0:00:02 > 0:00:03Well, they're certainly different.
0:00:03 > 0:00:06Today, Mary Berry is known as a fair
0:00:06 > 0:00:09and knowledgeable judge on The Great British Bake Off...
0:00:09 > 0:00:12You looked a little worried all the way through,
0:00:12 > 0:00:14but you've come through fine, haven't you?
0:00:14 > 0:00:19That looks a bit like a crown, doesn't it?
0:00:19 > 0:00:22She's the undisputed queen of cakes for Britain's growing
0:00:22 > 0:00:26band of home bakers, who religiously follow her reliable recipes.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28Mary Berry!
0:00:28 > 0:00:29CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:00:29 > 0:00:35But the doyenne of British baking didn't earn this reputation overnight.
0:00:35 > 0:00:39Things have changed since I started. It really was meat and two veg.
0:00:39 > 0:00:43She's spent over half a century teaching the nation how
0:00:43 > 0:00:45to cook good food at home.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48I've got four chicken joints here.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50Don't be afraid it's going to cost the earth,
0:00:50 > 0:00:53because it's made with chicken, not the classic beef.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56For the girl who struggled at school...
0:00:56 > 0:01:00I've still got that sinking feeling. Am I going to get a detention?
0:01:00 > 0:01:02..and the teenager struck down by polio...
0:01:02 > 0:01:05I couldn't lift my head or my arms.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07- It must have been terrifying? - It was very frightening.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10You might like to add a little mustard.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12..cooking gave Mary a focus in life
0:01:12 > 0:01:14and a career that's lasted a lifetime.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19I love sharing the subject that I enjoy.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21The best way of sharing that is to teach.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23Mary was in her 20s
0:01:23 > 0:01:27when she first wrote recipes for the nation to enjoy.
0:01:27 > 0:01:3050 years later, and now with children and grandchildren
0:01:30 > 0:01:33of her own, she's still teaching us how to be better cooks at home.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37This is the Mary Berry story.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49Mary's life began in the hills overlooking the city of Bath.
0:01:49 > 0:01:53Today she's returned to her family home,
0:01:53 > 0:01:57the place of her early formative years.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04Goodness gracious. It's over 60 years since I've been here.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07I must have been about 15.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11It looks massive, far bigger than I remember.
0:02:14 > 0:02:20Mary Rosa Berry was born here on the 24th March, 1935,
0:02:20 > 0:02:22to Marjorie and Alleyne Berry,
0:02:22 > 0:02:25a Conservative councillor who later became the Mayor of Bath.
0:02:28 > 0:02:33Their second child, Mary grew up alongside older brother Roger.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41Looking up at the house again, I can remember
0:02:41 > 0:02:44I was in a bedroom on my own.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47You imagined all sorts of creeps and noises,
0:02:47 > 0:02:50and I used to see shadows and things.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53I would creep out and go to my parents' room,
0:02:53 > 0:02:56and Mum and Dad would be each reading a book, either side of the fire.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00You certainly wouldn't go across to Dad to sit on his knee,
0:03:00 > 0:03:04but you'd creep in, hoping Dad didn't notice, to sit on Mum's knee.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07And you knew all the demons had gone.
0:03:09 > 0:03:13My mother was really the heart of the family
0:03:13 > 0:03:16and she always welcomed all our friends.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18And gosh, they came in great numbers.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22We were really very frightened of Father.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27We didn't talk a lot
0:03:27 > 0:03:30when I was young.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32I can remember my parents having conversations
0:03:32 > 0:03:35and us not being included in them.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38It was a little bit children were seen and not heard.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42So we always went out to play,
0:03:42 > 0:03:44because there was lots to do.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48This was our secret place.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51And it was a great hidey-hole.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54I think our parents knew exactly where we were,
0:03:54 > 0:03:56but we thought they didn't.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02Living here was wonderful.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06We had lots of space, lots of fun.
0:04:06 > 0:04:11I didn't like school, so immediately I came through the gate there,
0:04:11 > 0:04:15that was play time, fun time.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18I just remember it as freedom.
0:04:20 > 0:04:27But as Mary enjoyed her youth, the world outside was falling into chaos.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30In 1939, the country went to war.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34With food in short supply, the people of Britain were called on to do their bit.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40- NEWSREEL:- This Dig For Victory leaflet number one
0:04:40 > 0:04:43tells you how to plan your spring planting campaign
0:04:43 > 0:04:46so you can have fresh vegetables in your garden
0:04:46 > 0:04:48next winter and all the year round.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52During the Dig For Victory campaign,
0:04:52 > 0:04:56sports grounds and public parks were transformed into allotments.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59Alleyne Berry was keen to do his bit.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02As well as serving as an air raid warden, he turned his lawns
0:05:02 > 0:05:06and flowerbeds over to grow fruit and veg.
0:05:06 > 0:05:14We were fortunate in the war to have our own vegetables and we had all sorts of different fruits.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17I can remember exactly
0:05:17 > 0:05:20where each one was placed in the garden.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22And then we kept goats,
0:05:22 > 0:05:24because milk was scarce.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27On occasions, Mum would let the milk sit
0:05:27 > 0:05:29until the cream came on the top.
0:05:29 > 0:05:30She would then put that into
0:05:30 > 0:05:34a jam jar with a screw-top lid and shake it violently.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38And you just got the smallest amount of butter.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42When butter was rationed, that was a great bonus.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45For the self-sufficient families of wartime Britain,
0:05:45 > 0:05:48the summer months were the good times. The challenge was
0:05:48 > 0:05:52to make their supplies last through the dark winter months.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54In the war, we kept chickens.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57In the summer, we had an abundance of eggs,
0:05:57 > 0:05:59cos that's when the chickens lay most.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01In the winter, the eggs were sparse.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04So you had to preserve them in some way.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07Mum did this with Izing glass.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09It comes from a jug here.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12It looks a bit like starch.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14So you pour that in.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20Just enough to cover the first layer of eggs.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23This Izing glass
0:06:23 > 0:06:27was made from fish swim bladder, whatever that is.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30It meant that you kept the oxygen from the egg,
0:06:30 > 0:06:34and that means bacteria can't make the egg go off.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36Then, as time goes by,
0:06:36 > 0:06:37you add more eggs,
0:06:37 > 0:06:40maybe two or three a day,
0:06:40 > 0:06:43and you have another layer of Izing glass,
0:06:43 > 0:06:46and they would preserve for six or nine months.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48They were good for baking,
0:06:48 > 0:06:51but you couldn't make meringues, because the whites were runny,
0:06:51 > 0:06:52and as time went by,
0:06:52 > 0:06:54the whites go runnier and runnier.
0:06:54 > 0:06:59But it was wonderful to be able to have eggs all the year round.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09Waste wasn't tolerated in the Berry household, and Mary's mother,
0:07:09 > 0:07:13Marjorie, would rustle up meals, depending on what she had to use up.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17Stale bread featured regularly, particularly in one
0:07:17 > 0:07:22of Mary's childhood favourites, bread-and-butter pudding.
0:07:22 > 0:07:2470 years on, in her own kitchen,
0:07:24 > 0:07:29Mary is going to recreate the dish using her mother's 1940s recipe.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32She was always cutting bread,
0:07:32 > 0:07:36because that was a big part of our diet.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40You would have the fruit from the garden, the plums and so forth
0:07:40 > 0:07:44would be made into jam, and that was the sort of filler.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46So we still have a bit left.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50I'll leave that there. Then she would take these...
0:07:50 > 0:07:52and take the crusts off.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55There wouldn't be any waste.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59The crusts would be baked in the oven.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02Then, when it was all dried out,
0:08:02 > 0:08:04it would be taken out and banged with a rolling pin,
0:08:04 > 0:08:06and put in a jar,
0:08:06 > 0:08:08and when you had fish,
0:08:08 > 0:08:10the fish would be dipped in milk
0:08:10 > 0:08:12and then into the raspings
0:08:12 > 0:08:16to give a nice, crisp outside.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18So in those days, nothing was wasted.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22So I've got a bowl of margarine here.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26Butter would have been too precious. You would have it on your bread
0:08:26 > 0:08:29for breakfast and things. It would have been margarine.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31Now I would always use butter.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34What to do is take each piece of bread
0:08:34 > 0:08:36and you just dip them in...
