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" When I was paralysed by polio at 13, I went into an isolation hospital and couldn't sit up, so I only took liquid food from spouted cups which the masked nurses would bring in and feed to me. I saw my parents only through glass; we couldn't touch. "

Mary Berry

Food

Parents

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" It helps to have a happy home life to keep up alongside your career. "

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

" My husband is not in the slightest bit domesticated, but as the years go, by he's getting better. He can make an excellent omelette. "

Mary Berry

Better

Getting Better

" To be able to walk out the door when you come home from a job and wander into the garden to do a bit of watering gives you time to be creative in your mind. "

" 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. "

" 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 have no desire to be a centenarian. I think 90 is a great time. You've had a good innings. You have to deal with the cards that have been dealt, of course, but I don't think very old age, if you haven't got your marbles, can be very nice. "

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

" 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 think my father couldn't wait to get home to his wife, but I don't know if he was so keen on us children. "

" I've been amazed by the success of 'The Great British Bake Off.' I've been 'rediscovered' at the age of 76. When I was asked to be a judge, I said I wanted to be myself. I didn't want to shout like some other television judges. I also said I was a very bad bread maker, so would the programme makers find someone to help on the bread scene? "

" When I thought I couldn't write recipes, my boss at the time advised, 'Write as you talk.' "

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

Mary Berry

Restaurants

Often

" I make myself eat one piece of toast for breakfast. When I'm doing 'Bake Off,' I eat soup for lunch. I know what puts on weight for me; it's just over-indulgence. "

Mary Berry

Know

Soup

" My bread and croissants wouldn't win a prize! I'm not an expert in yeast cookery. "

" 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. "

Mary Berry

Short

Think

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

" When you're on the way up, you have to take all the jobs because bills have to be paid. "

Mary Berry

Way

You

" Looking back, I don't feel that I was the most brilliant mother. I was always very good at giving my children the right food, but it was one of my regrets in life that I didn't spend more time listening to them or playing with them. "

" I never fry a doughnut! If you want a doughnut, go and buy one once in a blue moon. It's about everything in moderation. "

" 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. "

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

" 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 honestly think there shouldn't be sugared drinks. All my grandchildren drink water all through the day. I've just had them to stay, and at breakfast, they have water. They don't even know what sugary drinks are. "

" 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. "

" 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. "

" I walk, and I play tennis, but mainly I watch what I eat. I eat all the things that I love, including cake. Cake is very important to me. But it's all about the size of the slice! "

Mary Berry

Walk

Play

" I'm really boring. I think about cooking all the time. I have a little book, so when I go out or see something, I jot it down and try to include it in a recipe or do a variation of it. I even have a notepad by my bed, which is usually saying we're running out of mango chutney. "

" I was born in 1935, so I was quite young when the war started. I remember we were in Bath, and it was 1942. We went down into the cellar of our house, and when we came up, I remember seeing all the glass on the floor where all the windows had been shaken out by the bombs. "

" 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. "