Waterfields, Rivington Road

Finally I made it to the old site of the Pimbletts shop on Rivington Road (locally known as the City Road shop) for the first time since Pimbletts became a footnote in the history of St Helens alongside Pilks, Jonny Vegas and Bobby Goudling.

From the outside appearance, the shop has had a coat of purple paint, which I assume is the corporate colour of Waterfields. Inside I thought I was in a Greggs. Standard production line pre-packed sandwiches and funny looking like cakes. They could have been french fancies I suppose? Anyway, there were no pies visibly on display. Not knowing exactly what the new branding means - aside from the main fact that the pies are now made at the Waterfields Bakery and obviously use their recipes - I asked what pies were available. Beverly kindly started listing them but once we'd got to 5 including Meat 'n Potato and Steak, I'd heard enough. I explained I'd not been back since Pimbletts went under. Beverly confirmed it was 'the same, but different'. Enough said I guess.

I loaded up on pies, tarts, buns and vanilla slices. Sunday, the family passed judgement.

The pastry was good. Different - Waterfields use a browning agent - but good. The filling was OK. The steak was different no doubt. More steak mince I'd say than lumps of beef, which may take some getting used to. The Meat and Potato (Dad's choice), was a tad mushy, but overall good. Slightly missing the pepper 'kick' of the Pimbletts' recipe I thought.

The fruit (blackcurrant) tart looked completely different and I feared the worst when I bought it for Mum. Pimbletts' tarts were flat, bigger but not deep-filled. The pastry was always pale and crumbly. The Waterfields version to me looked like a mince pie. Mum's a expert here with 60 years experience eating Pimbletts' fruit tarts. You can imagine the risk. I got a text this morning that said it all: "fruit tart - delicious".

So the pies and tart passed the litmus test. The disappointment came with the vanillas. My excitement at seeing they were on sale was tempered when I looked at what Bev stuck in the box. Small, perfectly formed, sticky looking icing. They could have come from any tin-pot bakers anywhere in the UK. The Pimblett's vanillas were loaded with a unique custard-flavoured filling that was lumpy and rough. The pastry was layered and flaky, the icing stuck to your fingers for days. Waterfields' vanilla slices are manufactured, bland and creamy. A major letdown.

There remains an alternative in St Helens and that is Burchalls. I'll try there next.