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All Quotes by author - Mary Berry

" All-in-one dishes are among my favourites. I'm very much in favour of using the oven as much as possible - for casseroles, roasts and other one-pot meals - rather than the hob, where dishes need much more attention. "

" All my grandchildren bake. On a Saturday, Annabel's boys, Louis and Toby, always bake. Louis makes a chocolate cake, Toby makes banana or lemon drizzle. They're 12 and 10, and they can do it totally on their own. My son's twin girls, Abby and Grace, are 14; they make birthday cakes and like to do it on their own with Mum out of the way. "

" A lot of other reality shows on television can be bullying and aggressive, but we wanted 'The Bake Off' to be an antidote to that. "

" As I was growing up, all meals, including breakfast, were family occasions, and you all sat down to eat together - and you had to finish everything as well. "

" As parents are usually working, they haven't time to teach children about cooking, and it's a wilderness. They should be given healthy recipes - some standbys so that when they leave home, they don't live on junk. "

" At 17, I went away to Pau in the south of France for a few months to study domestic science - including cleaning windows with newspaper and water - while living with a Catholic family with 10 children. "

" At my dinner parties, I like to serve cheese after the main course because you still have red wine in the glass, and it goes very well with the cheese. And that is what they do in France, and I think they set a good example. "

" Before the start of each new series, I go shopping for my 'Bake Off' wardrobe. I've got increasingly confident with my look and now wear much more colour than I did at the start. "

" Cooking and baking is both physical and mental therapy. "

" Dad thought something very fishy was going on when, at 22, I was offered a job for £1,000 a year - more than Dad paid his own staff - for inventing cheese recipes and writing leaflets at the Dutch Dairy Bureau in London. "

" Family life is fragmenting in this modern age, but it's up to all of us to keep it together. "

" Freak diets I don't think work. It's control. "

" Having children is the greatest thing that can happen to you as a husband and wife. They are infuriating at times when they're little, but on the whole, they're such a joy. I don't think I was the most brilliant mother when they were young. I had quite a bit of help because I was working and I enjoyed my work. "

" I admire my fellow judge Paul Hollywood enormously, though we often argue. He believes presentation and uniformity are paramount; I'm more interested in taste. I don't mind if one bun is smaller than the others, or if there's a little pastry cracking, though I don't want a soggy bottom. "

" I am a bit of a mother hen at Christmas! I always prepare in advance. It is the only way; otherwise, it can be really daunting. "

" I am not great at computers. If I were to try shopping through Google, I'd end up with 33 vests. "

" I can't bear the thought of retirement, and I haven't prepared myself for it. I don't play bridge, and I don't play golf. I do play tennis, but you can't do that every day of the week. "

" I can't pass a plant stall without feeling I must have one. But my greatest extravagance, I suppose, is roses. We've got masses. "

" I do like going out and finding free food. I've done it since I was a child. Fishing prawns and shrimps from the sea is wonderful, as is picking blackberries, sloes and mushrooms. Having a guide while out looking for mushrooms is really important, though, as picking the wrong type can be quite dangerous. "

" I do not like a quiche with wet, undercooked pastry underneath, and that is that. "

" I don't go to fancy Michelin-starred restaurants often. "

" I don't like showing cleavage because I get cold, and if I had fantastic legs, I might wear short skirts - but I think at 78, one's got to act one's age. "

" I don't like tattoos because tattoos are forever. "

" I don't want food all over the place, down the sides of the sofa... When I shared a flat before I got married, we would always eat around the telly, but not now! "

" I eat carefully because people don't want to see a large person judging cakes. They'll think to themselves, 'That's what happens when you eat cake.' "

" If you are buying a larger turkey than usual, make sure it will fit in the oven. "

" If you're feeling a little bit down, a bit of kneading helps. "

" I grow herbs near the back door, and you can grow a wonderful selection of herbs and window boxes... My idea is that you should grow what you eat. There's no point in growing something like celeriac - which is very difficult to grow - if you hate it. "

" I hate Gordon Ramsay's programmes: I don't know if he's been told it makes good television. "

" I have no burning ambitions, and I can honestly say the thing I love most is 'Bake Off.' That will always come first. "

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