0:08:37 > 0:08:40and I'll layer it up with fruit.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43Mum would just have this sugar, spice and fruit,
0:08:43 > 0:08:46but now I would add either grated orange or grated rind.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48Really does bring out the flavour.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51Mum didn't. It wasn't about.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54So, in that goes.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57It's a bit like making lasagne,
0:08:57 > 0:08:58layering the bread,
0:08:58 > 0:09:02then fruit, and bread.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06It was really exciting the day that we had puddings.
0:09:06 > 0:09:07It was usually on Saturday.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10We'd all gather round as the pudding was being made
0:09:10 > 0:09:12and couldn't wait for it to go.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16Then it would come out of the oven, and we'd all be there. It was a real treat.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19Lastly, dipping in
0:09:19 > 0:09:20the marge
0:09:20 > 0:09:22and with the butter side up.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25So it was butter side down all the way up,
0:09:25 > 0:09:28and then, the last one, it's butter side up.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31I want a crispy top.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34And then I'm going to add
0:09:34 > 0:09:36the eggs and the milk.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40This would have been goat's milk, but now when I make it,
0:09:40 > 0:09:43I used semi-skimmed, but I put a dollop of cream in there,
0:09:43 > 0:09:44cos it's nicer.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48So that goes to the top.
0:09:50 > 0:09:52And you leave that to soak...
0:09:52 > 0:09:55into the bread.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58There's only two eggs to quite a lot of milk.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02So it has to soak into the bread, then you get a little custard round the outside.
0:10:02 > 0:10:04Then on top, a little sugar.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08Demerara sugar is nice.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11So we did have puddings, because Mum had talked to us
0:10:11 > 0:10:14at the beginning of the difficult times.
0:10:14 > 0:10:19She said, "No puddings if you don't give up sugar in your tea."
0:10:19 > 0:10:23That meant everybody in the household had to give it up.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27Once you've given up sugar in tea, you never want it again.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29I've been trying to tell my husband that
0:10:29 > 0:10:32ever since I married him, but he still likes sugar in his tea.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36Often he makes me tea and says, "Sugar?" and I say, "No."
0:10:36 > 0:10:38After 46 years, he should know.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42Mary's mum would leave the pudding for half an hour,
0:10:42 > 0:10:45to allow the egg and milk to soak into the bread,
0:10:45 > 0:10:49before putting it in the oven for a further 30 minutes.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52What I want is for it to puff up,
0:10:52 > 0:10:54the custard to set, and it to have that lovely
0:10:54 > 0:10:56light-brown crust on top.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07How about that, then?
0:11:07 > 0:11:12Nice and puffed-up. Looks more like a souffle than a bread-and-butter pudding.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15During the war, that would have fed six of us,
0:11:15 > 0:11:17and we'd have been jolly grateful.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21The very first portion, which was slightly bigger than ours,
0:11:21 > 0:11:24would always be for Dad.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28So that looks pretty good.
0:11:28 > 0:11:30Let's have a taste.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43Considering that's marge,
0:11:43 > 0:11:46and not so much fruit and a little less sugar,
0:11:46 > 0:11:48it really is very good,
0:11:48 > 0:11:50but I would like a little bit of lemon in there,
0:11:50 > 0:11:52and a nice blob of cream there.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55But gosh, it's good, and it's a wonderful way
0:11:55 > 0:11:57of using up leftover bread.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07With food in short supply in 1940s Britain, Mary's father
0:12:07 > 0:12:11continued his drive towards self-sufficiency.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16Even a family picnic would be turned into a foraging mission
0:12:16 > 0:12:18as the Berrys headed up the Avon
0:12:18 > 0:12:21in search of wild fruit to make into jam.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25For Mary and her brothers, Roger and William, these trips provided
0:12:25 > 0:12:30great excitement and a real sense of adventure, and today, 60 years on,
0:12:30 > 0:12:35the three Berrys are taking to the waters of the River Avon once again.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39Father decided to build a boat. Right.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43He actually steamed the timbers
0:12:43 > 0:12:46to put the boat together. Do you remember that?
0:12:46 > 0:12:48I can remember it because he steamed them in order
0:12:48 > 0:12:52to bend the wood for the boat, wasn't it?
0:12:52 > 0:12:55And we put it in the water,
0:12:55 > 0:12:56and as soon as we set off,
0:12:56 > 0:12:59the boat touched the bottom of the river.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03And the propeller broke, and we went nowhere.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06I remember that.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08Of course you do.
0:13:08 > 0:13:10Mother thought we were going to sink!
0:13:12 > 0:13:15- We were in with the dog. - The dog was called Rupert.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18I used to like it when we went to Freshford
0:13:18 > 0:13:21- and there was that weir that was covered in moss.- Yes.
0:13:21 > 0:13:25You could slip down the side and swim, and I had a hand-knitted
0:13:25 > 0:13:27swimming costume.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30The weight of the water all went down,
0:13:30 > 0:13:34and you used to tease me and pull it. I don't know about your costumes,
0:13:34 > 0:13:36but mine was definitely hand-knitted.
0:13:36 > 0:13:40I had a common-or-garden costume and I think William did.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42After we'd finished the swim,
0:13:42 > 0:13:45Father would make the tea and sandwiches.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52Mum was so good at picnics.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54Wherever we went, there were things to eat.
0:13:54 > 0:13:55I really remember that.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57There were always games
0:13:57 > 0:13:59and running about and bringing friends.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01It was a very happy time.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07Happy times indeed, but for Mary, as the middle child of three, there was
0:14:07 > 0:14:13even better sport to be had finding ways to annoy her two brothers.
0:14:13 > 0:14:19We used to sit for family meals and Sunday lunches, this sort of thing.
0:14:19 > 0:14:24Mary used to turn round to me and say, "I saw Roger with so-and so."
0:14:24 > 0:14:26That's right. Courting days.
0:14:26 > 0:14:31- Yes, I was a spy.- She said, "Look, Mummy, he's going redder and redder and redder."
0:14:31 > 0:14:32That's right.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35I felt very embarrassed about all this sort of thing.
0:14:35 > 0:14:41I can remember you said, "Why don't we have a boxing match?"
0:14:41 > 0:14:44- You obviously thought that you could win.- I do remember that.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48I realised that the only chance I had was to hit you first.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52And I gave you the biggest whack on your nose.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56- I can remember the blood streaming down onto a pale blue jumper.- Yes.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58And that was not funny.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02I did make an awful lot of fuss about it, cos the only way to get any attention
0:15:02 > 0:15:06from parents was to make a great, big scene.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09In the end, you got ticked off and you were the smaller one.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11I approved of that.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13Yes, I remember that.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17The family river trips proved a welcome distraction
0:15:17 > 0:15:19from Mary's weekday routine,
0:15:19 > 0:15:21studying at Bath High School for Girls.
0:15:21 > 0:15:27Today she is revisiting her old school. It's a place of mixed memories.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34This is an amazing moment for me.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38I was never allowed through that door. It was for prefects,
0:15:38 > 0:15:41and I was never going to be one of those.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49Dad was very academic. He told us he had no difficulty with exams.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52I really felt very inadequate,
0:15:52 > 0:15:56because I was never praised for any of my homework
0:15:56 > 0:15:58or my exam results at the end of term.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08Well, this is the classroom that I remember.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10Gosh, it looks VERY different.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13They were bleak, our classrooms.
0:16:13 > 0:16:18There's so many pictures round, and students' work. There was none of that much at school.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21Teacher would be at the end.
0:16:21 > 0:16:23We would be behind,
0:16:23 > 0:16:26in neat rows, all the way back.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29I would always choose to be at the back.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32In order to get this position,
0:16:32 > 0:16:35you had to arrive very early on the first day.
0:16:35 > 0:16:36That was the only day that I came early.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38And I liked it here,
0:16:38 > 0:16:40because you could stretch out
0:16:40 > 0:16:42and look and see what was going on in the gym
0:16:42 > 0:16:46and, with any luck, you didn't get asked to answer too many questions.
