I’ve got the edge on Delia because I had kids to give me feedback, jibes Mary the stirrer
WHEN discussing her beloved recipes and kitchen shortcuts, Mary Berry looks like butter wouldn’t melt.
But it would seem the veteran cook has a steely competitive streak in her.
For the 81-year-old made an uncharacteristic jibe at childless celebrity chef Delia Smith during a discussion about her career.
When asked about the influence of her family, the former Great British Bake Off judge said: ‘Because I’ve got children I’m very lucky because they say “Don’t do that again, mum”.’
However, the mother-of-three then made an out- of-the-blue comment about Miss Smith, 75, who has long spoken of her regret at not raising a family.
‘I always feel that Delia, who I think is absolutely brilliant, hasn’t had the advantage of having children like I have, because you don’t half get the truth,’ she added.
‘I get the truth from my husband too, and sometimes I get really hurt.’
Her comments were made during a talk on Monday. Miss Smith had touched on the issue in an interview in 2011, when she said that not having children helped her career.
The food writer, who has been married to writer Michael Wynn- Jones for 46 years, told Yours magazine: ‘Yes, I would have loved to have had children. It wasn’t to be, but I have loved what I’ve been able to do by not having children.
‘Maybe one of the reasons I’ve been so successful in my career is down to the fact I haven’t had any children.’
It is not the first time in the last year that motherhood has become something of a battleground in discussions about women’s careers.
A row erupted last July when Conservative leadership candidate Andrea Leadsom, who is a mother-of-three, suggested that having children made her a better choice than Theresa May to be prime minister.
She said at the time: ‘I have children who are going to have children who will directly be part of what happens next.’
During Monday’s panel discussion in London – called An Evening with Mary Berry – the cook was asked what she thought about being replaced by Prue Leith on Channel 4’s version of The Great British Bake Off.
She predicted the food writer would be ‘incredibly different’ to her, adding: ‘I’m delighted that Prue Leith has been chosen, she has the knowledge, she has the personality. I think she will be incredibly different but I think she will do really well.
‘For me, it’s very nice that they have chosen someone who has the knowledge and who will enjoy it. I think she will be very very good.’ Miss Berry also told the audience that the recent clean-eating trend was ‘right off my list’.
She explained: ‘I think we should eat a little of everything. It’s the excess that doesn’t do us good.’
‘I’m very lucky as I have children’