Mary Makes It Easy on BBC2 sees the popular TV cook teach her celebrity friends how to make delicious, fuss-free meals with some easy-to-follow recipes. Across six episodes she comes to the aid of some well-known faces, including Mel Giedroyc, Anton du Beke, Lorraine Kelly and Michael Ball, who are all struggling with a different cooking dilemma. Luckily for us, she also walks us through each dish so we can make it at home, too!
There's also an accompanying cook book of Mary Makes It Easy which is jam-packed full of her delicious recipes and top tips from the show.
So here’s everything you need to know about Mary Makes It Easy on BBC2…
Mary Makes It Easy release date
Mary Makes It Easy is a six-part series starting on BBC2 on Thursday November 2 at 7.30pm. Each 30-minute episode will also be shown on BBCiPlayer and be available for the rest of 2023.
Which celebrities are helped in Mary Makes It Easy?
Mary Makes It Easy sees Dame Mary help out a host of famous friends, starting with Mel Giedroyc, who’s feeling stuck in a rut when it comes to weekend meals! To help out, Mary joins Mel on a camping trip where she teaches her how to make a warming chestnut mushroom soup, a veggie ragu and individual raspberry parfaits.
Later in the series, Mary helps Radio 1 DJ Jordan North bring his cooking skills up a level, and teaches novice cook Anton Du Beke some simple recipes. She’s also on hand to give her pals Lorraine Kelly, Michael Ball and AJ Odudu some top culinary tips.
What recipes can we expect in Mary Makes It Easy?
In the first episode of Mary Makes It Easy there’s a chicken tartiflette with reblochon cheese and parma ham, and a ciabatta tricolore – a bit like an easy pizza. Meanwhile, later in the series, we can also learn how to rustle up Mary’s impressive vegetable wellington, as well as a beef cannelloni, a super speedy chicken escalope and a Thai-style stir fry, among other delicious dishes. Some of Mary’s delicious puddings and sweet treats include a glorious red velvet cake, Portuguese custard tarts and a mouthwatering apple and pear open pie! We can’t wait to get our pinnies on and get started!
Mary Makes It Easy episode guide
Here's a brief episode guide to Mary Makes It Easy...
Episode 1: Weekend Wonders
Mary Berry joins good friend Mel Giedroyc on a riverside camping trip and shares delicious fuss-free recipes from warming chestnut soup to speedy veg ragu and creamy raspberry parfaits, all cooked on a camping stove.
Episode 2: More Will Than Skill
Mary teaches Jordan North some simple recipes to impress his pals, including a delicious vegetable wellington and a chocolate velvet cake – and as a thank you takes her to the pub for a pint and game of darts!
Episode 3: Starting From Scratch
On the pier at Bournemouth, beginner Anton du Beke learns how to make crispy squid, followed by chicken escalope and Portuguese tarts. There’s also time for a waltz and ride on the Ferris wheel!
Episode 4: Simple Time Savers
Enlisted by Lorraine Kelly’s daughter, Rosie, Mary surprises the TV star on set of her live show and teaches her some simple recipes from a fragrant Thai-style stir fry to sea bream with samphire.
Episode 5: Stress-Free Cooking
AJ Odudu finds cooking stressful. But, knowing that she’s recently discovered the joys of gardening, Mary takes her to an allotment and teaches her how to make a fuss-free tiger prawn courgetti and a rich aubergine bhuna.
Episode 6: Adventurous Cooking
Mary shows keen cook Michael Ball how to be more daring in the kitchen, especially with desserts. On stage at Michael’s current West End musical, they make an easy key lime pie, while Mary also creates an incredible chocolate celebration cake.
Mary Berry talks us through Mary Makes It Easy
How would you describe your new series Mary Makes It Easy?
Mary says: "It’s a collection of first courses, main courses and puddings, but they’re all very simple. So there aren’t too many ingredients, a lot of them are in one tray in the oven or one pot on top of the stove, and they’re recipes that your family will enjoy. We also have lots of tips on things like whether you can freeze meals or whether you can make them ahead."
Did you enjoy cooking alongside your celebrity guests?
Mary says: "I love having somebody by my side when I’m cooking, and to have the celebrities was a real bonus because they all wanted to learn how to cook or to do something special for an occasion. I hope I gave them confidence and passed on a few tips!’
You and Mel Giedroyc know each other from Bake Off. What was it like working with her again?
Mary says: "We’ve been friends for 20 years and for this series we went camping together, which was wonderful! She wanted a few ideas for meals that she could make on camping holidays. So we made some wonderful soup and did a lovely pasta dish. But she put up the tent, which I couldn’t have dreamt of doing!"
You also help Radio 1 DJ Jordan North learn some new skills…
Mary reveals: "Normally when Jordan he has people round he does a so-called ‘picky tea.’ So a selection of bowls filled with things like olives, cubes of cheese and crisps – and that’s it! I was able to stretch his cooking vocabulary and he really appreciated it. We also made a delicious chocolate velvet cake, which he thought was wonderful – I think he’ll have a go at cooking it again!"
You had your work cut out with Anton du Beke, didn’t you?
Mary reveals "Yes! He’s a very keen cook, but when I asked him what he likes to make he just said, ‘I cook eggs – boiled eggs, fried eggs, poached eggs and omelettes!’ So basically he wanted some new ideas for his family and he was very keen to learn. He’s quite a showman in the kitchen, I must say!’
Lorraine Kelly’s daughter Rosie enlisted your help as she normally cooks for her mum, but now she’s leaving home. Were you surprised Lorraine didn’t cook much?
Mary says: "Lorraine has a very difficult time because she’s on television every single day and has little time for cooking. She was very grateful Rosie cooked at home, but now Rosie’s flying the nest. So I gave her some ideas and she was really keen to learn. She hasn’t cooked fish much, so I showed her how to do a fish dish and we also did a delicious stir-fry.’
How did you help AJ Odudu with her cooking dilemma?
Mary says: "AJ loves healthy food, particularly vegetables, so I showed her how to do a courgetti. It’s basically a stir-fry and it makes a very light lunch. With a potato peeler that has an attachment you simply pull down a courgette and it goes into a lovely shred-like spaghetti and then you add all sorts of other veg. It’s delicious!"
You don’t just cook with Michael Ball, but you sing with him, too. What was that like?
Mary explains: "We actually did our cooking in the theatre. I also had a little sing-a-long with him and gosh, his voice is so memorable. It was a privilege! I hope the series inspires people to get going and do some home cooking from scratch!’
Is there a trailer for Mary Makes It Easy?
No trailer for Mary Makes It Easy is available yet, but watch this space!
