Nick and Angela welcome their very first Dame to DISH HQ.

The iconic food writer, baker and television presenter is synonymous with Christmas.

Mary Berry trained at the Cordon Bleu in Paris and the Bath School of Home Economics. Her passion for food quickly made her famous and over the last five decades she has been editor of food magazines, penned more than 75 cookbooks and become a much-loved star of the small screen.

For seven years Dame Mary was a judge on The Great British Bake Off with Paul Hollywood and, along with Mel and Sue, shared her inimitable sense of humour with the nation. Cheeky winks and soggy bottoms made Mary Berry must-see TV. Her latest offering, Mary Berry’s Ultimate Christmas features our very own Angela Hartnett, Rylan Clark and Monica Galetti and airs on BBC One this Christmas.

Angela prepares an organic chicken, leek and mushroom puff pie, which Mary praises for its lovely thick crust, while Nick serves the mulled wine. Our trio shares a Waitrose Christmas Chocolate Yule Log, sales of which support the Building Happier Futures fund, helping young people from care.

This conversation is full of quintessential Mary Berry moments in which she details her journey to becoming a national treasure and shares her secret to a perfect Christmas spread.

Just so you know, our podcast might contain the occasional mild swear word or adult theme.

All recipes from this podcast can be found at waitrose.com/dishrecipes

A transcript for this episode can be found at waitrose.com/dish

We can’t all have a Michelin star chef in the kitchen, but you can ask Angela for help. 

Send your questions to [email protected] and she’ll try to answer in a future episode.

Dish is a S:E Creative Studio production for Waitrose & Partners.