0:16:46 > 0:16:52They usually went for the ones at the front, and all the bright, clever ones sat there,
0:16:52 > 0:16:55and I used to get away lightly at the back.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03But Mary's attempts to avoid the attention of her teachers
0:17:03 > 0:17:05weren't always so successful.
0:17:05 > 0:17:10This is Miss Blackburn's office, our headmistress.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12I was summoned here far too often
0:17:12 > 0:17:15for things I shouldn't have been doing.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18And you'd knock several times,
0:17:18 > 0:17:21and when that green light went on,
0:17:21 > 0:17:23heart sinks,
0:17:23 > 0:17:26fear and trepidation - you're allowed to go in.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32I've still got that sinking feeling.
0:17:32 > 0:17:33Am I going to get a detention,
0:17:33 > 0:17:35a lecture?
0:17:35 > 0:17:37She would be at the end there.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40And she would say, "Sit down."
0:17:40 > 0:17:41So I would come in,
0:17:41 > 0:17:43not on comfy sofas like this -
0:17:43 > 0:17:44a hard chair.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48I would sit, and she would say, "Mary."
0:17:48 > 0:17:51You knew that, when she said your name,
0:17:51 > 0:17:53"What have I done this time?
0:17:53 > 0:17:54"And what's going to happen to me?"
0:17:54 > 0:17:57I was always terrified of her.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03I can never remember in the whole of my life
0:18:03 > 0:18:06having any praise from Miss Blackburn.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09Or encouragement, really.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12I think she'd given me up from the very beginning.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17Miss Blackburn expected the best of her students and wanted the best
0:18:17 > 0:18:23for her school, but in 1942, her world was rocked to its very foundations.
0:18:23 > 0:18:29On the 25th April, when Mary was seven, Bath was bombed.
0:18:29 > 0:18:34One of a series of raids ordered by Hitler on British cultural targets.
0:18:39 > 0:18:41- NEWSREEL:- The King and Queen have come to see how Bath
0:18:41 > 0:18:44now take sits place in Hitler's plan of war.
0:18:44 > 0:18:49Once again, the distorted German mind that conjures up hope of breaking British morale.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51But the same indomitable spirit
0:18:51 > 0:18:53that prevailed during the days of the Battle of Britain
0:18:53 > 0:18:55is seen in our bombed cities today.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57The people of Bath are famous,
0:18:57 > 0:19:01and their majesties recognise this by going among them with words
0:19:01 > 0:19:03of sympathy and praise.
0:19:03 > 0:19:08In the attack, over 400 people lost their lives.
0:19:11 > 0:19:17The sirens stick in your mind for the rest of your life.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20As children, you're not worried at all,
0:19:20 > 0:19:22because your parents are there,
0:19:22 > 0:19:24well, my mother was there, and grandparents.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27Then, in the morning, all the windows had been blown out,
0:19:27 > 0:19:30and there was all the glass on the floor.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33There were big holes in the road and craters.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36It then became a huge shock.
0:19:36 > 0:19:42My parents had Mr and Mrs Kelly, who'd been bombed.
0:19:42 > 0:19:43They came and lived in our house,
0:19:43 > 0:19:47and we had another husband and wife who worked for my father
0:19:47 > 0:19:49staying in the house, cos they had nowhere to go.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52So we had two extra couples.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54All the women would be in the kitchen, cooking.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58It really struck me then how terrible it was.
0:20:00 > 0:20:05Over 19,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed. Amongst them,
0:20:05 > 0:20:08Miss Blackburn's beloved High School.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10All her pupils were safe,
0:20:10 > 0:20:13but Miss Blackburn's classrooms were in ruins, and with rumour
0:20:13 > 0:20:18that her school may shut down, the headmistress had to act fast.
0:20:18 > 0:20:23To attract students she began to open a series of new courses.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26Amongst them was a Domestic Science class,
0:20:26 > 0:20:31and one of the first students to sign up was one Mary Berry.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37When you reached 14, there were two options for school cert.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41You either took Latin and Maths, that was for the clever ones,
0:20:41 > 0:20:43or, if you were like people like me,
0:20:43 > 0:20:45it was Domestic Science.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48That was such a joy, I enjoyed every moment.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50The best thing was the teacher, Miss Date.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53Now, looking at this
0:20:53 > 0:20:54school photograph,
0:20:54 > 0:20:59I'm here, looking very severe.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03And dear Miss Date, she must be along here somewhere.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07Here we are, with a little twinkle in her eye.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10We affectionately called her "Datey".
0:21:10 > 0:21:13She really cared, she encouraged me.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16I used to long to go to the lessons.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19It was two-hour lessons and it was sheer fun.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22I have seen her since I left school.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25I saw her a couple of years before she died
0:21:25 > 0:21:27in her home in Monkton Combe,
0:21:27 > 0:21:30and she was still so jolly, so positive,
0:21:30 > 0:21:32and a wonderful lady.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35If I've had any success,
0:21:35 > 0:21:36it is due to her.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39She inspired me from the very beginning.
0:21:39 > 0:21:44By 1949, the difficult years of the war were behind her,
0:21:44 > 0:21:48but in October that year the joys of youth would to come
0:21:48 > 0:21:52to a sudden end for Mary when she contracted polio.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00To find out more about the disease that afflicted her,
0:22:00 > 0:22:03Mary's visiting the Guildhall in Bath...
0:22:05 > 0:22:08..where she'll search through their hospital archives
0:22:08 > 0:22:11with Professor of Medicine, Dr Gareth Williams.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15So this is the register of the admissions to the Bath Isolation Hospital.
0:22:15 > 0:22:19I think you will probably view this
0:22:19 > 0:22:21with rather mixed memories,
0:22:21 > 0:22:25because I'm going to turn to October, 1949.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28There is an entry here of some significance.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30Because it's you being admitted,
0:22:30 > 0:22:32you're aged 14.
0:22:32 > 0:22:38And you were admitted with a diagnosis of poliomyelitis.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41I can remember it very well.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43I had no idea what was wrong
0:22:43 > 0:22:45and I couldn't lift my head.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48- Did they actually say, "You've got polio" to you?- No.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51There I was,
0:22:51 > 0:22:53and then a nurse came in,
0:22:53 > 0:22:55after one or two days,
0:22:55 > 0:22:57and read from the end of the bed...
0:22:59 > 0:23:01"infantile paralysis".
0:23:01 > 0:23:03The old name for polio, yes.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06But I didn't know what infantile paralysis was.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08For me, it could have been flu.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11I still didn't know what was wrong with me.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13And I couldn't understand
0:23:13 > 0:23:16why I couldn't get about.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19Yeah. This was quite a busy time for them,
0:23:19 > 0:23:24- and one of the cases admitted just the day before you actually died. - Did they?
0:23:24 > 0:23:31Mary caught polio during one of the largest outbreaks the UK had ever seen.
0:23:31 > 0:23:37The epidemic of 1949 affected 6,000 people and killed over 600.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41A viral infection that attacks the central nervous system,
0:23:41 > 0:23:45the disease left many patients suffering acute paralysis
0:23:45 > 0:23:48and gave notoriety to the fearsome-looking iron lung,
0:23:48 > 0:23:54a machine that helped patients with paralysed chests to continue breathing.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57Showing symptoms of polio, Mary was rushed
0:23:57 > 0:24:01to the Claverton Down Hospital in Bath for observation.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04So contagious was the disease that she was immediately placed
0:24:04 > 0:24:06in the isolation ward.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09Just look how bleak... That's just how I remembered.
0:24:09 > 0:24:14The side of the room I was in was total glass.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17- The one thing you want is your mother...- Right.
0:24:17 > 0:24:22..and then Mum and Dad appeared the other side of the glass.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25I knew I felt very unwell
0:24:25 > 0:24:28and I couldn't lift my head or my arms.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31And they were there, but they couldn't touch you.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35So you'd see and Mum would be sort of waving, and I would sort of look.
0:24:35 > 0:24:36It was the separation.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38It must have been terrifying.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41It was very frightening.
0:24:41 > 0:24:48After 12 days in isolation, Mary was transferred to the Bath & Wessex Orthopaedic Hospital
0:24:48 > 0:24:51where she'd spend the next ten weeks.
