Pilgrim Pasties to Pilgrim Pastries

Pilgrim Pasties changes name to Pilgrim Pastries in epic reboot of Plymouth brand

Pilgrim Pasties went into liquidation in February - but its founder is in production again after starting a new firm

Plymouth Argyle supporters may not have any football to watch but at least they can enjoy their favourite pasties now the Pilgrim brand has been resurrected.

Pilgrim Pasties went into liquidation suffering from debt and cashflow problems, with the loss of 22 jobs, in February 2020 after a rescue mission by Sheffield-based investor and turnaround expert Marek Niedzwiedz, who had acquired the company, failed to come off.

But now, just three months later, the Pilgrim name is back and baking, despite the coronavirus lockdown hitting businesses across the UK.

Darren Burgess, who founded the original firm in 2009, has bought the pasty-making machinery and signed a new lease on its Walkham Business Park factory.

He has started a new company, with a new name, subtly tweaking the title to Pilgrim Pastries Ltd.

After re-employing five of the former workforce, investing in new equipment and signing deals with some of Pilgrim’s previous customers, the business began baking again during the Covid-19 lockdown, after ensuring it was safe to do so.

It is now in full-swing and producing “thousands” of oggies a week. It is talking to potential new customers and planning to create jobs, maybe at the rate of two a week, as the country rebounds from lockdown.

Mr Burgess said Pilgrim Pastries is selling thousands of the snacks through the booming convenience store network in Plymouth, and via a home delivery scheme he has set up.

It is even looking to launch fresh cream cakes soon as its first new product. But lovers of the traditional Pilgrim pasty won’t be disappointed, as the new firm is producing to the tried and trusted recipe.

And Mr Burgess said that is why he kept the Pilgrim name for the new firm too, adding: “The product was so recognisable with the customers that I wanted to keep the Pilgrim link. And with Mayflower 400 coming up.

“But we have kept the same recipe, though added a few new lines, and are looking at a range of fresh cream cakes coming soon.

“A website is also being designed that will automate our home deliveries.”

Mr Burgess said he decided to take action after seeing how Mr Niedzwiedz had to “reluctantly cut his losses” and witness Pilgrim Pasties going into liquidation.

He was contacted by the firm’s landlord, Westerwood Properties, which asked if he wanted to restart production.


Pilgrim Pasties old base in Walkham Busienss Park, Burrington Way. now home to Pilgrim Pastries
“They granted me a new lease on the premises and I bought back the company's assets myself,” Mr Burgess said.

“I hand-picked a select group of the previous workforce and together we began re-fitting the factory to the highest standard.

“New equipment was ordered to replace items that were sold off, and we began contacting previous customers.
The response was amazing and a clear reminder of how loyal our customers have always been to us.”

He added: “We are now trading very well, under the safety precautions for Covid-19, and the business has had an image upgrade, with a new logo.

“We are Pilgrim Pastries Ltd and now, finally, some good news has come out of this unfortunate situation.”

He thanked Westerwood Properties, the Pilgrim staff and its customers for helping with the re-birth of the product.

“Now, as things start to get back to normal, this new company can eventually start to create the jobs that were lost along the way,” he said.

“We have some exciting new products and we are negotiating with a large number of new customers as they gradually return to work.”

“The future is bright for Pilgrim once again. At a time when local businesses are in an awkward and uncertain situation, this story concludes that with loyal customers and excellent staff, a great recovery can be made of a bad situation.”

Mr Burgess originally founded Pilgrim Pasties with experienced pasty maker Paul Coombes, after the latter sold his established pasty company to a larger concern.

Pilgrim Pasties quickly expanded and by 2013 moved from a portable building to large premises at Burrington Way, and boasted of making 30,000 pasties a week and turning over nearly £2million a year.

Pilgrim Pasties made and sold some of Plymouth’s most popular pasties, and was even voted the best in the city by Plymouth Argyle fans, which meant its products were sold at Home Park. It also had an outlet in Plymouth Market.

But it ran into difficulties due to a large debt pile which couldn’t be tackled because of cashflow problems. And though Mr Niedzwiedz staged a daring rescue bid it was not possible to save the firm.

