Greggs has launched a new Steak and Stilton Bake, and two Daily Record colleagues have offered wildly differing verdicts on the pastry snack. The new bake, which went on sale on Thursday 3 September, combines diced beef in rich gravy with blue stilton cheese and onions, wrapped in flaky puff pastry and topped with a black pepper crumb.
The launch is an ode to the steak and cheese roll, which was last on Greggs' shelves in 2019. Seven years later, the chain has decided to try another cheesy steak bake. Greggs is so confident customers will love the new offering that it is giving buyers a 'Stilton Insurance' when they purchase it.
Stilton Insurance and Pricing
The insurance policy comes as a pamphlet with every Steak and Stilton Bake sold. If a customer decides they do not like it, they can return it for a regular steak bake. The policy states it covers: "Nibbled Steak and Stilton Bakes, not being a stilton person, second bite scepticism, and for 'questionable taste buds.'"
The bake is priced at £3 for eating in and £2.50 for takeaway. Greggs' iconic steak bake is said to sell a staggering 123,000 across the UK every day.
Split Verdict from Tasters
Eilidh Farquhar, a Trainee Trends, Showbiz and Lifestyle Writer, admitted she was not the biggest fan of cheese, let alone blue cheese, so she enlisted a colleague to give a second opinion. On her first bite, she found it mainly pastry with a hint of cheese. Curious if the strength of the cheese would build, she ventured for a second bite and soon found she had eaten half of the bake.
While there is a distinct stilton taste, the beef and pastry softened its distracting flavours without completely smothering it out. Farquhar was pleasantly surprised that she somewhat enjoyed the bake, but does not think she would buy it again and it did not make her favourites list.
Colleague's Rave Review
Her colleague, Daily Record's Assistant Editor Mark Smith, disagreed with her lacklustre review. He claimed the savoury treat has "reignited his love" for the steak bake. He said: "As a lifelong Greggs devotee, the steak bake had always been my go to pastry lunch. But in recent years, I felt things were getting tired. Like any long term relationship, things had started to go a bit stale.
"The gravy didn't seem to have the salty hit it had when we first started out together. The meat was starting to get a bit chewy and flabby round the edges. But this steak and stilton combo is has re-ignited my love of the steak bake.
"The pastry is crispy and has some sort of crunchy salty stuff on top that gives it an instant umami hit. The sauce is basically melted stilton mixed in with beefy gravy. Who couldn't love that? So glad to see this back on the Greggs menu... and I might even try a humble, normal steak bake again just to see if it's also back to top form."
Whether a lover of stilton or wary of the stinky cheese, Farquhar suggests it is worth giving the new Steak and Stilton Bake a try - especially with the insurance policy currently in place.
