The ever present glow of the Spar now shines brighter than ever ... because Mach' Spar now has a Greggs Is that not the best news you've had all week?

Our local Spar sells fresh octopus, at least everyone gets a leg.

Soon, you won’t be able to find a single bakers that isn’t greggs.

They just need to sync opening hours. If the greggs by the spar on the BB300 had been open I think I'd have broken down in tears.

pistonbroke wrote: ↑Thu Dec 01, 2022 10:35 pm Our local Spar sells fresh octopus, at least everyone gets a leg.

(and that's as a veggie )

PaulB2 wrote: ↑Thu Dec 01, 2022 10:51 pm Soon, you won’t be able to find a single bakers that isn’t greggs.

None over here They used to say The Island was 10 years behind the mainland but we've been catching up. But in the world of bakers we're still in the 70s as far as I know they're family owned and most only have one shop.

We also only have one SPAR, again there are still lots of independent convenience stores.

Soon, you won’t be able to find a single bakers that isn’t greggs.

Perhaps true but we don't have much in the way of bakers here. Those there are don't tend to be great, don't do bacon butties and are often closed or sold out by noon.

Greggs has a policy that they won't reheat items (and don't really know the difference between a lukewarm quorn pasty and a vegetable pasty) Stu. So they will just dish them out as they are (Lukewarm).

I've attempted to keep up a good relationship with em but this last time they got the vegetable pasty confused with a quorn version (technically they were right so I had to stop my complaint mid-air) and I ended up thinking I'd bitten into non-halal chicken. Then frantically trying to cough it out before going back and inducing a self vomit in the toilets, I decided not to ever go there again

Sorry, I know this was supposed to be an exciting time of our lives, but sadly not for me. As you were everyone and enjoy them lukewarm pasties...

I have a simple solution to the 'lukewarm pasty' problem and if in doubt, I ask the assistant "are the steak bakes still warm?". They will generally place a hand inside a paper bag and feel said pastry product to determine its relative heat content. They then pass this information on to me, who armed with said information is free to make a decision as to whether I should purchase a steak bake or move on to a sausage roll.

Weirdly, any Greggs with a drive-through facility keeps their pasties in a heated cabinet.

Good point Stu. I've never actually asked em the, 'they still warm' question. I think I always forget that the heated cabinet maybe doesn't keep em as hot as we need.

Might try that

Congrats on your new Greggs btw Stu

the heated cabinet maybe doesn't keep em as hot as we need.

Only the drive-throughs have those Shaf'. Non-heated in 'standard' Greggs hence the potential for a cold pastie.

Now I'm wondering if someone has done a tour of the Greggs of Mid Wales.

If food is hot but below 65,deg c. Isn't that the perfect temp breeding for bacteria?
Above 65 kills it off., Below 4deg cv really stalls growth

Am I missing something....

ledburner wrote: ↑Fri Dec 02, 2022 11:21 am If food is hot but below 65,deg c. Isn't that the perfect temp breeding for bacteria?
Above 65 kills it off., Below 4deg cv really stalls growth

Am I missing something....

Yes, that's absolutely right Dan and the reason why Greggs really baffles me with their 'we don't reheat' policy. Well mentioned...

There used to be a really good local chain of bakers in the South Lakes called Birketts - they got taken over by Greggs. Let's just say the quality isn't what it used to be: instead of freshly made sandwiches you get standard prepackaged fare; pies, pasties and the like are now pale insipid affairs with the pastry best described as "clarty".

Here in the Skipton area we've a local chain - Wild's - that so far seems to have avoided being taken over. They are pretty decent but there's an ingredient in one or two of their cakes that I've an intolerance to.

If food is hot but below 65,deg c. Isn't that the perfect temp breeding for bacteria?
Above 65 kills it off., Below 4deg cv really stalls growth

Above does not kill it all off - it was 73 last time i did the course but even then that just killed most things

Re this its like the 5 second rule - its not really warm enough for long enough for bacteria to grow but yeah if you left it there for day it would have more than a pasty stored at room temperature which would have more than one in a fridge

We used to have a really good local bakers right in a central location in town but then Greggs moved in further down the high street, stole the student crowd, and eventually bought out the local shop. When covid hit they just kept the central location which now has queues out the door every lunchtime.

One of our Co-ops in Brixham has shut and is reopening as a Spar. Soon our little town will be a Bikepacking Mecca

PaulB2 wrote: ↑Thu Dec 01, 2022 10:51 pm Soon, you won’t be able to find a single bakers that isn’t greggs.

Then I'll know for sure that human intelligence is an evolutionary dead end.

Dave Barter wrote: ↑Fri Dec 02, 2022 1:15 pm One of our Co-ops in Brixham has shut and is reopening as a Spar. Soon our little town will be a Bikepacking Mecca

Definitely a retrograde step. Spar is just a sub standard Coop with higher prices. And don't get me started on Greggs. I had a chicken bake type thing from there that was a soggy square of pastry filled with what looked like canned chicken soup. Ugh. Why is it that mediocrity always seems to triumph in this country?

Soon our little town will be a Bikepacking Mecca

I foresee Cycling UK producing a new route simply so people can call in.

Hey, all the hate for Greggs and even the Spar ... when it's all you've got on a wet cold evening.

I don't hate Greggs, I've had many a sausage roll and steak bake over the years, I just wish that economies of scale and the drive for the lowest common denominator didn't wipe out all the alternatives.

I'm not sure about these lukewarm comments on steak bakes either as I've lost the roof of my mouth to several over the years

PaulB2 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 02, 2022 3:07 pmI just wish that economies of scale and the drive for the lowest common denominator didn't wipe out all the alternatives.

This x 1000. The end product is driven by price ("we are providing food at prices people can afford") rather than quality. The irony is that much food is wasted because of the "3 for 2' and BOGOF promotions with the extra "value" lying in cupboards until it is inedible so folk end up paying an effectively higher price for the food they actually do eat.

Stu - I'm not against Greggs, like Phil I was rather looking forward to indulging myself at the one attached to the 24hr filling station on the BB300 route, I'm just under no illusion about the level of quality.

Stu - I'm not against Greggs, like Phil I was rather looking forward to indulging myself at the one attached to the 24hr filling station on the BB300 route, I'm just under no illusion about the level of quality.

Absolutely Bob. I was simply trying to put it in a mid-Wales context, not Bristol high street (assuming Bristol has a high st?).