What’s The Word, Mary Berg? Award-Winning Chef and TV Host Talks Up Her New Series MARY MAKES IT EASY

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede It’s time to play a fun game of word association with Mary Berg! First, the facts: Berg’s new series MARY MAKES IT EASY, which debuts Monday, Sept. 6, at 8 p.m. ET on CTV Life Channel, sees the two-time Canadian Screen Award-winner, TV personality, chef, former MASTERCHEF CANADA champion, and author hosting a show that is somewhat different philosophically from her previous project, MARY’S KITCHEN CRUSH. “I think MARY’S KITCHEN CRUSH was definitely all about the event, the having people over, but MARY MAKES IT EASY is more about the actual cooking in the kitchen,” Berg explained. “It’s about you and me hanging out, making something as easy and delicious as possible, where at the end you’ll be like, ‘Yeah! I did that!’ This is more about the process, figuring it out together, getting through it, and hopefully building some confidence in your own kitchen, with me as your little bud.” Okay, to further whet viewers’ appetites – literally and figuratively – for Berg’s new show, her job now is to listen to the following phrases, and list the first three things that come into her mind. Short and sweet. “Keep it brief, Berg, I got it,” she confirmed. “Best food smells.” BERG: “Lemon zest. A chicken roasting in the oven. And my mom’s mac and cheese.” “Surprise guests.” BERG: “Cheese drawer, just raid your cheese drawer, throw it on a thing and put it out, so they have snacks, and it gives you time to figure out the rest. Next, I would say risotto, it’s a great fridge clean-out, it seems impressive, but it’s so simple. And lots of wine. At the very least, they can have wine with their cheese.” “Biggest cooking mistakes.” BERG: “This is a classic one, but not salting all the way through. I think a lot of people don’t recognize that you’re salting to remove water, which has no taste, from things that concentrate the flavour. So it’s not just to make things salty, it’s to make things taste more like themselves. So not salting all the way through, that’s one. Second, doing that last taste, a last taste before it goes out, before you serve it, before you eat it. If it’s a little dull, you can add a bit of vinegar, or a little bit of lemon juice, or citrus, or something to brighten it up. If it’s a little lacklustre, a bit of salt will help. If it’s just missing something that you can’t put your finger on, a bit of butter, or a little bit of nice olive oil, might just bring exactly what you need, because that carries flavour. Those little last-minute things can help bring a dish from good to great. And then finally, I would say that taking food way too seriously is a big cooking mistake. Food is usually delicious and it doesn’t have to be perfect. So when you put it down on the table, don’t point out all the flaws in it that you see, because nobody else sees them – they’re just pumped that they didn’t have to cook.” “Every kitchen needs … ” BERG: “Every kitchen needs a cast iron skillet. I go with a nine-inch or a 10-inch. Great all-purpose pan. Every kitchen needs a rasp or a microplane. It’s like a woodworking tool but it’s for the kitchen. It’s great for mincing garlic, getting zest off citrus, grating cheese, getting fresh spices like nutmeg into things. I use it every single day. And finally, one good chef’s knife. You don’t need a whole bunch. You just need one that will work for everything, from cutting cake, to carving a turkey, to chopping onions, everything.” “And finally, describe MARY MAKES IT EASY in three words.” BERG: “Oooohhhh … first I’m going to go with ‘comfortable,’ that’s a huge one, I think everyone wants more comfort in their lives. Second, I’ll say ‘goofy,’ and I don’t know if that’s a good one, but what I mean by that is, not too serious. And third – this is so cheesy, I’m so sorry – but ‘love.’ Food is all about love. It’s all about showing the people in your life that you love them – and that includes yourself. Food should not stress you out. It should just bring you comfort and love, with a little bit of goofiness on the side.” billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv