IT’S PASTY A JOKE
Cornwall fury at rival claim
THE Cornish have reacted with anger after a claim their world-famous pasties were invented in Devon.
Historic England’s director of communications Celia Richardson was slammed after making the astonishing claim in a radio interview.
She was speaking at the launch of a campaign to highlight the birthplaces of great inventions.
These include Bolton being the home of trainers and bungee-jumping originating in Bristol.
Her controversial pasty claim is based on a book by Dr Todd Gray, an Exeter University academic who suggested the snack originated in Devon.
He cited a document dated 1509, which refers to a Plymouth cook charging for “labour to make the pasties”. It is not until 1745, according to Dr Gray, that a written record appeared in Cornwall. And in 2009 there was uproar when a Devon baker won the prize for best Cornish pasty at the British Pie Awards. The angry owner of Rosewarne Manor, a restaurant in Hayle, Cornwall, tweeted: “A Cornish pasty cannot, by definition, be made in Devon. Anyone ever heard of a Devon pasty catching on?” And another local wrote online: “This is not OK, Historic England. You will not take our pasties.” The traditional Cornish pasty remains a big seller in the county enjoyed by visitors and residents alike – including Fowey celebrity Dawn French.