Baking guru Mary Berry said she was “astonished” by her huge Teesside welcome - as she visited the area to open the new Barker and Stonehouse superstore.
The Great British Bake off judge drew hundreds of fans to the Teesside Park store, which opened to the public for the first time this morning.
Speaking to The Gazette, Mary said: “I haven’t been to Teesside before but I am astonished by the welcome I have had.
“Everyone has been marvellous and so nice. I haven’t had much of a chance to see anywhere else in the area yet, but it is a lovely part of the world.”
And while she told The Gazette earlier in the week that she’d never tasted a parmo, she said: “If there is a chance to try one while I’m here, I’ll give it a go.”
More than 400 people queued in the rain to be allowed into the store at 10am, and then lined the store’s staircase, balconies and even peered in through the window from outside to get the best vantage point to see Mary cut a large cake in the shape of a Union Jack inspired sofa.
And asked if she had any tips for Teesside bakers, Mary said: “Measure your ingredients carefully, make sure you choose a good recipe and always use the correct sized tin.”
She even helped Gazette photographer Katie Lunn with her baking problem, a Swiss Roll that failed to rise: “Make sure you use a smaller tin,” said Mary.
First in the queue to meet Mary at 9.10am was Great Ayton grandmother Christine Spink, who brought her grandchildren Jack Vernon, 12, and Neave Hunstman, 16.
Jack, also from Great Ayton, said: “We are big British Bake Off fans and we can’t wait to see Mary Berry.”
25-year-old Kimberley McConnell, who works for Student Finance England and lives in Thornaby, said: “I queued since about 9.10am. Mary Berry is fantastic and I always follow the recipes in her cookbooks, her Victoria Sponge is always a winner. I’m hoping to ask her a tip about her Christmas cake recipe.”
Acklam 11-year-old Ella Pollard, who goes to St Edward’s School, brought a Mary Berry cookbook along to be signed with her God-mother Tracey Sedgwick, from Stockton.
Tracey, who works at Trinity Catholic College in Middlesbrough, said: “We should ask her about her mini-banoffee pies, because they don’t seem to work for us!
“The new store looks very impressive, I particularly like the living wall garden.”
The £4.5m flagship Barker and Stonehouse store is on the site of the old Springs gym at Teesside Park.
Stand out features at the 48,270sq ft store include a living wall - with a self sufficient water irrigation system coming from a 9,500 litre tank from the roof top - a cafe headed up by the former owner of renowned Norton eatery Cafe Lilli and exposed steel girders weighing 270 tonnes.
In the near future there will also be a grassed roof terrace, overlooking the nearby Thornaby Golf Club course.
Lillian Pallent, a retired caterer from Skelton Green, visited the store with her daughter Lynn Maidman, a midwife from Hemlington.
She said: “I had just come to see Mary to be honest, but I’m very impressed. There are some lovely things here.”
Lynn said: “I am looking for a bed, but I brought mum because she’s a massive fan. You can’t be on a diet in our family, it’s like the Great British Bake Off in her house every Sunday!”
Managing Director James Barker, whose grandfather founded the store in Stockton in 1946, also attended the opening with his family.
Store manager Steve Baxter said: “It’s great to see so many people here.
“This is a flagship store and the staff have worked incredibly hard to get to this point.
“Some might have come to see Mary, but they’ll also wander round and maybe be reintroduced to our brand.”
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