Bakehouses Four.

A Memory of Kilbirnie.

There were four bakehouses in Kilbirnie; we had the Co-op bakery famous for their rolls, this was in part due the recipe and part due to the rolls being baked in the auld scotch oven. This type of oven gave a good soul to the roll, the underside of the roll was crispy, people say the roll was most enjoyed with butter and milk. 'Millers' were bakers of distinction, they were famous for their pies and meat stuff in general. To one pound of steak mince there was added one ounce of black and white pepper. Millers also had a huge range of biscuits. Paterson the baker was also famous for their morning rolls, there was a wee ditty we used to sing called 'the Patersons rolls for me'. Walkers employed the same two bakers who had worked in Patersons and they had taken their baking skills with them. Walkers specialised in double cream cakes which were a luxury. There was one more shop that made the best pie ever to my mind anyway, and that was Menzies who had a shop in Bridge street. Our food nowadays don't compare with what we had.

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