Louis would like a Mary Berry Christmas
Duchess of Cambridge reveals one of her son’s first words was inspired by TV cook’s books in the kitchen
HIS mother may be a future queen, but for now, Prince Louis is more interested in the Queen of Baking.
The Duchess of Cambridge has revealed that one of the toddler’s first words was “Mary”, thanks to Mary Berry, the doyenne of television cooks.
While the 19-month-old may yet be too young to don an apron and whip up an apricot frangipane tart, it appears that his mother is up for the challenge.
Speaking to Berry as part of a BBC One Christmas special, the Duchess, 37, gave a rare glimpse into life behind palace walls, disclosing that just like aspiring bakers the length and breadth of the country, her kitchen shelves are weighed down by cookery books.
“One of Louis’s first words was ‘Mary’, because right at his height are all my cooking books in the kitchen bookshelf,” she said.
“And children are really fascinated by faces, and your faces are all over your cooking books, and he would say ‘That’s Mary Berry’ ... so he would definitely recognise you if he saw you today.”
In A Berry Royal Christmas the 84-year-old former The Great British
Bake Off presenter, who has written more than 75 cookery books, joins the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on various royal engagements.
She accompanied the Duke to The Passage, a homeless charity in London and travelled to Liverpool with the Duchess, where they made mocktails at The Brink, the UK’s first dry bar established by the charity Action on Addiction.
The pair then reunited at the Royal Horticultural Society’s garden at Wisley, Surrey, where they toured the Duchess’s Back To Nature Garden she co-designed for the Chelsea Flower Show before Berry gave the Duchess tips on how to ice cupcakes.
The show concludes with a Christmas party for the charity workers and volunteers who will be working throughout the festive period, featuring special guests including Luke Evans, the singer, and Nadiya Hussain, the former Bake Off winner.
Berry designed a fittingly festive menu comprising beetroot and chocolate cake, stilton and fig tartlets, beef stew with ginger and horseradish, and stained glass biscuits. Guests also enjoyed a mocktail inspired by the Duchess and Berry’s visit to The Brink. Berry later reflected on the Cambridges after watching them at work.
“They don’t just arrive and shake a few hands, make a few smiles and a speech, they want to get involved, and they want to see what they can do,” she said.
“And it isn’t just one visit, they come back again and ask for the results and they remember who they spoke to last time. I think that’s remarkable.”
Throughout the programme Berry cooks up various Christmas favourites for viewers to try at home. It remains to be seen whether the Duchess shows any prowess in the kitchen.
A Berry Royal Christmas airs tomorrow at 8.30pm on BBC One