0:24:51 > 0:24:55Well, this is the Bath & Wessex Orthopaedic Hospital scrapbook,
0:24:55 > 0:24:59and there's a few things in here I think you might find interesting.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01Here's a lovely piece of history.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04- Goodness me, that's exactly where I was.- Really?
0:25:04 > 0:25:08I remember it was such a relief
0:25:08 > 0:25:10to be with the other people.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13The one thing that struck me as soon as I got there
0:25:13 > 0:25:15was it was immensely cold.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17The side of the hospital
0:25:17 > 0:25:21was totally open at certain times,
0:25:21 > 0:25:23so every day, you'd be pushed out there,
0:25:23 > 0:25:26and it was nothing to do with the polio people,
0:25:26 > 0:25:28it was the TB people,
0:25:28 > 0:25:30- because they had to have fresh air. - Yes.
0:25:30 > 0:25:32There were polio and TB
0:25:32 > 0:25:34all in the same orthopaedic ward.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37- Right.- That's jolly nice when it's sunny,
0:25:37 > 0:25:38but when it's cold, it's not nice.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42I remember we had little cupboards by our beds,
0:25:42 > 0:25:45- and you had your toothbrush and water there.- Right.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48The toothbrush, in the winter, froze in it.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53I know we had los of blankets, but it really was very cold.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55Seeing this picture,
0:25:55 > 0:25:57with all the beds out there,
0:25:57 > 0:25:59- I have a surprise for you.- OK.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02While I was there,
0:26:02 > 0:26:03- I was missing my family...- Yeah.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06..and I was also missing my pony.
0:26:06 > 0:26:07Right.
0:26:07 > 0:26:08- And my brother...- Great.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10..found this
0:26:10 > 0:26:13and gave it to me, and I've only just got it.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16There I am in bed. Gosh, my hair's quite short.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18Well, it was then, yes.
0:26:18 > 0:26:19Lying in bed, and my father walked
0:26:19 > 0:26:23with the pony to the Orthopaedic Hospital,
0:26:23 > 0:26:26- and that would have been at least three or four miles.- Right.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29Look at the ears. They're perked-up.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32- I think that means he's recognised you.- I think so too.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34That's a lovely picture.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37Well, I can tell you that brought great joy.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39I bet it did.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42- Also, it made me think, "I WILL get out of her one day."- Yes.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45I was so thrilled on that day to think that Dad, for me,
0:26:45 > 0:26:47had walked with that pony,
0:26:47 > 0:26:51- and you can see I look chuffed to bits.- You look radiant.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54Also, you can see that my hand
0:26:54 > 0:26:56is strapped-up there,
0:26:56 > 0:26:59- because it was the left hand I had most trouble with.- Right.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03They were trying to bring this thumb over.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05- Can you see that mark there?- Yes.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07I had a lot of muscle wastage here,
0:27:07 > 0:27:11and this arm's a bit smaller, and this side's a bit smaller.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15- But how lucky I was to be as I am now.- Yes.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18I can remember a girl next door to me
0:27:18 > 0:27:19in an iron lung,
0:27:19 > 0:27:22and she became terribly thin.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25She always had a smile on her face,
0:27:25 > 0:27:28and the iron lung also made a noise.
0:27:28 > 0:27:32All through the night, if you woke up, you could hear that.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35One night, that had stopped.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38- And that's when Buffy died.- Right.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41And she was just about 12, I think.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43That was a huge shock.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48You were in for about seven and a bit weeks, I think.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50I'm not too sure. Can't remember.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52I can tell you you came out the Orthopaedic Hospital
0:27:52 > 0:27:54on the 28th of December,
0:27:54 > 0:27:56because there...
0:27:57 > 0:28:00is you with your dad on a horse,
0:28:00 > 0:28:02and it's the 29th of December.
0:28:02 > 0:28:04It says that,
0:28:04 > 0:28:07"Daughter Mary, who was discharged only the day before."
0:28:07 > 0:28:09So that's the day after you got out.
0:28:15 > 0:28:17I can remember that.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22- That horse is called Nelson. - Right. OK.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25- Dad with a bowler.- Indeed.
0:28:25 > 0:28:29Because I still had such a weak left arm,
0:28:29 > 0:28:32they had - and you can see it so plainly there -
0:28:32 > 0:28:33- a thing like a little hat.- Yes.
0:28:33 > 0:28:35I was allowed to be out,
0:28:35 > 0:28:38as long as I kept my arm above...
0:28:38 > 0:28:39A wristband, attached to the head?
0:28:39 > 0:28:41You know all about it.
0:28:41 > 0:28:43I've seen pictures of it, but I wasn't too sure
0:28:43 > 0:28:46whether you were saluting your dad or the horse,
0:28:46 > 0:28:48but that was attached, wasn't it?
0:28:48 > 0:28:51That was attached, and for my parents, it was wonderful
0:28:51 > 0:28:53that I was up, I could walk,
0:28:53 > 0:28:57but I had to keep my arm up here.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00- I've never seen that picture. - Well, there we are.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03He's looking very caringly down.
0:29:03 > 0:29:05I think he is, that's a lovely picture.
0:29:12 > 0:29:14Seeing me the day after I came out of hospital,
0:29:14 > 0:29:17with Dad on his horse,
0:29:17 > 0:29:20the look in his eye of care,
0:29:20 > 0:29:22was very moving.
0:29:22 > 0:29:25There was I with my hand on top of my head,
0:29:25 > 0:29:29and I realised, looking at that picture of Dad,
0:29:29 > 0:29:30he really loved me.
0:29:35 > 0:29:38On leaving hospital, Mary returned to school,
0:29:38 > 0:29:43but the effects of the polio meant she was excluded from team sports.
0:29:43 > 0:29:49Instead, the energetic teenager turned to her beloved horse-riding for exercise.
0:29:49 > 0:29:56Then, in 1952, aged 17, Mary finished at the Bath High School.
0:29:56 > 0:30:00With only two O-levels to her name, in Art and Domestic Science,
0:30:00 > 0:30:04her options for further education were limited.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07She applied to the Bath College of Home Economics
0:30:07 > 0:30:09to study on their Institutional Management course.
0:30:13 > 0:30:16Today, Mary has come to Bath Spa University to meet
0:30:16 > 0:30:20the Vice Chancellor, Professor Christina Slade, who holds recently
0:30:20 > 0:30:27discovered reports and letters, all referring to Mary's education.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31What we've found here is your file
0:30:31 > 0:30:34from the City of Bath Domestic Science Training College.
0:30:34 > 0:30:36Gracious me, an awful photograph!
0:30:36 > 0:30:38Look at my hair all flat,
0:30:38 > 0:30:41and wearing navy blue, that would be just about right.
0:30:41 > 0:30:43I used to wear a navy jumper, navy-blue skirt.
0:30:43 > 0:30:45I think it's an absolutely marvellous file.
0:30:45 > 0:30:50- We have the full application from Bath High.- Oh, dear.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53Not the happiest days of my life.
0:30:53 > 0:30:56Well, obviously, you were very...
0:30:56 > 0:30:58Try to be nice.
0:30:58 > 0:31:02I think this is a very positive remark.
0:31:02 > 0:31:04"For a long time, Mary has said
0:31:04 > 0:31:07"that she would like to be a catering manager.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10"She's read much concerning this
0:31:10 > 0:31:13"and has, for a schoolgirl, a surprising fund of knowledge."
0:31:13 > 0:31:16- Now, who's this...?- Miss Ireland.
0:31:16 > 0:31:19She was Assistant Headmistress.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22I think I was pretty lucky Miss Blackburn didn't write it,
0:31:22 > 0:31:25cos she hadn't a lot of nice things to say about me.
0:31:25 > 0:31:28There we are. And then we come
0:31:28 > 0:31:29to the letter to you
0:31:29 > 0:31:34saying, "I have pleasure in offering you a vacancy in the Institutional Management Course,
0:31:34 > 0:31:40- "subject," it says, "to your gaining three passes at Ordinary level." - Oh, dear.
0:31:40 > 0:31:43But the next letter is just a little slip of paper.
0:31:43 > 0:31:45We think it's from the secretary.
0:31:45 > 0:31:47"I spoke to Mrs Berry.
0:31:47 > 0:31:51"She said that her daughter had obtained two passes only,
0:31:51 > 0:31:56"and that she had spoken to Miss Neilson, who had agreed to accept her!" Exclamation mark!
