Chance to see Mary Queen of Cakes may rise again
FANS of celebrity cook Mary Berry may yet get to see their culinary hero.
The veteran star of The Great British Bake Off had been due to appear at the National Dairy Council’s Ploughing Championships stand on Wednesday.
Although the 83-year-old did wait in a field at Screggan, Co. Offaly, until 11.45am, the second day of the championships had to be called off due to Storm Ali.
Instead, she met only a very small fraction of the estimated 30,000 people who had planned to meet her at the NDC stall.
‘I think she would have been overwhelmed’
Her event was moved at the last minute to The Heritage Hotel in Killenard, Co. Laois.
Because of the level of interest, council chiefs are now going to see if they can get Ms Berry back to Ireland.
NDC CEO Zoe Kavanagh told the Irish Daily Mail: ‘The massive disappointment for us was the public missing out on being able to engage with Mary.
‘I don’t think she truly understood how loved she is here in Ireland and how we have followed her for decades.
‘I think she would have been completely overwhelmed if she had had the experience on-site at Screggan.’
She added: ‘Tens of thousands of people were calling us about her appearance on Wednesday. We were getting interest throughout the summer.
‘During the Ploughing Championships, it is no exaggeration to say that we were getting up to 20,000 visitors a day asking to see Mary Berry.
‘We have been soul-searching since Wednesday because we realise the interest levels were really significant.
‘So that is something we’re going to take away with us and have a little think about.
‘Bringing her back, or at least trying to bring her back, is something we wouldn’t rule it out,’ she said.
Mary Berry has published over 75 cookery books including her bestselling Baking Bible in 2009. She hosted several TV series in the UK and was a judge on the The Great British Bake Off from 2010 to 2016.