Proving there's life after The Great British Bake Off, Mary Berry is back on BBC One with Mary Berry's Country House Secrets - a series that sees her explore some of the nation's most beloved stately homes through the prism of food.

Before its launch on Wednesday, November 22, Berry recalls how she got ready in Lady Mary Crawley's Downton Abbey room, plus the joy she got from spending time with the families who run them.


HOW DID MARY BERRY'S COUNTRY HOUSE SECRETS COME ABOUT - IS IT SOMETHING YOU'VE WANTED TO DO FOR A LONG TIME?
Well, I'm quite nosy, and I've always wanted to know what goes on behind the scenes. So we chose houses that had the family living there, because many houses are National Trust and they have somebody keeping an eye on it and a lot of guides to show you round - which is lovely - but we wanted the actual people to live there as a family. And the ones we've chosen, in fact most country houses, have really got to earn their own keep now and open to have visitors in order to get their roofs repaired and everything maintained and to keep them running.
WHAT WERE SOME OF THE MOST SURPRISING THINGS YOU LEARNED?
I think the enormous effort that the owners put in to make it special for people who are visiting, to make it extra interesting. I mean, each one that we chose put forward a different thing - Highclere Castle has become very well known because of Downton Abbey, and the Carnarvon family are absolutely dedicated to the house, and they have the Tutankhamun Exhibition in the basement, and of course that was all tremendously interesting to see. But I was much more interested in seeing how they live, what they do and when I was there I went out with the gamekeepers and saw all the spaniels behaving absolutely beautifully. I did a very special casserole, a pheasant stew - a Beater stew - and this is a huge privilege, because there's several of them, and you imagine, where do they all have their lunch? They have their own lovely sort of hall that had cobwebs in, it was almost outdoors, in an untouched out-building that had a huge great table in and benches, and a roaring fire. So when they come in, after looking after the estate or back from a shoot, they all have lunch. I made them the Beater stew, and they absolutely loved it. Then they took me out with the spaniels and showed me how they behave without a lead, and they would call one of them to go and fetch something, and all the others would stand in a straight line. It was like the man and his dog, it was lovely. And they had a very special party of friends, in every house that we went to, and we had some form of celebration at the end - they had a group of friends in for dinner, I helped them with it, I helped the chef, and it was interesting seeing how Lady Carnarvon chose the menu and what part she put into it.
WHAT OTHER MOMENTS STOOD OUT FOR YOU?
I was able to go round the house and see exactly where Lady Mary put her make up on in the bedroom, and I was getting ready for the party in the same suite that Lady Mary in Downton Abbey was in. And seeing the part of the house where Lady Carnarvon lives, and she did some cooking - I think she made a salmon pate - and she cooked for me and gave me some tips, she loves fresh herbs, they have all the flowers there they grow to decorate the house when guests come, and also as the public are going round they have everything from the garden. It really does feel like a home.
WERE YOU A FAN OF DOWNTON ABBEY?
Oh, absolutely, I loved it. I never missed an episode.
IN TERMS OF THE FOOD PART OF EACH PROGRAMME, DID YOU HAVE TO DO MUCH RESEARCH BEFORE COOKING AT EACH HOUSE?
When I was in Scotland, at Scone Palace, we asked Lady Mansfield. She cooked some salmon - because everybody thinks of salmon in Scotland - and I was making the pud. I made cranachan, the classic pudding with oats and it's a bit boozy, and we had it for the party at the end. I was shown round the castle by William, the future Earl of Mansfield. He's quite young and he was so proud where he lives and I went out with the gamekeeper Roddy on the hill. We were looking at the deer and then I did venison wellington and a cock-a-leekie soup. I've done about five recipes in each programme, but in each one the owners do a bit of cooking too.

Reading Chronicle:
ARE YOU HOPING TO INSPIRE AUDIENCES TO COOK THESE RECIPES?
I hope so, they'll be interested. There'll be something there that people will fancy. I think they'll be very interested in hearing the history from the owners too - it's a privilege for them, they'll like to see them being relaxed. At Powderham, Lord Devon said he was going to do cockles, and my heart sank because I hate cockles, and they're all gritty, I thought 'ugh'. But they were absolutely delicious, because when you look out of the castle you can see in the distance the River Exe. It was quite natural that they should have cockles and it's always been a recipe that they've done in the house - it was delicious.
SO YOU TRIED SOMETHING YOU DIDN'T LIKE AND NOW YOU'VE CHANGED YOUR MIND?
I mean, I would make them again, they were absolutely delicious.
ARE YOU HOPING TO REMIND VIEWERS THAT WE LIVE IN A GREAT COUNTRY WITH A GREAT HERITAGE?
I think that a lot of people do go out when they've got a day, or if they've got a friend staying they'll go to a country house. And I think they'll be really interested to see how the people who live there actually live. And Goodwood is such an efficient, wonderful estate, it's one of the most successful ones. They have horse racing and motor racing, and the house is absolutely immaculate and full of wonderful paintings as you walk in the front door. It's amazing the way Lord March has made it interesting and having all the events there. I attended a banquet for members of the motoring club from all over the world, there were 300 there, and I helped them to cook. It was absolutely lovely.

Reading Chronicle:
IS THIS PROGRAMME PERFECT FOR COSY, AUTUMN VIEWING?
I think people are back home, the nights are drawing in and I hope they will thoroughly enjoy it.
:: Mary Berry's Country House Secrets airs on BBC One on Wednesday, November 22.
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