0:31:56 > 0:32:01- So there you are.- Miss Neilson being the principal of the Bath College of Domestic Science.
0:32:01 > 0:32:05What exactly was the Institution Management course you did?
0:32:05 > 0:32:07It was a two-year course,
0:32:07 > 0:32:11and the headmistress took us for sort of household jobs.
0:32:11 > 0:32:13We did everything from table-laying
0:32:13 > 0:32:15and making beds,
0:32:15 > 0:32:18and also she taught us to clean loos.
0:32:18 > 0:32:20She used to say...
0:32:20 > 0:32:23"Flush, brush, flush."
0:32:23 > 0:32:25We all giggled and laughed about it,
0:32:25 > 0:32:30but the basic things she taught us about how to run a house,
0:32:30 > 0:32:33and I'm grateful to her.
0:32:33 > 0:32:36As part of the course, Mary took work experience at local butchers
0:32:36 > 0:32:38and fishmongers.
0:32:38 > 0:32:43I would arrive early, and they were pleased to have a girl there, of 19.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46I was taught to skin a Dover sole,
0:32:46 > 0:32:48to bone fish.
0:32:48 > 0:32:52It gave me confidence, so when I'm now working
0:32:52 > 0:32:55in television or talking about food,
0:32:55 > 0:33:00I have the background knowledge, which I'm very grateful for.
0:33:00 > 0:33:06Mary graduated from the Institutional Management course in 1952.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09It was a time when enthusiasm for home cooking was gaining
0:33:09 > 0:33:11momentum nationwide.
0:33:11 > 0:33:15Innovations and labour-saving devices were transforming
0:33:15 > 0:33:21the domestic kitchen, and electricity was at the heart of it.
0:33:21 > 0:33:25The National Grid had been running since 1938,
0:33:25 > 0:33:30but in 1949, the Government had given it an upgrade,
0:33:30 > 0:33:33making electricity more accessible and usable.
0:33:33 > 0:33:38Modern electric cookers became increasingly popular.
0:33:38 > 0:33:42But many didn't know how to use them.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45The Electricity Board needed people to teach
0:33:45 > 0:33:48the housewives of Britain, and Mary, with her qualification
0:33:48 > 0:33:51in Institutional Management, was the perfect candidate.
0:33:51 > 0:33:54She was offered the post of home service advisor.
0:33:54 > 0:33:56Her career in food had begun.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05Armed with her shiny Ford Popular company car,
0:34:05 > 0:34:09she travelled the Bath area demonstrating electric cookers.
0:34:15 > 0:34:19It's here that Mary met her colleague, Maeve Patterson.
0:34:19 > 0:34:24Today, the two lifelong friends have reunited to remember those heady days.
0:34:24 > 0:34:27Oh, gracious, Mavis.
0:34:27 > 0:34:29- Do you remember these?- I do.
0:34:29 > 0:34:31Ford Populars, rattling along.
0:34:31 > 0:34:36It was the very first car that I drove.
0:34:36 > 0:34:39- You really felt you'd arrived. - Oh, gosh, yes.
0:34:39 > 0:34:41Of course, they had no heater,
0:34:41 > 0:34:46- the windscreen wiper hardly worked. - You had to wind the windows down.
0:34:46 > 0:34:50The gears - you had to sort of guide it into first, second, third and fourth,
0:34:50 > 0:34:51but it was fun.
0:34:51 > 0:34:52You were out and about.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55A lot of our friends were secretaries and in offices.
0:34:57 > 0:35:01It was the girls' job to visit the homes of customers who had
0:35:01 > 0:35:04recently purchased an electric cooker and show them how to use it.
0:35:04 > 0:35:08They would demonstrate by making quiches and Victoria sandwiches.
0:35:08 > 0:35:14- I can remember the great move was when they produced glass doors... - Oh, yes.
0:35:14 > 0:35:18- ..to be able to see what you were cooking.- Oh, that's right.
0:35:18 > 0:35:21People really couldn't belive that, and we used to have things like souffles,
0:35:21 > 0:35:23and you put it in,
0:35:23 > 0:35:26and they'd see the things rising and they thought it was magical.
0:35:26 > 0:35:29And we had our own demonstration theatres in our showrooms.
0:35:29 > 0:35:31And the Saturday morning "dems",
0:35:31 > 0:35:34we got the husbands
0:35:34 > 0:35:36- and a few young men.- Oh, yes.
0:35:36 > 0:35:39I always used to look forward to Saturday morning "dems",
0:35:39 > 0:35:41in the showrooms,
0:35:41 > 0:35:43because you never know who might come in.
0:35:43 > 0:35:44A few glamorous chaps.
0:35:44 > 0:35:49Once the working week was over, the girls would hang up their aprons
0:35:49 > 0:35:51and head to town to let their hair down.
0:35:54 > 0:35:57Saturday morning, if we weren't working,
0:35:57 > 0:35:59we would go out for coffee first of all,
0:35:59 > 0:36:03and the main thing was to find out who was about,
0:36:03 > 0:36:05and then we'd all move on
0:36:05 > 0:36:06to Geoff's to have a drink,
0:36:06 > 0:36:09- and that's when Saturday night was planned.- That's right.
0:36:09 > 0:36:13All the girls would be there, the chaps would be down from London,
0:36:13 > 0:36:16and what we do? Go to the Pump Room,
0:36:16 > 0:36:19and there was dinner-dancing.
0:36:19 > 0:36:21If you were lucky, you were asked.
0:36:21 > 0:36:23You would never ask a chap to do it.
0:36:23 > 0:36:24No way.
0:36:24 > 0:36:27You had to usually, in the afternoon, watch the sport,
0:36:27 > 0:36:29go to rugby or something,
0:36:29 > 0:36:32in order to get the evening date absolutely fixed.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35That's right. Do you remember, in summer,
0:36:35 > 0:36:38all those camping weekends we went to Porlock.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40And we had two tins.
0:36:40 > 0:36:41We had two bell tents,
0:36:41 > 0:36:44- one for the boys and one for the girls.- Yes.
0:36:44 > 0:36:48I remember that, but I'm not talking too much about it.
0:36:52 > 0:36:55In her efforts to train the housewives of Britain to cook electric,
0:36:55 > 0:36:59Mary turned to one dish more than any other -
0:36:59 > 0:37:03the simple but delicious Victoria sandwich.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08Once again following the Women's Institute recipe
0:37:08 > 0:37:13she used in the '50s, Mary will make two sponges, sandwiched with
0:37:13 > 0:37:17a layer of raspberry jam and topped with a dusting of caster sugar.
0:37:21 > 0:37:25I think all the flour is now incorporated.
0:37:25 > 0:37:28Going out to do demonstrations in the Ford Popular,
0:37:28 > 0:37:30you'd go to Midsomer Norton,
0:37:30 > 0:37:34all these nice-sounding places.
0:37:34 > 0:37:38It was very enjoyable, and people really appreciated the demonstration.
0:37:38 > 0:37:42I can remember well going somewhere called Peasedown St John,
0:37:42 > 0:37:45and I was nearly there and I'd left plenty f time,
0:37:45 > 0:37:47but I got a puncture.
0:37:47 > 0:37:50And I'm not one to do punctures.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53I always think the chaps should do those.
0:37:53 > 0:37:55Fortunately, I was outside a farm,
0:37:55 > 0:37:57and fate was on my side.
0:37:57 > 0:37:58Lovely farmer.
0:37:58 > 0:38:00When you have things like this happening,
0:38:00 > 0:38:02people are very, very nice.
0:38:02 > 0:38:06Right, that looks just about level to me.
0:38:06 > 0:38:09So squash them out,
0:38:09 > 0:38:12and I've made thousands of these.
0:38:12 > 0:38:14You really can't beat
0:38:14 > 0:38:18a true Victoria sandwich.
0:38:18 > 0:38:21The Electricity Board girls, the demonstrators,
0:38:21 > 0:38:24were often called upon to go and judge village shows.
0:38:24 > 0:38:27So that was a Saturday job.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30I did that with great pride.
0:38:30 > 0:38:32So, oven is set.