Taken from Plymouth rag the Herald

a rose by any other name is still tasteless rank products you wouldn't feed a dog with.

Angry wrote:

a rose by any other name is still tasteless rank products you wouldn't feed a dog with.

Come on, they were nowhere as near as pig turd as an Ivor SpewDney

Bob Crow wrote:

Angry wrote:

a rose by any other name is still tasteless rank products you wouldn't feed a dog with.

Come on, they were nowhere as near as pig turd as an Ivor SpewDney

equally as shit as each other i wont eat either.

Angry wrote:

Bob Crow wrote:

Angry wrote:

a rose by any other name is still tasteless rank products you wouldn't feed a dog with.

Come on, they were nowhere as near as pig turd as an Ivor SpewDney

equally as shit as each other i wont eat either.

Personally I think post Ron Dewdney that the best non Cornish pasties are from the Butchers in Budo Square.
Remember the Spar off licence opposite Devonport police station being one of the last places to get a decent Ron Dewdney shortly before Ivors got their grubby hands back on them and ceased their product. I had a pasty from the Spar in Devonport a couple of years ago and it was served in an old Ron Dewdney bag, though the pasty was actually a proper Cornish one.
Probably get shot for saying this but the current Ginsters pasties at HP, especially the steak and ale one aren't that bad at all and are far superior in quality than anything from the vans outside. One of the vans (cant remember which) isn't too bad but it's definitely quantity over quality, though still substantially better than the Ivor jalopy outside the school.

Bob Crow wrote:

Angry wrote:

Bob Crow wrote:

Angry wrote:

a rose by any other name is still tasteless rank products you wouldn't feed a dog with.

Come on, they were nowhere as near as pig turd as an Ivor SpewDney

equally as shit as each other i wont eat either.

Personally I think post Ron Dewdney that the best non Cornish pasties are from the Butchers in Budo Square.
Remember the Spar off licence opposite Devonport police station being one of the last places to get a decent Ron Dewdney shortly before Ivors got their grubby hands back on them and ceased their product. I had a pasty from the Spar in Devonport a couple of years ago and it was served in an old Ron Dewdney bag, though the pasty was actually a proper Cornish one.
Probably get shot for saying this but the current Ginsters pasties at HP, especially the steak and ale one aren't that bad at all and are far superior in quality than anything from the vans outside. One of the vans (cant remember which) isn't too bad but it's definitely quantity over quality, though still substantially better than the Ivor jalopy outside the school.

I used to have Ron's often when i was studying at the goschen centre i recall they were huge and not bad either... i tend to have a pastie from the shop down the barbican or oggy oggy if really have too.

Angry wrote:

Bob Crow wrote:

Angry wrote:

Bob Crow wrote:

Angry wrote:

a rose by any other name is still tasteless rank products you wouldn't feed a dog with.

Come on, they were nowhere as near as pig turd as an Ivor SpewDney

equally as shit as each other i wont eat either.

Personally I think post Ron Dewdney that the best non Cornish pasties are from the Butchers in Budo Square.
Remember the Spar off licence opposite Devonport police station being one of the last places to get a decent Ron Dewdney shortly before Ivors got their grubby hands back on them and ceased their product. I had a pasty from the Spar in Devonport a couple of years ago and it was served in an old Ron Dewdney bag, though the pasty was actually a proper Cornish one.
Probably get shot for saying this but the current Ginsters pasties at HP, especially the steak and ale one aren't that bad at all and are far superior in quality than anything from the vans outside. One of the vans (cant remember which) isn't too bad but it's definitely quantity over quality, though still substantially better than the Ivor jalopy outside the school.

I used to have Ron's often when i was studying at the goschen centre i recall they were huge and not bad either... i tend to have a pastie from the shop down the barbican or oggy oggy if really have too.

Ron's was a pretty good oggy, and bloody huge as you say.
Personally I think the Oggy Oggy next to the bus station has gone off course a little since they moved from over the road. The pasties are still pretty nice, meal wise when you sit down in there it just seems to have gone off a little bit from over the road but that's probably down to them upscaling things. Still nice though.

