02:55A new recipe for this mouth-watering, slow-cooked casserole

03:00with a very modern cut of beef I've only just discovered.

03:05And because I'm still developing ways to make life easy,

03:10my classic family pasta with a new twist to make it freezer-friendly.

03:16I love sharing all my shortcuts and tips so we have more time to enjoy delicious food.

03:28I think home freezers were a huge turning point in making life easier.

03:33They were more common after the 60s, but I still had to explain the best way to use them.

03:39Lots of people have these tall ones.

03:41Now I've got a chest one actually, but this is beautifully packed.

03:45You can buy a big pack and you can perhaps use four fish fingers, close it up again and then use them later.

03:51It looks so strange seeing a freezer and explaining about it.

03:56Kippers are an excellent buy on the bone, much more reasonable than buying them individually.

04:00Freezers were becoming part of life. Until then, people did their preserving in glass jars.

04:09Some peas. These were £5 for 75 pence. That's 15 pence a pound.

04:15Goodness gracious!

04:16And I've got some special sausages and you mustn't keep sausages because they've got a high fat content.

04:21You mustn't keep them too long. And these are nearly three months, so I must use them up.

04:25Look, this is a trotter that I keep meaning to make some brawn with.

04:30Gosh, I wonder what viewers would say now if I produce trotters.

04:39We take freezers for granted now, and I wouldn't be without mine.

04:44This modern recipe for macaroni cheese is ideal to make life easier.

04:51I'm going to show you how you can make it, freeze it, cook it straight from the freezer,

04:56and the consistency will be perfect, and the flavour too.

05:00The white sauce is a simple roux.

05:03I find to make a white sauce with hot milk, you get success every time.

05:08First, melt the butter before adding the flour.

05:11I use plain flour if all you've got in the house is SR, doesn't matter.

05:16Gradually add the hot milk a little at a time.

05:20Looks a little lumpy at the moment, give me a few moments and I'll give it a beat.

05:25It'll be as smooth as smooth.

05:31Once all the milk is in, bring the sauce to the boil.

05:35I don't usually cook pasta dishes from frozen because they end up a little bit stodgy.

05:40But this one is especially for the freezer.

05:43The sauce is much thinner and it makes a brilliant result.

05:47Finally, a mix of parmesan and cheddar to create that rich cheesy sauce.

05:53Vegetarian cheese options will work well too.

05:57And then a tablespoonful of Dijon mustard.

06:02Mustard brings out the flavour of the cheese.

06:06Season and pile in cooked macaroni pasta that's been cooled.

06:16All very easy.

06:17Give that a good stir.

06:19Now that looks quite sort of sloppy and that's just how it should.

06:25And it goes straight into the freezer from here, ready for those days when there's just no time.

06:44Just imagine, straight back from work, over to the freezer, max frozen solid, off with the foil, into the oven and in 45 minutes it'll all be ready.

06:57A 180 fan oven will do the job.

07:00Oh, it is the most gorgeous golden brown colour and it's bubbling away and the smell.

07:15It's making that bubbling sound.

07:26Just look at that.

07:29I think this will be a great recipe for Gabby.

07:36Maybe she'll be coming home late from football on a Saturday and coming through the door she'll have the macaroni cheese at the ready in the freezer.

07:50But I have another freezer friendly recipe I discovered in the 1980s with a little more elegance for my high-flying friend.

07:59So how long have we known each other?

08:01Well, I moved to your old village about 12, 13 years ago and you were very good friends with some people who I'm now very good friends with.

08:10I ended up cooking for you, which was one of the most nerve-wracking days of my life, Mary.

08:13Oh, come on.

08:14I had to take the day off work.

08:15I blocked it out so that I could spend the whole day cooking.

08:17It was such a great influence on all of us in terms of our cooking and just juggling things, how you managed to juggle everything.

08:24I think you're an inspiration.

08:25Well, there's no one busier than you.

08:27Homecooks fell in love with this cured fish over 30 years ago and it's still popular.

08:36With a delicious mustard and dill sauce, it's perfect for busy Gabby who loves to entertain.

08:44Shall we sit down?

08:45Yeah.

08:46To cure this side of salmon, all I need is coarse sea salt and caster sugar. Quick and simple.

08:55And then you just cover the fish. And that, in turn, will make the juices come out, the fish will get smaller and it will preserve it.

09:09Once it's covered, sprinkle with dried dill, essential for the perfect Gravlax.

09:14Well, Mary, that just seems so easy. I can't believe that's it. That's all you do.