0:38:32 > 0:38:36I like to do them on the same shelf, one behind the other,
0:38:36 > 0:38:40Ovens have changed dramatically since Mary first cooked
0:38:40 > 0:38:45this sponge in 1955, but the baking remains the same.
0:38:45 > 0:38:4720 minutes at 180 degrees.
0:38:49 > 0:38:52I'm so often asked how many
0:38:52 > 0:38:55Victoria sandwiches have I made in my life?
0:38:55 > 0:38:58I guess I've made several thousand of them.
0:38:58 > 0:39:01They're cooled now,
0:39:01 > 0:39:04beautifully risen, just the right colour.
0:39:04 > 0:39:05Peel that off.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11Then I'll spread that really generously
0:39:11 > 0:39:13with raspberry jam.
0:39:13 > 0:39:15Some people like a nice, thick layer of cream.
0:39:15 > 0:39:17Whatever takes your fancy.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23In our village, so many people make wonderful
0:39:23 > 0:39:27Victoria sandwiches, and we have the church plant sale here
0:39:27 > 0:39:29every year, and I always buy
0:39:29 > 0:39:33Doreen's beautiful Victoria sandwich,
0:39:33 > 0:39:37because I've never had time to make one myself.
0:39:37 > 0:39:38So there we are.
0:39:38 > 0:39:42And just a shaking of sugar on top.
0:39:44 > 0:39:47I think we should cut this and see exactly what it's like inside.
0:39:47 > 0:39:51Let's take a good wedge out of here.
0:39:51 > 0:39:52Have we got a big enough knife(?)
0:39:56 > 0:39:58There's nothing nicer
0:39:58 > 0:40:02than a really fresh, just-cooled cake.
0:40:02 > 0:40:04Nobody says no to that.
0:40:07 > 0:40:09When I'm judging, I always,
0:40:09 > 0:40:11on the Bake Off or whatever it is,
0:40:11 > 0:40:14I always take a decent slice,
0:40:14 > 0:40:17because I always think somebody's watching me,
0:40:17 > 0:40:19and they would like me to try.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29You know what?
0:40:29 > 0:40:32I could eat the whole slice, right now.
0:40:32 > 0:40:34But I have to be a little bit controlled,
0:40:34 > 0:40:35cos it goes all on my bottom.
0:40:35 > 0:40:40I'll actually have that little bit more. Delicious.
0:40:40 > 0:40:42Mm!
0:40:42 > 0:40:44Well worth making.
0:40:48 > 0:40:50By the mid-1950s, Britain had started to recover
0:40:50 > 0:40:54from the ravages of war, and the economy was booming.
0:40:54 > 0:40:57Many of Mary's friends had left Bath,
0:40:57 > 0:41:01heading to the bright lights of London to find their fortune.
0:41:01 > 0:41:04Mary, now aged 20, was keen to join them.
0:41:04 > 0:41:06I was desperate to work in London.
0:41:06 > 0:41:08Dad had other ideas.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11I was not allowed to go to London until I was 21.
0:41:11 > 0:41:13So, as soon as I was 21,
0:41:13 > 0:41:18I was looking for jobs. There were plenty for secretaries - that's what most of my friends did.
0:41:18 > 0:41:20But there was a job in the Telegraph
0:41:20 > 0:41:23for a home economist
0:41:23 > 0:41:25for the Dutch Dairy Bureau.
0:41:25 > 0:41:27Sounded right up my street,
0:41:27 > 0:41:31developing recipes using Dutch butter and Dutch cheeses,
0:41:31 > 0:41:33so I duly wrote to a Mr Sevink.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37I got a reply back, "Come for an interview."
0:41:37 > 0:41:39I went up to London
0:41:39 > 0:41:42in my best bib and tucker and, believe it or not, I wore a hat.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45That's what you did in those days.
0:41:45 > 0:41:49And so I was offered the job.
0:41:49 > 0:41:52I went home and I can remember going through the door
0:41:52 > 0:41:55and seeing my parents and nonchalantly saying,
0:41:55 > 0:41:57"Well, I got the job."
0:41:57 > 0:42:00And Dad said, "Really?!"
0:42:00 > 0:42:04I said, "Yes, a £1,000 a year."
0:42:04 > 0:42:05And he said,
0:42:05 > 0:42:08"£1,000 a year, for you?!"
0:42:08 > 0:42:10He said, "Who interviewed you?"
0:42:10 > 0:42:14I said, "A charming man. He was Dutch, he's called Mr Sevink."
0:42:14 > 0:42:16"Right," he said.
0:42:16 > 0:42:20So he went on the next train to London
0:42:20 > 0:42:22to just check on Mr Sevink.
0:42:22 > 0:42:26He came back in the evening, and I was waiting with bated breath.
0:42:26 > 0:42:30He said, "You're quite right. It just sounds the job for you."
0:42:30 > 0:42:33So I was away, I was thrilled to bits. Couldn't wait to get there.
0:42:38 > 0:42:40My job specification, as they call it now,
0:42:40 > 0:42:43was to invent recipes using Dutch
0:42:43 > 0:42:46butter and cheese.
0:42:46 > 0:42:50I would do any leaflets and booklets.
0:42:50 > 0:42:54And I would do recipes for the press.
0:42:54 > 0:43:01I had a very small test kitchen, but I enjoyed it enormously, because I love cooking.
0:43:01 > 0:43:05I would go off in the mornings and sort of invent recipes.
0:43:08 > 0:43:12When I arrived here, I was really thrilled to be
0:43:12 > 0:43:14developing recipes all the time,
0:43:14 > 0:43:17getting to know all the different magazines and newspapers.
0:43:17 > 0:43:23I did think, "This is a stepping stone. I want to do this job really well,"
0:43:23 > 0:43:26but I had ideas of moving on.
0:43:30 > 0:43:35Mary's ambitions would soon take her away from London to Paris,
0:43:35 > 0:43:38the centre of the culinary world.
0:43:38 > 0:43:42She wanted to study at the famous Cordon Bleu cookery school.
0:43:42 > 0:43:45Mary couldn't afford the astronomical fees,
0:43:45 > 0:43:47but she knew someone who could.
0:43:51 > 0:43:56My boss, Mr Sevink, had quite an eye for the girls.
0:43:56 > 0:43:58I was pretty cagey...
0:43:58 > 0:44:01but I knew how to play my cards.
0:44:01 > 0:44:04Having done quite well at an exhibition,
0:44:04 > 0:44:08I remember coming back and giving the figures and what have you,
0:44:08 > 0:44:11and saying, "There's one thing I really want to do,
0:44:11 > 0:44:14"to go to the Cordon Bleu in Paris.
0:44:14 > 0:44:16"And I would pay for the accommodation.
0:44:16 > 0:44:20"I wonder if you would give me a month's leave
0:44:20 > 0:44:22"and pay for the tuition?"
0:44:22 > 0:44:25He thought I was being rather fair, saying I'd pay for the accommodation.
0:44:25 > 0:44:27The accommodation was student accommodation,
0:44:27 > 0:44:29which was next-to-nothing.
0:44:29 > 0:44:32And I know the fees were very expensive.
0:44:32 > 0:44:36So...he said yes, and so off I went.
0:44:39 > 0:44:43To get this qualification would mean a lot to me,
0:44:43 > 0:44:45because whatever you have on the CV
0:44:45 > 0:44:47helps you get the next job.
0:44:47 > 0:44:49I didn't dare tell Mr Sevink that,
0:44:49 > 0:44:52but I had other ideas of what I wanted to move on to.
0:44:52 > 0:45:00I was so excited, but very nervous, because as the train drew out...
0:45:00 > 0:45:04I just wondered what I was going to let myself in for.
0:45:07 > 0:45:10And then when I arrived I was on my own.
0:45:13 > 0:45:17That's the first time I'd been on my own.
0:45:17 > 0:45:20I'd been sharing a flat with four others,
0:45:20 > 0:45:24and they were sort of, "Lucky thing, off to Paris for a month.
0:45:24 > 0:45:26"Perhaps we'll come and see you." I knew they wouldn't,
0:45:26 > 0:45:29cos they wouldn't have enough money.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37I had to walk to the Cordon Bleu...