Ron as you probably know was Ivor's brother, he used to work with Ivor then they parted company and Ron opened his shop up in Budo, back then they were pretty good. I knew Ivor and his wife who now runs it. When we were kids we used to go in and make our own massive pasties in the kitchen behind the Ivor's in Cornwall street. I don't think either are as good as they used to be.
Ivor was a bit of a bhey in his day owning a Rolls Royce, racing greyhounds and he got banged up for two years for tax evasion.

Earwegoagain wrote:

Ron as you probably know was Ivor's brother, he used to work with Ivor then they parted company and Ron opened his shop up in Budo, back then they were pretty good. I knew Ivor and his wife who now runs it. When we were kids we used to go in and make our own massive pasties in the kitchen behind the Ivor's in Cornwall street. I don't think either are as good as they used to be.
Ivor was a bit of a bhey in his day owning a Rolls Royce, racing greyhounds and he got banged up for two years for tax evasion.

My mother in law worked for Ivors in the factory in town and her opinion like many others who worked there at the time in the transition when custodianship passed down a generation and that opinion was that's when they started cutting corners and making an inferior product.
As you know, all the pasties are now mass produced in town and fast frozen before being shipped out to the shops. I don't particularly like them but have eaten them out of desperation at times. People have a theory that some shops are better than others and some even believe they are made and baked fresh by the shops but the the truth is the product is exactly the same in every shop, they probably just get lucky and get one that's not long out the oven and not been sat in the hot cupboard for hours.
I wonder if Nippoleon Bonapork would still proclaim them to be the best pasty in Plymouth if they didn't pay a tribute to his forum? I think not.

Don’t mind an Ivor’s out of desperation occasionally but it has to be a cheese & onion one.
Looked inside a meat one many years ago and almost barfed at the sinew and grissle that masqueraded as “meat”.

In the old days they were only made with chuck steak I think now the cuts are more "varied". Ivor started the business with his missus cooking the pasties at home then he'd take them down to Argyle on a match day and sell them outside the ground on a tray.

Lord Melbury wrote:

Don’t mind an Ivor’s out of desperation occasionally but it has to be a cheese & onion one.
Looked inside a meat one many years ago and almost barfed at the sinew and grissle that masqueraded as “meat”.

its baby food and nothing more those ivor's but im with you if i have to have one cheese and onion only and even thats mainly potato.

Earwegoagain wrote:

In the old days they were only made with chuck steak I think now the cuts are more "varied". Ivor started the business with his missus cooking the pasties at home then he'd take them down to Argyle on a match day and sell them outside the ground on a tray.

I'm absolutely clueless what that grey mushy substance that has texture like corned beef is in the Ivors is. Must be why they absolutely overload them with pepper to mask the taste. I like peppery food but the amount that must go into an Ivor is astronomical.

Earwegoagain wrote:

Ron as you probably know was Ivor's brother, he used to work with Ivor then they parted company and Ron opened his shop up in Budo, back then they were pretty good. I knew Ivor and his wife who now runs it. When we were kids we used to go in and make our own massive pasties in the kitchen behind the Ivor's in Cornwall street. I don't think either are as good as they used to be.
Ivor was a bit of a bhey in his day owning a Rolls Royce, racing greyhounds and he got banged up for two years for tax evasion.

Yet another felon assoiciated with PASOTI to add to the ever growing list.

Punchdrunk wrote:

Earwegoagain wrote:

Ron as you probably know was Ivor's brother, he used to work with Ivor then they parted company and Ron opened his shop up in Budo, back then they were pretty good. I knew Ivor and his wife who now runs it. When we were kids we used to go in and make our own massive pasties in the kitchen behind the Ivor's in Cornwall street. I don't think either are as good as they used to be.
Ivor was a bit of a bhey in his day owning a Rolls Royce, racing greyhounds and he got banged up for two years for tax evasion.

Yet another felon assoiciated with PASOTI to add to the ever growing list.

Way before Pasoti was even thought of his daughter Mary has been running things since about the eighties I'd guess. Anyway she's a millionaire so I doubt she cares too much what meat goes in them.

Barnicutts for me but during the first few weeks of the lockdown had a yearning for a pasty, in desperation I bought a dozen frozen uncooked from Oggy Oggy and they were Bleddy good so I’m now on my second dozen.
Never liked them when I bought one some time ago