Proper Pasty Company 10th Birthday!

2009 has been a huge year for us, not only have we relocated to brand new premises, opened 3 new outlets and started an Academy for Retailing excellence… it’s also our 10th Birthday!

Life began 10 years ago in August 1999, when our founder John Worrall took the plunge to leave corporate life and bring a piece of Cornwall to Sheffield…Pinstone Street to be precise and since then the Proper Pasty Empire has thrived and expanded across the UK, with our most remote locations established in Bath and Newcastle it is our aim to fill in the gap between.  Life has changed since those unchartered days in the 1990’s, since opening what is now our flagship shop in the heart of Sheffield.

Over the years we have developed many new Cornish Pasty retailing concepts along the way serving the very best Cornish wares to the general public, workers in the workplace and students in Universities.  Our mission is to take the Cornish Pasty to every corner of the UK over the next 10 years…just watch us!

Our fleet of Catering Vans has now grown to 6 vehicles, the very best in mobile catering technology delivering Cornish Pasties and a whole variety of hot & cold snacks to the remote workplace in and around South Yorkshire.  By delivering consistent quality in food and a reliable daily service which serves customers at the same time each day, we have been able to grow the Proper brand beyond the High Street.

A great product range, customer focused growth and friendly staff have been the basis to our ten year growth so far, our plans for 2010 through to 2020 are much the same, we will continue to speculate, innovate and titivate to establish the Proper Pasty brand as the leading Cornish Pasty retailer in the UK!

Cornish Pasty in the News – Voyage of the Mystery

1854 saw the end of an era in Cornish territories, the tin mining industry, which had been responsible for creating a population of mining families and settlers from wider shores, were in a state of collapse.  An exodus ensued, and the miners began to seek alternative sources of income. For one team of 7 ex-tin miners an adventure had begun at the Star Inn in Newlyn.  The decision was to embark on a journey to seek fortunes mining gold in foreign territories.

The 114 day voyage would take the crew from Penzance in Cornwall to Melbourne in Australia aboard a Cornish Lugger called the Mystery. The Mystery was built in Newlyn for mackerel diving and her overall length was 36 feet, with 32 feet of keel, 11 feet beam, drawing 6 feet of water and tonnage 16.  The Mystery was widely believed to be a fishing boat converted to a sailing yacht, the first voyage of it’s kind in an unorthodox vessel.

The famous voyage has recently been passaged by a British adventurer named Pete Goss together with his 14 year old son.  After setting sail in November the crew arrived in Williamstown, Melbourne on 9th March 2009.  Sailing in an exact replica of the Mystery, Pete Goss (an ex Royal Marine) took 116 days to complete the epic journey.  At the end of the journey the four man crew were greeted in Williamstown with a Cold Beer and a Cornish Pasty !

Cornish News: St Pirans Day – 5th March

St Piran is the Patron Saint of Tin Miners and is also generally acknowledged as the National Saint for Cornwall, the Cornish flag which is a white cross on a black background is the St Pirans flag.

Legend: St. Piran lit a fire on his black hearthstone, which was evidently a slab of tin-bearing ore. The heat caused smelting to take place and tin rose to the top in the form of a white cross (thus the image on the flag).

Someone who is as ‘drunk as a Perraner’ is a description of a merry maker who has consumed large amounts of alcohol whilst celebrating St. Pirans Day, a traditional Cornish celebration adopted by the tin miners of Cornwall representing an official local holiday.  The only real tradition associated with this celebration is the consumption of large amounts of alcohol and food, mainly locally produced Cornish Pasties in their thousands!

On occassion employers have treated this as an official bank holiday in acknowledgement and support of the historic date. The 6th of March is known to be another unofficial holiday due to the amount of sore heads that are being nursed after the merriment!

Further afield in the USA, St Pirans day is celebrated in similar style but with a twist, “Tossing the Pasty” is a St Pirans Day Pastie Olympics Event which involves a Cornish Pasty being flung at a St. Pirans Flag which is usually sited some 200 meters away on the ground, nearest the flag wins and the lucky local dogs get to enjoy the remaining crumbs! The best two out of three pastie tosses gets the trophy.

St Piran’s Day started as one of the many tinners’ holidays observed by the tin miners of Cornwall. Other miners’ holidays of a similar nature include Picrous Day and Chewidden Thursday. There is little description of specific traditions associated with this day. However, many observers noted the large consumption of alcohol and food during ‘Perrantide’. The day following the St Piran’s Day was known by many as ‘Mazey Day’, a term which has now been adopted by the revived Golowan festival in Penzance. The phrase ‘drunk as a perraner’ was used in 19th century Cornwall to describe people who had consumed large quantities of alcohol.

a wikipedia extract

Pasty of the Month March – Chicken & Bacon Cornish Pasty

What better Cornish Pasty to bring in the Spring time other than Chicken and Bacon!  Filled with fresh Cornish farmed vegetables mixed with large pieces of diced white chicken breast and the best bacon cut in a creamy sauce. This meal in a pastry case delivers a real lunchtime fill.

The Chicken and Bacon Cornish Pasty is part of our “Speciality” pasty range and takes pride of place as our March pasty of the month.

Calzones … Taste of Italy!

Try our new “Tastes of Italy” range of Calzones, a range of three delicious flavours from the Italian table!

The Calzone is a pocket of low fat pizza dough, produced in the traditional Italian way and filled with any combination of fillings. Choose from Bolognaise, Pepperoni or Margherita flavoured fillings.

We realise that not everybody can eat a Pasty every day of the week and the Calzone is a great Hot alternative to the traditional British sandwich at lunchtime…also suits the dinner plate, served with fresh salad and a generous drizzle of Olive Oil or Balsamic Vinegar!

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