Former Bake Off judge Mary Berry shares sleeping bag hack for perfect Christmas turkey
Timing the Christmas dinner can be a festive chef's nightmare, but Dame Mary Berry has a camping-inspired trick that means you can enjoy a pre-lunch drink in peace.聽
Wednesday 14 December 2022 07:36, UK
Dame Mary Berry has revealed how she'll get perfect turkey this Christmas - and it's all down to an old sleeping bag.
The former Great British Bake Off judge, 87, revealed that, like many of us, she's guilty of overcooking the meat.
Appearing on former Radio 1 DJ Nick Grimshaw and Michelin-starred chef Angela Hartnett's podcast Dish, she explained the importance of the art of insulation.
She said she will be roasting the turkey at home before transporting it to her daughter Annabel's house.
"This time I'm cooking it without foil, I shall cover it with foil once it's done, then I shall put some tea towels over the top.
"I've got an old sleeping bag that's got no zip and I put that over the top in the corner of the kitchen and then I shall take that in the back of the car to Annabel's.
"Once you take it out of the oven, it goes on cooking. And so you want to insulate that.
"I shall pop it in the back of the car inside its sleeping bag and we'll be having drinks and lots of jollity until we need to carve it."
She will be hosting Mary Berry's Ultimate Christmas, due to air on December 19, where she reveals more of her tips for the Christmas feast.
She will also be joined by Hartnett, former MasterChef: The Professionals judge Monica Galetti and TV star Rylan Clark.
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'Loved every minute' of Bake Off
Dame Mary appeared on the Great British Bake Off for seven years alongside fellow judge Paul Hollywood and presenters Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc.
She ended her time on the show after it moved from the BBC to Channel 4 in 2017.
Reflecting on her time on the show, she said she "loved every minute of it".
"The idea from Anna Beattie will always be good, it's a brilliant format.
"It's encouraging everybody to bake. And we had such fun: Mel and Sue and Paul and me, we used to play cards when there was downtime, all funny jokey things.
"And of course, it was a godsend during COVID for those who, particularly young people, who were cooped up in COVID, they could actually bake and do things."
She added that she always tried to give some "positive thoughts" to the bakers, even when things went wrong.
"If something goes down in the middle, the person who's cooked it is so upset, and it didn't do that when they were at home," she said.
"As a judge, if I come along and say, 'But the flavour of that is quite something, you put a little bit more lemon than everybody else and it is perfect.' I don't want tears."