Food critic Sam Wilder visited five bakeries in Salisbury, Wiltshire, to compare their most popular savoury and sweet items, ultimately crowning Cornish Bakery the winner with an overall score of 9/10. Neither high-street giant Greggs nor upmarket chain Gail's made his top two.
The Contenders and Their Scores
Sam, whose YouTube content covers "budget food challenges, UK eats, and fast food fiascos", rated each item on a scale of 1 to 5 before giving each bakery an overall score out of 10. The final rankings were: Cornish Bakery (9/10), Reeve the Baker (8.5/10), Greggs (8/10), Gail's (7/10), and Wenzel's (6/10).
At Wenzel's, Sam tried a piri piri filled baguette for £4.99, scoring it 3.5/5, and a strawberry and vanilla filled croissant for £2.99, scoring it 2.5/5. He described the baguette as "genuinely really good", praising the cheese and chicken, but noted the croissant was let down by its pastry.
Gail's and Greggs Impress
At Gail's, Sam ordered a parmesan chicken sandwich for £8.20 and an apple and blackberry crumble cake for £4.50. He scored the sandwich 4/5, calling the chicken "juicy" and "beautifully breaded", and the cake 3/5, saying it was "nice" but not his "favourite thing".
Greggs' trademark sausage roll for £1.35 earned a 4/5 score, with Sam noting the warm pastry was "perfect". The caramel custard doughnut for £1.40 also scored 4/5, leaving Sam "clearly impressed". Greggs finished with an overall 8/10.
The Top Two
Cornish Bakery's farmhouse sausage roll for £6 and cherry and almond croissant for £4.35 both scored 4.5/5. Sam described the sausage roll as "better than the Greggs one" and the croissant as "absolutely unreal".
Reeve the Baker's Wiltshire pasty for £4.35 scored 4.5/5, while the Belgian bun for £2.05 scored 4/5. Sam praised the pasty's seasoning and "flaky" pastry, and called the bun "one of my favourite desserts I've had today".
Summing up, Sam said: "Unfortunately, Reeve fell just short of the top spot, but I'm happy I got to try them again. I'll be running back to the Cornish Bakery, though." He added: "Plenty more to try, and I'll definitely have to get a pasty next time. So, after all that, the Cornish Bakery wins."
