Excellent Product, Excellent Service... Well Done Pick 'n Pay

Having been a home baker from the age of 12, I had come to realize at an early age that no two cakes are made the same. In fact, I think that many factors influence the outcome of a recipe, from the weather and quality of ingredients, right to the attitude of the person performing the sacred act of baking from scratch.

As my aunt managed a bakery in Johannesburg, I was well schooled in the differences between home and mass baking, with her teaching me everything from the different types of flours and yeasts to premixes and yeast improvers.

Considering my background in baking, I was always wary of buying baked goods from local bakeries or supermarkets, as the thought that it would never taste as good as home-made, dwindled at the back of my subconscious. However, these days it seems as though most supermarkets are stepping away from traditional mass baking techniques and embracing a more home-made, warmer approach.

This is what I had discovered, when this year (after many years) after not having time to make my own traditional hot cross buns for friends and family as I usually do, I opted to buy ready-made ones from my local supermarket or bakery.

As Easter is one of my favorite religious periods of the year, the significance of a hot cross bun runs far deeper than that of a shallow pool of frivolous consumption. For me, it is sentimental.

After sampling the hot cross buns from each of the four major supermarket chains in the country, I can truly list the pros and cons of each one respectively, but rather than focus on the negatives of the buns of your competitors or bore you with mundane details, I choose to share with you the positive qualities of the triumph that is the Pick ‘n Pay hot cross bun.

I eat with the eye first, so presentation is everything and Pick ‘n Pay definitely has that down. The shiny glaze of the buns can only be compared to that of the plastic packaging that shows off buns so large that they look as though they’re about to bounce off of the shiny sliver tray and take on a life of their own.

Moist, light, and soft to the touch; these hot cross buns are nothing short of simply scrumptious. The warm spicing of the buns as well as the ratio of raisins to dough, provided flavors that enhanced the sweetness to just the right level of satisfaction without being overpowering. Truly a well balanced bun!

Apart from the freshness when purchased, the hot cross buns stayed soft, moist and fresh for just over three days without being stored in an air tight container. This is definitely a result of using quality ingredients in order to produce a fantastic product.

What really astounded me though, as an avid shopper, was the fact that quality between the different Pick ‘n Pay stores did not flounder. No matter whether it was Westwood Mall, the Pavilion or Value Centre; every Pick ‘n Pay bakery upheld the same levels of quality in presentation, texture and taste. I loved walking into Value Centre's Pick ‘n Pay to be greeted by ladies from the bakery that were ready to serve piping hot trays of buns to the public that could not even be handled unless first placed into a brown paper bag. Considering the aroma of the bun spice that wafted through the air as I entered the store, all resistance had crumbled, so I was not exactly a hard sell to those ladies.

I love the fact that Pick ‘n Pay has also embraced experimenting with new flavors such as chocolate chip hot cross buns for those who do not dare to be a little fruity. From now on I will no longer be a slave to my kitchen at Easter as Pick ‘n Pay hot cross buns are just as good, if not better, than home-made. If these can satisfy my rather fussy family who are used to everything being baked at home, then these hot cross buns, in my opinion, are the best in the country.

Thank you Pick ‘n Pay…

God Bless

- Lyle Cell: ********** 120