0:45:37 > 0:45:41because I was wondering how far the money would go
0:45:41 > 0:45:44and the very first morning,
0:45:44 > 0:45:48I set off almost in the dark, because I had to find this place.
0:45:53 > 0:45:5650 years ago, I was in this very spot...
0:45:56 > 0:45:58coming to the Cordon Bleu,
0:45:58 > 0:46:00and I checked the address on the top of the paper.
0:46:00 > 0:46:02Yes, it was right,
0:46:02 > 0:46:05but it didn't look a bit like a cookery school.
0:46:05 > 0:46:08I was expecting something really big and grand,
0:46:08 > 0:46:10big letters, a reception desk,
0:46:10 > 0:46:15but all I could see was what looked like a bakery.
0:46:15 > 0:46:19But I was in the right place, I was early, so I boldly went in.
0:46:23 > 0:46:28Today, Mary's here to meet the current owner, Catherine Sabbagh,
0:46:28 > 0:46:30who was brought up in the shop next door
0:46:30 > 0:46:35and remembers the Cordon Bleu and its fearsome owner, Mme Brassart.
0:46:35 > 0:46:38There was a formidable small lady.
0:46:38 > 0:46:41I said, "I've come for the Cordon Bleu.
0:46:42 > 0:46:45"Je veux Mme Brassart."
0:46:45 > 0:46:49She said, "Je suis Mme Brassart."
0:46:49 > 0:46:52And the Cordon Bleu... "En bas."
0:46:52 > 0:46:56Absolutely.
0:46:56 > 0:46:59Exactement.
0:46:59 > 0:47:01I only remember one chef.
0:47:01 > 0:47:04He was very big, very noisy and shouted.
0:47:04 > 0:47:06I was very frightened of him.
0:47:06 > 0:47:08We used to hear this big chef,
0:47:08 > 0:47:12who was like crying very, very...
0:47:12 > 0:47:17strongly against his little clients, American in general.
0:47:17 > 0:47:20Exactly!
0:47:20 > 0:47:23The one thing I remember, I thought, "I've come to Paris to the Cordon Bleu,"
0:47:23 > 0:47:26and I expected everybody else to be French.
0:47:26 > 0:47:28But they weren't. They were American.
0:47:28 > 0:47:31It was fashionable. This is how I thought of it.
0:47:31 > 0:47:34They were not concentrating and just wanted a few dishes
0:47:34 > 0:47:37to go back to America to give to their cooks.
0:47:37 > 0:47:39Then they would say,
0:47:39 > 0:47:41"It was Cordon Bleu."
0:47:41 > 0:47:44It was the name "Cordon Bleu", wasn't it?
0:47:44 > 0:47:45True.
0:47:45 > 0:47:47Mary took the cheaper professional course,
0:47:47 > 0:47:51so while her contemporaries studied in a well-lit room upstairs,
0:47:51 > 0:47:57Mme Brassart sent Mary "en bas" or "down there" into the cellar.
0:48:00 > 0:48:03I remember this. As I came down the stairs,
0:48:03 > 0:48:05there was sawdust on the floor.
0:48:05 > 0:48:09It was dark, dingy, there were no windows.
0:48:09 > 0:48:12It wasn't one bit what I expected.
0:48:12 > 0:48:16I thought it would be a grand cooking school,
0:48:16 > 0:48:18and the first thing I saw were these long tables
0:48:18 > 0:48:19we were going to work at.
0:48:19 > 0:48:21No sign of a stool.
0:48:21 > 0:48:24It seemed a little bit depressing,
0:48:24 > 0:48:27so in the afternoon, when we came up for a cookery demonstration,
0:48:27 > 0:48:29it was relief to see light.
0:48:35 > 0:48:37Despite the conditions,
0:48:37 > 0:48:41Mary was determined to see the four-week course through.
0:48:41 > 0:48:45Returning home without her prized Cordon Bleu certificate was not an option.
0:48:48 > 0:48:52When not confined to the cellar, Mary absorbed the sights,
0:48:52 > 0:48:55sounds and tastes of Paris.
0:48:55 > 0:48:57It was so exciting to come to a street market
0:48:57 > 0:48:59and see so many things I'd never seen before.
0:48:59 > 0:49:01All sorts of fruits
0:49:01 > 0:49:06and mushrooms and things I hadn't seen in England.
0:49:11 > 0:49:13Things don't change in the market.
0:49:13 > 0:49:17All these wonderful fresh herbs in bunches.
0:49:17 > 0:49:20When I came in the '50s, that's the first time
0:49:20 > 0:49:23I'd seen a selection of fresh herbs in season.
0:49:23 > 0:49:25And here is just the same,
0:49:25 > 0:49:28no sign of any plastic wrapping.
0:49:28 > 0:49:31I was introduced to thyme
0:49:31 > 0:49:34and wonderful flat-leafed parsley
0:49:34 > 0:49:35and, of course, basil.
0:49:35 > 0:49:38Basil, often in the markets,
0:49:38 > 0:49:39still with the root on,
0:49:39 > 0:49:41cos it keeps longer.
0:49:41 > 0:49:43All we had at home was dried herbs
0:49:43 > 0:49:45and mixed herbs.
0:49:45 > 0:49:48It just didn't do the same thing as the real fresh herbs,
0:49:48 > 0:49:51unobtainable in the '50s in England.
0:49:53 > 0:49:57Mary returned to London determined to take the next step in her career.
0:49:57 > 0:50:01In 1962, aged 27, Mary moved to Bensons,
0:50:01 > 0:50:07a public relations company which represented some big-name brands.
0:50:07 > 0:50:10I was employed to be the senior home economist. There was only one.
0:50:10 > 0:50:13And I had a beautiful test kitchen too.
0:50:14 > 0:50:17Mary's recipes, using her clients' products,
0:50:17 > 0:50:21were printed in regional newspapers. She was enjoying the good times.
0:50:21 > 0:50:24But Mary was about to go national.
0:50:24 > 0:50:26Housewife magazine needed a temp
0:50:26 > 0:50:28to fill in for one of their food writers,
0:50:28 > 0:50:31and Mary got the call.
0:50:31 > 0:50:33An immediate success, she was signed on as staff,
0:50:33 > 0:50:37then, soon after, promoted to food editor.
0:50:37 > 0:50:40I began to think, how can I make this different?
0:50:40 > 0:50:42And so I thought it would be a good idea
0:50:42 > 0:50:46to invite somebody who was really well-known,
0:50:46 > 0:50:50a celebrity, to do a meal.
0:50:50 > 0:50:55Usually they were quite keen to be featured in the magazine.
0:50:55 > 0:50:56There we are.
0:50:56 > 0:51:01I've got little stickers here to remind me. There's Eamonn Andrews.
0:51:01 > 0:51:04He was really so famous, and This Is Your Life,
0:51:04 > 0:51:06it was one of the things, every week, you wanted,
0:51:06 > 0:51:08and you never knew who was coming.
0:51:08 > 0:51:11And he did, I remember, Dover sole.
0:51:11 > 0:51:16Those were sheer luxury, with almonds. And then Mary Quant.
0:51:17 > 0:51:23That was one of my favourites. I remember it as if it was yesterday.
0:51:23 > 0:51:25I'd read that she entertained a lot,
0:51:25 > 0:51:28and we'd discussed what she was going to cook,
0:51:28 > 0:51:33so I arrived at this house, rang the bell, and I was let in.
0:51:33 > 0:51:35There was no sign of Mary.
0:51:35 > 0:51:40I then went into this very minimalistic flat,
0:51:40 > 0:51:43and in the dining room, they had blinds of foil,
0:51:43 > 0:51:46which I thought was a bit unusual,
0:51:46 > 0:51:51a stark white table, and nothing else whatsoever.
0:51:51 > 0:51:53There wasn't a sign of any food.
0:51:53 > 0:51:57I glanced in the kitchen, nothing was going on there.
0:51:57 > 0:52:01Then in came Mary, looking as glamorous as ever.
0:52:01 > 0:52:05And I thought, "Where's the food?"
0:52:05 > 0:52:08I didn't say anything, and then she started,
0:52:08 > 0:52:11she said, "You remember I talked to you about the recipe?"
0:52:11 > 0:52:15It was going to be rice with crispy sausages and almonds and so forth.