09:19It is easy. Well, you're such a busy girl. Whenever I turn anything to do with sport, there you are, looking so smart and enthusiastic.

09:28Well, there's a lot of sport, Mary, as you know, isn't there? It just never seems to end, whether it's rugby, football, athletics.

09:34And I think we watch most of it at home. Now, I just have to pop the tail under and wrap in foil.

09:43If I leave it the full length, not many people get it in the fridge.

09:49To help the curing process, we have to weigh down the wrapped salmon.

09:54Tins are fine. Into the fridge with those. OK.

09:58Now leave the salmon to marinate in the fridge for 24 hours.

10:05So how old were you, Gabby, when you started cooking?

10:08Well, I didn't really cook Mary until I got married, I don't think, properly.

10:13Pre-working life, yeah, I was a gymnast. I was living at home.

10:17And so my mum was a really good cook until about the mid-80s when the microwave came to town.

10:25And like a lot of women who were busy then, I think the idea of ready-made meals was quite attractive.

10:31People don't realise, do they, that that was kind of before then, people didn't have them.

10:36So my grandma would never have bought anything ready-made.

10:38And so we used to have lots of lasagnas and things like that that came out of the microwave.

10:44No need for ready meals with a dish as simple as this one.

10:48The sauce starts with two egg yolks.

10:51Pop the whites in there.

10:53Oh, now you're going to see how I...

10:55No, no.

10:56I've just put the whites in there by accident.

10:59That's all right. That's perfectly right.

11:01And I've just split the egg yolk.

11:03We don't mind. Wait a minute.

11:05That doesn't matter. One more egg, please.

11:09Never mind about mistakes, all part of the joy of cooking.

11:13Castor sugar, white wine vinegar and Dijon mustard are whisked into the egg yolks, then the sunflower oil.

11:23I'll do the pouring slowly.

11:25And there it is.

11:26And like making mayonnaise.

11:28Yeah.

11:29It does get thicker.

11:30Yeah.

11:31God, I've been working my forearms out for...

11:34If you think that those Victorian women had very big muscles here.

11:38They didn't have those machines, did they?

11:40They certainly didn't.

11:42More dill to complement the salmon's cure, but fresh this time.

11:46See what you think.

11:47OK.

11:55It's not bad, is it?

11:56It's delicious.

11:57But not as delicious as when served with the finished gravlax.

12:01Let's turn that round so you can see it.

12:03Oh, gorgeous.

12:04Shall I get some plates?

12:05Not that I'm desperate to try this or anything, Mary.

12:09So, if you were doing smoked salmon, you would do long, thin slices, but not so with this.

12:16So, you do it at a slight angle.

12:19And they can be a little bit thicker, can't they?

12:21It's definitely thicker.

12:22Oh, I can't wait to make this.

12:24I can't believe how easy this is.

12:30I'm ravenous.

12:31That's the thing about cooking it.

12:32It makes you hungry, doesn't it?

12:38Mmm.

12:39That is absolutely delicious.

12:45I've always loved cooking with fish.

12:47It's the original, quick, no-fuss meal.

12:50Look at that.

12:52That's fantastic.

12:53Look at that.

12:54And I try to visit local fishmongers on my travels.

12:58Look at that monkfish.

12:59That's the mother-in-law fish.

13:01Aww.

13:02That's what we call it in Cork, the mother-in-law fish.

13:04What, cos it's got such an ugly face or something?

13:06That's it.

13:07You are.

13:09I worked in a fishmongers in Bath when I was 21,

13:12so I could up-skill, as they say nowadays.

13:15I've got something to show you.

13:17Right, let's have a little look.

13:18As you might have guessed, it's fish today.

13:21Now, all these fish that you're seeing are the sort

13:23that you would have to go to a good fishmonger for,

13:26and you'd have a nice lot to choose from.

13:29I remember the shirt.

13:31Then, to the herring, they should have a nice pink face.

13:35And I'll show you now how to bone a herring

13:37if you want to do it yourself at home.

13:39Start from the fleshy side.

13:41Take a sharp knife and put it above the bone.

13:44So, long strokes, using the whole blade,

13:46or nearly all the blade, all the way down.

13:48I would have bought the fish myself.

13:51I would have brought it in ice boxes.

13:54I would have planned everything.

13:56Now, I don't make fish stock with this bone.

13:59I give it to the cat.

14:01Now, I'm going to prepare a fish for my recipe

14:03that I'm going to do.

