Canadian television host, author and cook Mary Berg stopped by London culinary store Jill’s Table on Saturday to meet with fans and sign copies of her latest cookbook, Mary’s Comfort Classics: Food to Fill Your Plate. The 36-year-old host of The Good Stuff with Mary Berg is also a judge on MasterChef Canada. She spoke with LFP reporter Allison Young.
Q: Since this cookbook is all about comfort food, which dish in the book is the most comforting for you?
A: “I’m a big mac and cheese head, so I have five different versions of mac and cheese in this cookbook. I have these things that I call comfort core recipes, where it’s mac and cheese, biscuits, focaccia, things like that, that are key recipes you can adapt and make a little bit different, depending on your tastes. Those are definitely ones, but my biggest one is probably the cheddar Ritz chicken, which is inspired by my husband’s love of chicken parmesan. It’s a chicken cutlet and this topping that my mom puts on her mac and cheese. As opposed to doing a classic breadcrumb topping, it’s crushed-up Ritz crackers, grated cheddar cheese, parmesan, and bread crumbs. You put all that on there and bake it in the oven until it gets crispy. It’s cheesy, it’s absolutely out of control.”
Q: Jill’s Table is the second stop on your book tour. What has it been like connecting with people in different communities across Canada through food and your work?
A: “Any time I do anything I’m always like, ‘who’s going to come?’ Then I turn the corner, walking to Jill’s Table today and there was a giant line out front already. It’s such a nice thing to get to share food in this way. Getting to connect with people is truly one of the greatest joys of my job. Whether it’s through my shows or through my books or through this tour, getting to talk to people and hear how my recipes that I make for my friends and my family become part of their daily routine or something that they’re proud of making, that they find easy to do, it means so much. I think life is really hard and cooking doesn’t necessarily have to be.”
People lined up outside of Jill’s Table in downtown London to meet cookbook author and TV host Mary Berg on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Allison Young/The London Free Press)
Q: Cooking often comes with memories and associations. Was there one memory that stuck with you while you were working on your latest cookbook?
A: “I think whenever you’re making comfort food, whenever I’m looking for comfort, nostalgia is such a big part of it and I think that’s the same for everybody. It could be that weird snack you made after school when your parents weren’t home yet and you would go in the fridge or cupboards and grab a bunch of stuff and dunk things in things. I used to do arrowroot cookies dipped in store-bought frosting and then in sprinkles. That was a classic for me.”
Q: There’s also a lot of work that goes into testing these recipes and putting a cookbook together that people don’t necessarily see. What is that process like?
A: “I love writing recipes. It’s not my favourite part, my favourite is probably sharing the recipes, but my second favourite part is actually writing the recipes and getting into the kitchen, getting dirty and getting it done, but it is a lot of work. Sometimes things don’t work. Actually, the cheddar Ritz chicken, I had in my head this idea that it was going to be pan-fried . . . and I kept trying, kept trying, kept trying. I think I was on Round eight or 10 of trying that recipe, trying to make it work and it kept being burnt and acrid-tasting. Then one day I was tired, I wanted to try one more time and I was like, ‘I’m just going to put it in the oven,’ and it was amazing. That’s a really good lesson to me and that’s one of the reasons I love writing recipes. Sometimes we get in our own way and sometimes taking the easy shortcut is going to be the best way to do it. For food, I genuinely think that’s true. In my recipes, I want people to try.”
Q: Along with writing your fourth cookbook, you recently returned to MasterChef Canada as a judge. What has it been like being on the other side of the table?
A: “Returning to the MasterChef kitchen has been so exciting. It’s such an honour to be part of these home cooks’ journey. It’s a little difficult for me because I know exactly what they’re feeling when they’re under the pressure of the clock, when they’re under the pressure of cameras, being around us tasting the food, and it’s a little bit tricky to hold back on my ‘it’s going be OK’ tendencies, but it’s amazing seeing these home cooks show Canada what they’ve got and put their best self on the plate.”
Q: Is there anything you hope people take away from the cookbook or your tour?
A: “I am so excited to meet people. I think comfort food is something we can all relate to. I think comfort food means something different to everybody, so in this book, there’s the classics, like mac and cheese, bread, chocolate-y things, all that stuff, but there’s also lots of vegetables. There’s lots of things that you maybe wouldn’t expect as comfort food, but I hope I put that Mary twist on it that brings comfort to your table.”
Allison Young grew up just outside London and joined The London Free Press as a reporter in 2026. She is a graduate of Carleton University’s journalism and humanities program.
ayoung@postmedia.com
