MACARONI pie lovers – including Scottish Labour leadership favourite Kezia Dugdale – are campaigning for Greggs to bring back the cheesy snack.
Last week the Scottish delicacy, described by some as “the other national dish”, was suddenly removed from the menu.
The decision was put down to making way for more sophisticated savoury dishes such as Mediterranean pork rolls and the new green Thai chicken lattice.
But fans of the cheesy pastry are not going to stand for it and have launched a petition which is quickly gathering pace.
Already more than 600 people have signed the ‘Bring back the Macaroni Pie!’ petition on change.org.
The campaign has the support of senior politicians with Scottish Labour leader hopeful Kezia Dugdale throwing her weight behind it and calling for the First Minister to do the same.
The celebrated pie, which recently could be bought for as little as two for £1.50, is a hot water crust pastry case filled with macaroni cheese.
At just 262 calories per pie it was the “healthiest” option on the savery range. The Greggs cheese and onion pasty has 433 calories.
Paul Tonner from Falkirk, who launched the petition, said: “It came as a complete shock, you go in looking for a macaroni pie and they’re not there any more.
“I just had to do something about it.
“It’s always there when you don’t fancy a sausage roll. Sometimes you don’t want hot meat; you want lukewarm pasta instead.
“As far as I can remember, there’s always been macaroni pies, but I don’t think I’ve ever had a hot one.”
The 43-year-old graphic designer added: “I’m sure if you’re going to remove one of Scotland’s national dishes you need to have a consultation first.
“I did ask Greggs it was some kind of retribution for Scotland threatening to leave the UK, but they wouldn’t be drawn into it.
“It seems like the macaroni pie has slipped under the radar.”
Labour leadership hopeful Kezia Dugdale has decided to back the campaign and is hoping to get the support of the First Minister and the leader of the Scottish Tories.
Last night (Tuesday) the MSP tweeted a link the the petition and wrote: “Paging @NicolaSturgeon @RuthDavidsonMSP – Sisters, i think some teamwork on this one is essential #macaronipie”
Ruth Davidson said: “I’m more of a sausage roll girl, when it comes to Greggs, but I’d hate to see the macaroni pie off the menu.
“No matter your politics, this is a campaign everyone can get behind.
“Save the pie!”
Others calling for Greggs to reverse the controversial decision include Stephen McKee from Dunblane who claimed: “Gregg’s, you are dissing my culture! Or at least forcing me to look elsewhere when I next fancy a macaroni pie…”
Cameron Chakraverty wrote: “I look forward to a macaroni pie every day, please don’t take this away.”
While Fiona Cook added: “I’m a Dundonian vegetarian , I love a maccy peh at lunchtime.”
A spokeswoman for Greggs said: “ “While we appreciate that some customers will miss the macaroni pie, we are continually refreshing our product range in line with customer demand to provide a variety of food-on-the-go options in our shops.
“New savoury products launched this year include a cheese and onion roll, Mediterranean pork roll, and green Thai chicken lattice.”
