A Cornish Pasty

Visit to Padstow
20th July 2009
For me a trip to Europe always starts with a visit to my mother's family in Cornwall. Apart from sipping sherry with Granny and causing a bit of trouble with my cousin it's also a chance to reacquaint myself with the places and traditions that bind my mother's family. One of the things we tend to love dearly round my neck of the woods is a Cornish pasty. The Cornish are extremely serious about their pasties, so serious in fact they're in the process of getting it registered with the EU, as a 'Protected Geographical Indicator'.

Day One in Cornwall was pasty day. My brother and I were unceremoniously abandoned by our mother in Padstow, where we enjoyed a walk along the Camel Trail that finished with coffee and wine at BinTwo, a quality little place that survives amongst the fierce competition of Planet Rick Stein. But before any of this it was pasty day. Today there's a multitude of exotic pasty fillings available including things like pork, lamb and even curry, but we both kept things traditional and went for a classic filling of beef, onion, swede and potato. The pasty itself pretty decent with a tasty peppery seasoning, but the fact that we were sitting eating it on the water in Cornwall made it perfect.

Visit Cornish Pasty Association website.