0:52:15 > 0:52:18And I thought, "Is she going to start cooking?
0:52:18 > 0:52:19"Cos we're never going to get it ready."
0:52:19 > 0:52:23And then the door opened and in came this wooden bowl
0:52:23 > 0:52:27with the sausages and tomatoes, and it was a beautiful thing.
0:52:27 > 0:52:30She had had it made in the restaurant on the corner.
0:52:30 > 0:52:32She looked at it and sort of adjusted it,
0:52:32 > 0:52:34and then things started to happen.
0:52:34 > 0:52:39She had green napkins, a lovely jug of geraniums in the middle,
0:52:39 > 0:52:44green bottles. The whole room came alive, and it was beautiful.
0:52:44 > 0:52:46And in the front, she put her dish.
0:52:47 > 0:52:52It's been 47 years since Mary became food editor of Housewife,
0:52:52 > 0:52:56and today, to see if her recipes have stood the test of time,
0:52:56 > 0:52:59she will recreate the meal featured in her first-ever article.
0:52:59 > 0:53:03So this is the very first feature in Housewife magazine,
0:53:03 > 0:53:07and I was doing a dinner party for four.
0:53:07 > 0:53:10Magazines were very hard-up in those days.
0:53:10 > 0:53:12They did employ two models there,
0:53:12 > 0:53:15but this is Molly who I shared a flat with.
0:53:15 > 0:53:19Everything was a tight budget in those days.
0:53:19 > 0:53:21The pictures were from home. No stylist.
0:53:21 > 0:53:23You know, for photographs now,
0:53:23 > 0:53:26a stylist comes in and chooses all the china.
0:53:26 > 0:53:28There is a home economist in the background.
0:53:28 > 0:53:31There was only one person in the background and that was me.
0:53:31 > 0:53:35So all the cooking, all the laying out. But what fun.
0:53:35 > 0:53:39Tonight, Mary will revisit those early days by recreating that meal,
0:53:39 > 0:53:43which featured Scandinavian herring, a rum dessert cake
0:53:43 > 0:53:46and, for main, a roast.
0:53:46 > 0:53:49So there's a boned shoulder of lamb.
0:53:49 > 0:53:53My original recipe was with veal, just to be a little bit different.
0:53:53 > 0:53:56In retrospect, I think lamb would have been better,
0:53:56 > 0:53:58because it is more readily available.
0:53:58 > 0:54:00And that's exactly what I'm going to do now.
0:54:00 > 0:54:04So first of all, I'm going to fry the onion in butter.
0:54:04 > 0:54:08And I'm just going to soften that a bit before adding the liver.
0:54:10 > 0:54:16Getting the job as cookery editor of Housewife was my absolute dream.
0:54:16 > 0:54:19So it was very important to get this right.
0:54:19 > 0:54:23I wanted those recipes to have nice letters coming in from the readers,
0:54:23 > 0:54:26straight to the editor, to say that they liked what I was doing.
0:54:26 > 0:54:30I was very aware that I had to do it really well.
0:54:30 > 0:54:34And I had to build a readership of my recipes.
0:54:34 > 0:54:37So I practised this whole menu with friends.
0:54:37 > 0:54:40I did the whole thing, like a play,
0:54:40 > 0:54:43and then I could just adjust the recipe
0:54:43 > 0:54:44before it goes into the editor.
0:54:44 > 0:54:48Now, that just looks about right for me to add the liver.
0:54:48 > 0:54:51And I've got lamb's liver here going in.
0:54:51 > 0:54:53Just chopped up.
0:54:53 > 0:54:55But that just needs a few moments.
0:54:57 > 0:55:00This meal was really to impress.
0:55:00 > 0:55:06In the '60s, you didn't have people round and eat in the kitchen.
0:55:06 > 0:55:10And some people, like my mother, never ate in the kitchen.
0:55:10 > 0:55:11She couldn't bear it.
0:55:13 > 0:55:16To complete her stuffing, Mary has mixed the liver and onion
0:55:16 > 0:55:19with sausage meat, breadcrumbs, lemon rind,
0:55:19 > 0:55:22parsley, thyme and an egg to bind it all together.
0:55:25 > 0:55:28So you may think that's rather a lot of stuffing.
0:55:28 > 0:55:32I always make quite a lot of stuffing. I like stuffing.
0:55:32 > 0:55:36And you will also notice over the years,
0:55:36 > 0:55:39there's always a lot of gravy, always a lot of sauce.
0:55:39 > 0:55:40I'm married to a gravy man.
0:55:42 > 0:55:46So just spread that over like that and roll it up.
0:55:46 > 0:55:50It's a bit like a Swiss roll. That's it, like that.
0:55:50 > 0:55:52Then I'm going to tie it.
0:55:52 > 0:55:55And I'm not a real expert at tying, but I'll see how I get on.
0:55:55 > 0:55:58So I start off by putting one piece like that
0:55:58 > 0:56:01and then go on down the line.
0:56:01 > 0:56:05I was never very good at knitting, so that's why I'm doing it so slowly.
0:56:06 > 0:56:09Knitting and sewing are not my thing.
0:56:09 > 0:56:13And I haven't mended socks since I got married.
0:56:13 > 0:56:17I always say it's because I had polio and I wouldn't be very good at it.
0:56:24 > 0:56:27Joining Mary for her dinner party for four tonight
0:56:27 > 0:56:30are her ex-flatmate and original guest Molly,
0:56:30 > 0:56:31and in place of the models,
0:56:31 > 0:56:35Mary's husband Paul and close friend Tom.
0:56:35 > 0:56:37..do a lot of these dinner parties?
0:56:37 > 0:56:39Were you pretty social in those days?
0:56:39 > 0:56:40Here we are.
0:56:40 > 0:56:42How delicious, Mary. That looks lovely.
0:56:42 > 0:56:47- There we are. This is shoulder of lamb.- That's fine.
0:56:47 > 0:56:50Following her original recipe, Mary is serving the lamb
0:56:50 > 0:56:54with buttered peas with cucumber and scalloped potatoes.
0:56:54 > 0:56:56They're nice and even too, I think.
0:56:56 > 0:57:00- So try and keep the stuffing together with the meat.- Right-o, dear.
0:57:00 > 0:57:02Here's to a good dinner.
0:57:02 > 0:57:05- Yes. Yes. Yes. Thank you very much. - Thank you very much.
0:57:05 > 0:57:07I've got a surprise for you, Molly.
0:57:07 > 0:57:09I've got the picture of Molly here.
0:57:09 > 0:57:14- And here she is.- That was your flat, was it?- This was our flat.
0:57:14 > 0:57:17- Had to put your best dress on. - Absolutely, yes.- Tidy up.
0:57:17 > 0:57:21I'm glad I had a bit of a tan. And that's not a fake one, either.
0:57:21 > 0:57:24You were always brown. Always popular with the boys.
0:57:25 > 0:57:29- You haven't changed much either. - Bless you.
0:57:29 > 0:57:33Remember the kitchen was absolutely tiny, with a Baby Belling.
0:57:33 > 0:57:36- You wouldn't know, Tom or Paul, what a Baby Belling was.- Of course we do!
0:57:36 > 0:57:41- I beg your pardon! - A Baby Belling is the smallest...
0:57:41 > 0:57:43As food editor of Housewife magazine,
0:57:43 > 0:57:45Mary had got off to a good start.
0:57:45 > 0:57:48But her career in food was only just beginning.
0:57:49 > 0:57:54Next time, Mary's celebrity rises as she becomes a bestselling author,
0:57:54 > 0:57:57before moving on to the nation's TV screens.
0:57:57 > 0:58:01For chilli con carne, you need a can of minced beef with onions...
0:58:01 > 0:58:04- Awful voice! Sounds like the Queen! - It was so posh!
0:58:04 > 0:58:07But with a flourishing career and a young family to raise,
0:58:07 > 0:58:10Mary would be forced to make some difficult choices.
0:58:10 > 0:58:15I did feel guilty, working, but I was really awfully nervous -
0:58:15 > 0:58:18if I took time off, would I get my job back?
0:58:20 > 0:58:23Mary's commitment would see her forge a lifelong career in food.
0:58:23 > 0:58:26A career that continues to this very day.
0:58:45 > 0:58:48Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd