A former Greggs employee has revealed the best time of day to visit the bakery chain to secure a hot pastry, and it is not first thing in the morning.
Greggs, which has more than 2,700 outlets across Britain, is one of the UK's most iconic bakery chains. The writer, who spent much of her university years working at the chain, said the most frequent customer complaint was that food was not as warm as expected.
Why pastries are not kept hot
The explanation comes down to VAT. In the UK, cold baked goods and items left out to cool are zero-rated for VAT. By allowing freshly baked pasties and sausage rolls to cool on shelves, without heated storage or heat-retaining packaging, Greggs is able to keep prices affordable.
Despite this, the writer confirmed there is one particular time of day when customers stand the best chance of getting a freshly warmed pastry.
Best time to visit Greggs
While mornings at Greggs were largely centred around hot breakfast rolls and coffee, only a limited number of pastries are prepared at opening time to prevent food waste. Customers may face a wait of approximately 15 minutes while a fresh one is baked.
The recommended time is the peak lunchtime rush, roughly between 12pm and 2pm. Although there may be a queue, staff were continually bringing freshly baked, piping hot pastries, sausage rolls and bakes straight from the oven to serve.
Popular items and cakes
The most popular items, such as sausage rolls, steak bakes and chicken bakes, were always given priority, meaning customers stand a better chance of securing these while they are still hot. If a customer ahead is purchasing lunch for an entire workplace, it is possible to request items and the team may be able to put fresh ones in the oven.
For cakes, a morning visit is recommended for the freshest offerings. They arrive daily and are positioned in the display cabinets, so the earlier the visit, the softer they will be. Unlike savoury snacks, all cakes are delivered ready-made, so there is no possibility of staff preparing a fresh one if a favourite choice is sold out.
