The former Bale Off judge has a new show out on her lifetime cooking, and has revealed the three golden rules she has always followed to staying in great shape while still enjoying good food
At the ripe old age of 90, Dame Mary Berry is as sharp as a chef’s knife and busier than ever.
And now, the Cordon Bleu-trained icon has shared the three no-nonsense food rules that keep her glowing, energetic and able to whip up a flawless lemon drizzle cake without breaking a sweat.
Dame Mary, known for her refusal to accept a soggy bottom during her stint as a Great British Bake Off judge, is starring in a new BBC series, Mary at 90: a Lifetime of Cooking.
To coincide with the series, there’s also an accompanying cookbook released in time for Christmas.
But how exactly does she stay so spritely into her tenth decade?
Speaking on the Lessons from Our Mothers podcast with sisters Cressida and Isabella, Dame Mary revealed the three golden rules she swears by to keep her healthy. And, unlike most health tips, the First Lady of baking’s advice doesn’t feature any fad diets or weird green concoctions, but instead good old-fashioned common sense.
1. Ditch the junk
“I avoid processed foods. Absolutely, definitely,” Dame Mary declares. And she means it. While the NHS says a lot food is technically processed (even bread or pasteurised milk), Dame Mary draws a hard line at the ultra-processed variety, steering clear of chicken nuggets, sugary cereals, and “just add water” packet meals.
Instead, she advocates for single ingredient cooking. That means making stuff from scratch and keeping an eye on ingredient lists for unnecessary additives and preservatives.
The UK is one of the worst offenders when it comes ultra-processed food, with over 57% of our calories coming from the stuff, and so we clearly need to be more like Mary when it comes to grocery shopping.
2. Butcher knows best
Dame Mary advises people to use their local independent butchers for their weekly meat, as they’ll not only end up with better quality produce, but they’ll also be supporting a vital British trade in what has been a tough period economically. Since the mid 1990s, the growing popularity of supermarkets has led to a 60% decrease of independent butchers.
Another advantage is that people can ask their butcher what the best cut of meat is for what they’re cooking, how it should be prepared, and even get them to portion it.
“I go to the butcher. You get advice as well as good meat,” she said.
3. Don’t just hop on the latest trend
Every week, food influencers and nutritionists seem to be recommending a new diet or superfood, and at 90 Dame Mary has seen her fair share of culinary trends. To put it bluntly she’s not keen, taking a swipe at one particular food.
“I don’t go with the trends. I’m not a huge lover of kale. I used to give that to my pony,” joked Mary.
While kale is no doubt very good for us, Mary was keen to stress that people shouldn’t feel the need to change their diet based on the latest fad, and that old school vegetables such as cabbage and spinach are just as good if that’s what people prefer.
