Greggs Stilton bake becomes its second-biggest launch

A Greggs pastry filled with Stilton cheese has become its second-biggest launch ever, beaten only by its Festive Bake, the retailer said.

The high street chain said it sold more than half a million Steak & Stilton bakes in the first week after the launch.

In an advertising gamble, Greggs offered its customers the option of swapping the Stilton bake for a standard Steak Bake free of charge if they did not enjoy the taste of the cheese.

Just 0.4% of the Stilton bakes were returned, Greggs said.

Greggs offered customers the option of swapping the Stilton bake but few took up the offer (Mike Egerton/PA)

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The bake is filled with diced beef in gravy, blue Stilton cheese and grilled onions, wrapped in puff pastry and topped with a black-pepper crumb.

Greggs previously sold a Stilton-flavoured bake seven years ago.

Zoe Harris, customer director at Greggs, said: “The debate around Stilton is clearly far from over, but we gave the nation a get-out clause and almost nobody used it.

“With hundreds of thousands of bakes sold in just one week and just 0.4% returned, it’s clear that plenty of customers were willing to take a chance on Stilton.”

The strong-flavoured blue cheese can be made only in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire or Leicestershire. It is streaked through with bluish-green veins, the result of cultivating Penicillium roqueforti mould as it matures.