Entries have opened for the ninth edition of the ‘Oggy Olympics’.
The World Pasty Championships will be held at the Eden Project on February 29 and are set to attract bakers from Cornwall to the USA.
Returning to the championships will be Jill Martin from Deal in Kent, whose Kentish Knocker pasties claimed first and third prizes in the Open Savoury Professional category at the last event in March.
Martin, whose winning pasty contained egg, sausage and bacon, said: “I am already feeling very excited about coming back to the World Pasty Championships after what has, so far, been a fantastic year for me and my Kentish Knocker pasties.
“While I don’t want to give too much away about my entries at this stage, my theme for the next competition will be Kent – the Garden of England. Having won two trophies last time, in 2020 I’m going for a hat-trick.”
Competing for the fourth year running will be the Pure Pasty Company from Vienna, Virginia, which has taken home prestigious awards in the last two World Pasty Championships and grabbed international headlines along the way.
Led by British-born boss Mike “The Pasty” Burgess, the company won the Open Savoury Company class with a controversial barbeque chicken pasty laced with pineapple in the 2018 competition and earlier this year (2019) was once again winner in the same category with a turkey and cranberry creation.
He said: “We love representing Cornwall in America and vice versa. We are looking for a ‘threepeat’ in our class. We know it’s a long shot with the quality of the competition but once again we will be giving it our best.”
For the third year running, the championships will be the finale of Cornish Pasty Week, starting on Sunday, February 23.
The week of festivity and fun is inspired by the Eden event and delivered with the project’s help by the Cornish Pasty Association (CPA), which represents the £300-million-a-year pasty industry.
CPA chairman Jason Jobling said: “In its short history, I’ve been staggered by the way people right across the globe have got behind Cornish Pasty Week – testament indeed to the love that exists for Cornwall’s hero product.
“I’m thrilled that the Cornish Pasty Association has made this happen and we’re looking forward to another jam-packed week of pasty fun in 2020, culminating in the ninth World Pasty Championships at Eden.”
To enter the World Pasty Championships 2020 or find out more about the competition go to www.edenproject.com/pasty.
