Cornish pasties are the iconic delicacy famously fashioned by those true Brits that live to the west of the River Tamar in the UK. Possibly one of the most famous foods to come out of the south of England, the Cornish have understandable pride in this tasty hand-held ‘all-in-one’ meal.

Now, thanks to a dedicated BBCA team of pasty producers led by BBCA committee member Simon Pascoe (a true son of Kernow), Pascoe’s Perfect Pasties will be on offer at our Stonemanor BBCA event on 12 May at the Stonemanor Everberg store.

Just 120 pasties have been hand crafted by the team over two days of intense effort.

The first day saw the pasty team make and portion the buttery pastry.

While day two was pasty production day with the preparation of the mix of tender peppery chunks of beef and melt-in-your-mouth vegetables, all wrapped and crimped within the pastry crust. The results have been officially described as “’andsome”.

Huge thanks to Simon for the ins’pie’ration and the BBCA committee volunteers who gave of their time and ‘elbow grease’ to produce the pasties.

Simons said: “It was a great team effort to get the 120 pasties done! And I’d like to also thank Jason from the Expatriate Bistro for the loan of his kitchen, Ryan at Stonemanor, and, of course, Julia at Wesley’s Irish Butchers in town for the generous donation of prime beef.”

We are anticipating a good crowd for the Stonemanor event on 12 May. But if you want to sample one of Pascoe’s Perfect Pasties – you better not get there too late: there are just 120 of these delicacies and when they are gone, they are gone! Cheers!

Pasties past

The Cornish pasty goes back hundreds of years, but they’re most commonly known to have been a staple food of the working classes going back to the 1700s. Cornish tin miners used to take the pasties into the mines for a nutritious meal that would keep them going all day.

The specific shape of the pasty was developed for a practical reason. The crimped crust on the side allowed the grubby miner to grasp the pasty. Levels of toxic arsenic in the tin mines meant that the miners needed to avoid ingesting any dirt. The crimp meant the miner could hold onto the crust, eat their pasty, and then discard the crimp.

Of course, today, we can eat the crimp too!