Why I’m more like Mary Berry than you think, by hijab-wearing Bake Off star
AT first they may not seem that similar. One is a hijab- wearing Muslim with for whom desserts were not a cultural essential. The other is the doyenne of the cream sponge.
But Great British Bake Off semi-finalist Nadiya Hussain and veteran judge Mary Berry have more than their cheerful smiles in common.
For like Miss Berry, 80, Mrs Hussain was inspired to cook thanks to the devoted efforts of a teacher at school.
And Mrs Hussain, who is of Bangladeshi heritage, says she is every bit as much into ‘bunting, tea and cake’.
Ahead of tomorrow night’s semi-final, the mother of three told Radio Times: ‘Originally, I was a bit nervous that perhaps people would look at me, a Muslim in a headscarf, and wonder if I could bake. But I hope that week by week people have realised that I can bake – and just because I’m not a stereotypical British person, it doesn’t mean that I am not into bunting, cake and tea.
‘I’m just as British as anyone else, and I hope I have proved that. The feedback I have had reveals how accepting people are of different cultures and religions.’
She developed her love of baking aged 12 at Challney High School in Luton. One teacher encouraged her to excel.
‘I remember my teacher Mrs Marshall saying I was really good. I got so into it that when Mrs Marshall used to prepare for her next class at lunchtime I would sneak in and watch her,’ Mrs Hussain said.
‘Over four years I got quite good. I love making British classics, things that Mrs Marshall taught me.’ Miss Berry, also a mother of three, has previously revealed she struggled at Bath High School until being taken under the wing of a domestic science teacher who noticed her baking skill.
She once said: ‘I was naughty, a real monkey, hopeless at academic subjects. Miss Date was wonderful! Miss Date praised me, she helped me, she encouraged me. I can remember bringing home the first thing I made there, a treacle sponge pudding. Dad tasted it and said, “That’s really good, as good as Mummy’s”.’
Mrs Hussain revealed that when she entered Bake Off she would practise her skills, repeating a receipe until she got it right, into the early hours of the morning after putting her children – aged nine, eight and four – to bed.