Greggs has launched its Christmas food range, bringing back the Festive Bake alongside new savoury and sweet items. A taste test of the full menu found the Festive Flatbread and White Chocolate Gingerbread Cookie to be standouts, each scoring 10/10, while the Candy Cane Mint Hot Chocolate failed to deliver any detectable mint flavour.
New and returning festive items
The popular Festive Bake is back in branches nationwide with what Greggs calls a "new and improved recipe". Also on the menu is the Festive Feast Baguette, filled with chicken, sweetcure bacon, dried cranberries, pork, sage and onion stuffing, mayonnaise, and sage and onion seasoning. A flatbread version with the same filling is available for those after something lighter.
The tasting included five festive savoury items, a hot drink and two new Christmas desserts. Among the savoury offerings is a pepperoni hot honey pizza featuring Greggs' focaccia-style base, layered with cheese, pizza sauce, jalapenos, red onion, and sweet hot honey heat. The pizza struck an ideal balance between savoury, sweet and spicy notes, avoiding the overly sugary sauce with minimal heat that many brands produce when attempting to capitalise on the hot honey trend.
Mixed results on flavour
The Candy Cane Mint Hot Chocolate, costing £2.90 for a standard size, was smooth, sweet and pleasant to drink, but no mint flavour could be detected even after a few moments. A second taster also could not taste any mint, leading to the conclusion that the drink did not live up to its name.
The iconic Festive Bake seemed to lack sufficient flavour. While there was ample chicken and ham hock filling, along with cheese, and the pork and chicken were clearly identifiable, the spiced pork stuffing and sage and cranberry sauce were virtually undetectable. The bake was not fundamentally flawed and is likely to satisfy many customers, though the flavours felt muted.
The Pigs Under Blankets Toastie came generously packed with Greggs' sausages alongside sweet cured bacon. The bacon complemented the cranberry and red onion relish beautifully, delivering the essence of a Christmas dinner's finest elements beneath a layer of melted cheese.
Standout savoury and sweet treats
The Festive Flatbread proved nothing short of exceptional, offering an ideal blend of seasonal tastes enveloped in a warming, indulgent embrace. Anyone who appreciates sage and onion stuffing, especially the distinctive flavour of Paxo, will undoubtedly adore it, and it ranks amongst the finest flatbreads Greggs has introduced.
A small pot holding six pigs in blankets made a brilliant complement to the range, with the combination of sausage and bacon harmonising beautifully. The two desserts were a brand-new Millionaire's Doughnut and a White Chocolate Gingerbread Cookie. The cookie, which has a gold sugar crunch on top, proved utterly moreish, while the millionaire's doughnut, containing caramel filling, chocolate icing and shortcake pieces, was a delightful departure from the usual jam or cream filling, though extremely messy to eat.
Final ratings
- Candy Cane Mint Hot Chocolate - 3/10 - £2.90
- Six Pigs in Blankets - 8/10 - £2.50
- Pepperoni and hot honey pizza - 8/10 - £2.70
- Pigs Under Blankets Toastie - 7/10 - £4.10
- Festive Flatbread - 10/10 - £3.75
- Festive Bake - 6/10 - £2.50
- White chocolate and gingerbread cookie - 10/10 - £1.70
- Millionaire's Doughnut - 9/10 - £1.50