14:05I bought these two lemon fillets.

14:07Put the skin side down.

14:09Lie the fish out.

14:11Take the knife.

14:12Make sure that the handle's dry

14:13so it doesn't slip in your hand.

14:15Start with a sawing action at the tail,

14:17not going through the skin,

14:19and you just tip it over.

14:20It's really not too difficult.

14:22I worked in a fishmonger so I knew about fish

14:25and I wanted to tell people about fish

14:27that perhaps they didn't know.

14:29Mary, you're pushing boundaries here.

14:31You know, showing people what to do on TV,

14:34how to cook.

14:35In a landscape that wasn't particularly friendly

14:37towards women in lots of industries,

14:39you look like you've got a lot of ambition there.

14:42Do you know, I wanted everybody to enjoy cooking as well.

14:46You enjoy cooking as much as I did,

14:48and television is the best medium.

14:51You have several thousand people watching you,

14:54maybe millions,

14:56and it's the best classroom you could ever have.

14:59Of course, then came all the chefs

15:01and very few girls.

15:03Of course, Delia was the first and she was brilliant.

15:06And did she help give you confidence

15:08that you could actually be ambitious in this landscape?

15:10I admired her enormously and still do.

15:13And you now are blazing that trail

15:16for other female cooks as well.

15:17I hope so.

15:22I feel so lucky about my life in food.

15:25I never imagined all this when I started out.

15:30It's hard to grasp that I've written so many cookbooks

15:33and appeared in countless cooking shows

15:36from the 60s through to Bake Off in 2010,

15:40and the dozens after that.

15:42But I'm not the only one who breaks boundaries.

15:48Gabby is one of the first female presenters

15:51of the country's biggest sports show.

15:54Match of the Day, that music, don't you change it?

15:57We're not changing the music, absolutely not.

15:59I'm very excited about the job,

16:01but I might not be doing Match of the Day when I'm 90,

16:03but I hope I'm still working hard.

16:05You're such an inspiration.

16:07I was also inspired by the women around me,

16:14and I remember watching my mother making casseroles at home.

16:19This one is ideal for any busy family,

16:22and I'm using Beef Cheeks, a very modern cut of meat.

16:27I first had Beef Cheeks in our pub restaurant,

16:31and I absolutely loved it and thought it was different.

16:34So I went straight away to my local butcher.

16:37Yes, they had it, and the supermarket too.

16:40So I thought, it's time to have a go.

16:43I've been cooking for a long, long time,

16:45but there's always something new to me,

16:47and I will always take the challenge.

16:50Fry off some streaky bacon,

16:52then use the remaining fat to brown the Beef Cheeks.

16:56I've used two, each sliced in half.

17:01There's a little bit of natural marbling in the Beef Cheeks,

17:04and that will all become crispy brown when I turn them over.

17:09Remove them,

17:11and fry diced onions, celery, and finely grated garlic.

17:17They will absorb all those glorious, meaty flavours.

17:22Then a little bit of thickening with some flour.

17:27Just a very little curry powder. There it is.

17:31That adds a little bit of spice, but it's certainly not a curried dish.

17:36A can of chopped tomatoes.

17:38I can still smell that bacon fat. Lovely.

17:41And some rich beef stock.

17:45And any sediment that's at the bottom there, certainly not burnt,

17:50but I'm taking my spatula across the bottom, scratching it up so that it all adds flavour.

17:57And it does need a little bit of fortifying.

17:59Very often I cook with red wine, but I've often got a bottle of port, not expensive port,

18:05and it's amazing, even if I have a gravy that I think should have a little bit more flavour.

18:10A little dash of port in it, and this one I'm going to have at about 100ml.

18:15That's exact. Now salt and pepper.

18:21Once the sauce has boiled and thickened, return the bacon and beef cheeks.

18:27That's it. That's going to simmer just until it's come to a full rolling boil.

18:34Lid on and into a 140 fan oven for four and a half hours.

18:40Your work is done.

18:41While this is cooking, you can get on to all the other things that you have to do and catch up on.

18:49Lay the table, get everything ready, do a totally different job.

18:53You know that it's looking after itself.

19:03It looks good. It looks rich, doesn't it?

19:06Now I'm going to add some horseradish to that, hot horseradish, plenty of sauce there, and some cream.

19:14If Gabby wants to freeze this dish to make her life even easier,

19:19she can simply do so before adding the horseradish and cream.

19:23So let's just lift that out.

19:28And this lovely sort of chunky sauce.

