Greggs is the bakery that’s adored across the nation – but one common grumble is that sometimes the food just isn’t served as warm as we’d all like.
It’s a uniquely soul-crushing experience to be eyeing up that perfect golden glossy pastry, all in neat rows, dreaming of the moment you sink your teeth through its flaky layers into the meaty middle, only to bite into a cold, limp, claggy sausage roll.
And it’s not a one-off – it’s pretty normal to be handed a lukewarm baked good in Greggs.
On Twitter, one person said: “The day I go to Greggs and don’t get given a cold steak bake will be the best day of my life”
Someone else said: “@GreggsOfficial is so sh*t. Why do we keep this cold pasty flogging business open? Never have I ever, left greggs and thought ‘wow what a nice hot pasty’.”
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Sausage rolls aren’t kept warm at Greggs.
But it turns out there is a perfectly good reason that Greggs doesn’t keep its food piping hot for its customers – and it’s a pretty smart business move.
The bakery giant chooses not to heat its food because of a tax loophole.
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In the UK, businesses are charged VAT on hot food to take away, but they aren’t charged it on cold food to take away.
John Thomson, who narrated the documentary, said: “They’re not being lazy, they’re being clever.”
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James Oldfield, a former store manager, revealed: “Most places will be keeping their product warm. The reason Greggs can have such reasonable prices is because they don’t have to charge VAT because they’re not keeping them warm, just baking them fresh.”
Instead of keeping their food heated, Greggs teams choose to bake their pastries (which are delivered frozen) in small batches, little and often, in the hopes that customers always get a freshly-baked lunch.
Greggs has confirmed a way to get yourself a hot sausage roll though – you just have to ask the question.
They said on Twitter: “We don’t serve our Bakes as hot as we’d need to charge VAT if we did.
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“You can always ask our Shop Team what’s fresh from the oven.”
Featured image: Greggs
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Channel 4 needs adult virgins with ‘intimacy issues’ for next series of hit reality show
Emily Sergeant
Channel 4 is back looking for more adult virgins to take part in the potential next series of its hit reality show Virgin Island.
If you’re unfamiliar with Virgin Island, it’s unlike anything ever seen on TV before.
First hitting screens back in 2024 and having run for two successful seasons now, Virgin Island follows the journey of a group of adult virgins who are whisked off to a Mediterranean island retreat to learn life-changing skills in the art of intimacy.
Working with leading international therapists, the aim is to help the young people overcome their fears and insecurities when it comes to intimacy and sex.
Channel 4 said it chose to commission the show after a recent study into intimacy found out that one in eight British 26-year-olds is, apparently, still a virgin.
A casting call for the new series on the Channel 4 website reads: “Are you a virgin and do you need help and guidance with your fears and insecurities around intimacy and sex? Double Act Productions is casting adults for a potential second series of Virgin Island.”
You just need to be over 21 years of age to take part in the show.
Fancy it then? Or know someone who may be up for the ride? Applications for the potential next series of Virgin Island are now open, and there’s still plenty of time left to put your name down.
You can find out more and register your interest here.
Featured Image – Channel 4
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Pep Guardiola in talks over first international management role
Danny Jones
Football icon and Manchester City legend Pep Guardiola is reportedly set for his first job since leaving the Etihad Stadium, as the Catalan head coach looks like he could be set to make his move into international management.
The generational manager, who has undoubtedly become one of, if not the greatest of all time, left Man City at the end of last season after a decade in East Manchester.
Stepping away from the sky blue side with 20 trophies in 10 years, he’s won pretty much everything there is to win – at least at club level, anyway.
With that in mind, multiple outlets are now claiming that Guardiola is getting ready to make his debut on the international circuit, already being heavily linked with a role as part of ‘gli Azzurri’.
EXCLUSIVE: The FIGC has met with Pep Guardiola to convince him to take over as national team head coach, according to Sky in Italy 🚨🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/qmzjunjur4
Yes, as per Sky News’ sporting arm over in Italy, Pep is now rumoured to be the next person to take the job in their national team, which would be his first proper senior position in international football.
According to Sky, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) have already held meetings with the former Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City boss.
It remains unclear how advanced talks and/or negotiations have progressed up to this point, but it is said that fellow footballing veteran and AC Milan legend turned FIGC technical director, Paolo Maldini, has already travelled to meet the 55-year-old.
Believed to have been joined by former teammate and right-hand man Leonardo Araújo – who previously served as director at PSG – it looks to be more a case of whether Pep wants the job rather than if Italy want him.
From announcing a documentary series covering his final season at Man City, to even launching a dedicated ‘Decade of Pep’ fashion collection, it’s fair to say that both the club and the fan base are bidding a bittersweet goodbye.
Pep has already made it clear that he can’t see himself ever managing the Spanish national team, remarking: “I am a Catalan. I don’t see myself ever managing Spain.”
Meanwhile, other names rumoured as options for the Italian manager’s job include Andrea Pirlo and a return by fellow ex-MCFC boss, Roberto Mancini. Can you see Pep pipping any of these to the post?
As for his former club and ‘second home’, Cityzens will be glad to hear that while it may be all change over at the Etihad Campus, there is plenty to be hopeful about – including some steps more in the right direction when it comes to tickets.
Daisy Jackson -
15th April 2022 
