NBC's 'Today' talks with Lucy Pollock, 98, Latrobe baking sensation
From her Latrobe kitchen to Facebook and now to NBC’s “Today,” Lucy Pollock’s baking skills keep reaching wider audiences.
The 98-year-old started gaining recognition in the early days of the pandemic when her daughter and housemate, Mary Ellen Raneri, started sharing Pollock’s baking skills on live Facebook sessions. Mary Ellen’s husband, Phil Raneri, captures the lessons on his cellphone.
“Baking With Lucy” took off, earning followers around the globe, an upcoming cookbook and, this morning, a national television appearance.
In a Wednesday morning segment, host Jenna Bush Hager talked with Pollock about the kitchen skills she learned from her own mother in a household of eight children.
“It was fun, and Jenna Bush is so nice,” Mary Ellen Raneri said of the Oct. 21 interview. “NBC was awesome and so kind to my mom.”
.@JennaBushHager spoke with 98-year-old Lucy Pollock, who became a viral sensation with her baking video series while quarantining in Pennsylvania with her family. pic.twitter.com/pT9T56Y0ej
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) November 18, 2020
When asked how she felt about going live on Facebook, Pollock said she told her daughter, “’All right, I hope I do good.’ I’m just happy I’m able to help people.”
Hager confessed that she isn’t a great baker, and Pollock countered, “You will be if you listen to me.”
For others who doubt their skills in following her recipes, Pollock added, “If I can do them, they can do them.”
Hager also told Pollock that she reminded her of her late grandmother, former first lady Barbara Bush.
Pollock shared some basic baking tips, such as shopping sales for pricey items, having ingredients at room temperature before starting and having a cool place for the finished product when it comes out of the oven.
There was another, less-obvious tip for these harried times: Don’t bake if you’re tired, because it will become a chore instead of the joy that it should be.
Pollock also held up a couple of sugar cookies she had baked for Hager to see.
“Were those baked with love?” the host asked.
“You bet your boots they were!” Pollock responded.
Pollock’s recipes for a crunchy apple crisp and a seasonal applesauce cake with caramel frosting are available at today.com/food.
Shirley McMarlin is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Shirley by email at smcmarlin@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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