When asked to think of Cornwall, it surely won’t be long until the iconic and beloved Cornish pasty comes to mind. As such a staple of Cornish life, it only seems right that the pasty has been awarded its own celebratory week this year, with the first ever ‘Cornish Pasty Week’ kicking off on Sunday 25th February. Beginning on Sunday, a whole week of pasty related activities will be taking place, ending in the ‘Oggy Oscars’, the World Pasty Championship, held at the Eden Project on the 3rd of March.
The events, hosted by the Cornish Pasty Association, so far include pasty-making sessions, with essential crimping techniques being taught in local community groups and schools, as well as pasty themed pub quizzes and kids craft workshops! In the spirit of the week, many pasty shops around the county will be offering discounts and deals, ensuring you get the most pasties you possibly can out of pasty week!
Culminating in the World Pasty Championship at the end of the week-long pasty festivities, keen bakers are in with a chance of winning the ‘Pasty Pageant’ with their Cornish bakes. Registration for entering the competition is still open until midday on the 1st March, so it is not too late if you wanted to try your hand at competitive pasty making. Don’t worry if your pasty skills aren’t quite perfect though, as there are several categories available to enter.
There are four skill level categories, company (such as bakeries), professional (those working as a professional cook or caterer), amateur (over-16s not working as a professional cook), and junior (those under 15). These skill categories are then each split into two sections, one for those producing Cornish pasties, made following a traditional recipe, and one for pasties made using more unconventional ingredients, or that have been made outside of Cornwall. There is a Protected Geographical Indication on Cornish pasties, meaning that only those baked within Cornwall, using a traditional recipe, can actually be considered Cornish pasties! As such, the winner of last years ‘professional’ Cornish pasty category, who came from Canada, had to travel to Cornwall to bake his entry in order to legally class his pasty as Cornish.
If you want to enter the competition, you must bake two identical pasties; one for the judges to try, and one to be put on display in the Pasty Hall of Fame! The pasties should be baked the day before and must be between one and eight degrees Celsius when they are brought to the Eden Project between 9am and 10am on the 3rd March. The judged pasty will then be reheated at 180 degrees Celsius for the judges to enjoy! To enter the championships and for more information, find the details here on the Eden Project’s website.
Registration costs £10 per adult entrant and £5 for a junior entrant, which includes the admission price for the Eden Project, and a plus one. Visitors to the Eden Project can watch the championships taking place for free with an Eden admission. If you would love to take part in this pasty pageant, or just want to join in with the pasty related festivities, why not book a Cornwall short breaks at one of our luxury cottages?!
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