19:31Now look how easily that fork went through.

19:33Gosh, that smells good.

19:39That has just melted. I've hardly had to chew it.

19:43So good.

19:44I could happily finish this little rock in about five minutes.

19:48And the horseradish is bringing it all together.

19:50It's so wonderful that Gabby's blazing the trail for the next generation of women in sport.

20:03Well done! Have a little jog over again! Yes!

20:07After cooking, sport has been one of my favourite pastimes.

20:10I'll have a go at anything.

20:18Oh, she's good!

20:20No matter the challenge.

20:24Good shot!

20:25And I have to go to the top of the board, don't I?

20:27Yeah.

20:29Great shot!

20:30One, two, three.

20:31Some with less success.

20:33Oh, that's a shot.

20:34It's not six though.

20:35It's not six, probably four.

20:37Go!

20:39Then others.

20:40Go on!

20:42Four!

20:43So I'm thrilled to visit my local team.

20:51Look, the sun's come out for you.

20:58And you're all under 14?

20:59Yes.

21:00What a smile.

21:02Every sock is pulled up.

21:04Yeah.

21:05Mary, will you send them off for training?

21:07I will.

21:08Oh, I've always wanted.

21:09I'm only trusted with a whistle for the dog.

21:11This is much better.

21:12So, off to training you go.

21:26For my final recipe, the perfect treat for hungry sportswomen.

21:32New York baked cheesecake.

21:35Once my 70s dinner party staple,

21:39now an everyday treat.

21:42Two simple stages and a slow bake.

21:46Easy peasy.

21:49New York cheesecake.

21:51How about that?

21:52I love cheesecake.

21:54Do you remember what I made for you for pudding, Mary, when you came round?

21:58It was one of your cheesecakes.

21:59It was very memorable.

22:01A lemon cheesecake.

22:02This is a cooked cheesecake.

22:03Oh, okay.

22:04And I think they're lovely.

22:05And it hasn't changed over the years.

22:07I just love it.

22:09Its signature base is simply crushed digestive biscuits mixed with demerara sugar and melted butter.

22:18I always put just a little bit of demerara sugar in it because it gives it that crunch.

22:22Mm-hmm.

22:23And, you know, food is all about textures as well as flavours.

22:25Make sure the 20cm spring-form tin is lined with baking paper.

22:32And then just flatten it out again with your spatula.

22:35Your spatula.

22:36Mm-hmm.

22:37So that really, I'm sure you've done this many, many times for cheesecakes.

22:40When you came round for dinner, we had minestrone.

22:42Do you remember?

22:43I'd never made minestrone soup before, but I decided it was traditional.

22:46And then we had lamb, which I'd slow cooked for about 12 hours.

22:49And then I made the lemon cheesecake, which was from your cookery book, actually, Mary.

22:54And you said, I don't even remember, my children were so impressed, Ruben and Lois,

22:57because you said it had a nice, firm bottom.

22:59Well, do you know, it is about the company and the fun as well as the food.

23:04It is, it is.

23:07The filling is simply full-fat cream cheese, costa sugar and vanilla extract.

23:14That's absolutely fine.

23:16That looks beautiful already, doesn't it?

23:17I use all full-fat.

23:19If anybody doesn't like the sound of it, they can have a small slice.

23:22Because the taste is just so much better.

23:24Oh, it tastes better, it is better.

23:26Flour and sour cream are next.

23:29It gives a little bit of a bite to it.

23:32Mm-hmm.

23:33Can I start blending this?

23:34No.

23:35You're dying to get going, aren't you?

23:37We've got eggs to go in there.

23:39OK.

23:40The eggs are essential to create that lovely baked cheesecake texture.

23:47Into the tin and we're done.

23:49Set the oven for one 40 fan for 40 minutes.

23:53How long have you and Kenny been married?

23:56We have been married 24 years this summer.

23:58And did you have a wedding cake?

23:59Yeah, we did.

24:00The base was very traditional.

24:01But I'm not a big fan of fruitcake.

24:02And so then we had one tier that was a Victoria sponge and then we had one tier that was a chocolate cake.

24:06But isn't that a good idea?

24:07You've got something for everybody.

24:08And then we had these brilliant figurines made of us at the top out of marzipan.

24:10Well, they were more than marzipan because we kept them for years, Mary.

24:12And I'm going to tell you a sad story now.

24:13We moved house once and when we went into the box, I think some little mice had got into the garage and they ate our heads.

24:17And so we were just there with our bodies.

24:18Well, I'm glad you've got it today.

24:19The art to this cheesecake is once it's had its 40 minutes, turn off the heat and let it sit for two hours.

24:26And then we had these brilliant figurines made of us at the top out of marzipan.

24:28Well, they were more than marzipan because we kept them for years, Mary.

24:30And I'm going to tell you a sad story now.

24:31We moved house once and when we went into the box, I think some little mice had got into the garage and they ate our heads.

24:35And so we were just there with our bodies.

24:37Well, I'm glad you've got it today.

24:40The art to this cheesecake is once it's had its 40 minutes, turn off the heat and let it sit for two hours and then overnight in the fridge.

24:52Like this one I made earlier.

24:55You see, it's absolutely level.

24:57Just, you're so Keith.

25:00Press the palette knife against the tin and then round.

25:04OK.

25:06Just so that you're all the way round.

25:09That's right.

25:10So, Mary, I was saying before about how much I admire the fact that you're working so hard at your age.

25:16You're such an inspiration.

25:17But it's interesting.

25:18People didn't really know you how they know you now until you were kind of in your early 70s, really.

25:24That's right.

25:25But you were busy building, you know, your career and you worked all the way through.

25:29My first job was with the electricity board.

25:32I've got a newspaper cutting here.

25:34And you can see this is old by the colour of the mirror.

25:36It's from the newspaper.

25:37I think it's the Bath Chronicle.

25:39And it was one of the first times that I did a demonstration in the pavilion.

25:45I can tell you I was shaking like a leaf.

25:47What are you doing?

25:48I was showing off all the new electric cookers.

25:51Why is the man with you in a top hat?

25:53Because he was adding a bit of magic, I think.

25:56Right, OK.

25:57Whereas actually it was you who was creating the magic.

25:59Was it the first time you'd done anything like that?

26:01I'd been to people's houses, but not with an audience.

26:04Yeah.

26:05Did you like that audience?

26:06Did you like it when you could put a bit of performance into it?

26:09Yes, but you're shaking so much and so nervous.

26:12Now, you know, if I've got an audience, I feel I've got friends.

26:16Yeah.

26:17And you smile at them and they smile back.

26:19Our last stage is to spread on more of that tart sour cream to offset the sweetness.

26:27Perfect.

26:28You've done a very good job, you know.

26:30Have I?

26:31That's lovely.

26:32OK.

26:33Then you put the strawberries on top and you don't need to do it in any pattern.

26:37Higgledy-piggledy.

26:38OK, let's do it higgledy-piggledy.

26:39We'll do it together.

26:40OK.

26:47So we're nearly there.

26:48What do you think?

26:49Well, Mary, I think that looks absolutely delicious.

26:53I would say edible.

26:55Right.

26:56Here's a fork.

26:57Have a go.

26:58OK.

27:02Oh.

27:03Mmm.

27:06That is gorgeous.

27:08The strawberries just cut through as well, don't they?

27:10I think they're lovely, but you might put raspberries over the top.

27:13You like them?

27:14No.

27:15Can I have another?

27:16I'm not sure that I really like it.

27:19Mmm.

27:23I think my work is done.

27:25I'm sending lovely Gabby off with enough ideas for her non-stop working life.

27:31Thank you so much.

27:33It's been such a lovely day.

27:34Have we had fun?

27:35Well, we certainly have.

27:36And I know just who'd love something sweet.

27:40Does anybody like cheesecake?

27:42Yeah.

27:43Come on, then.

27:44Grab the bottom with your other hand.

27:46Well, this certainly is better than oranges at half-tangents.

27:50It's amazing.

27:52Oh, yeah.

27:54What's it like?

27:55It's really lovely.

27:57We have a little surprise for you.

27:59Are you ready, girls?

28:00Yes.

28:01Three, two, one, go!

28:03Woo!

28:04Woo!

28:05Wow!

28:06Isn't that wonderful?

28:08How amazing.

28:09Woo!

28:10Woo!

28:11Woo!

28:16Next time...

28:17Come on, Barry.

28:18That's twice.

28:19I'm joined by my kindred spirit, Jamie Oliver.

28:22You've been part of my life the whole journey.

28:24Where on earth would I rather be right now than doing this for you?

28:28Mmm!

28:29Give me a Christmas,writer, or we work with Dan DeVos.

28:32I'll see you next time.

28:33Bye!

28:37Bye!

28:39Bye!

28:41Bye!

28:45Bye!

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended