Why Cornwall still has a problem with Ginsters pasties

In particular, I refer to exhibit A) The Ginsters 'taste the effort' campaign.

Regular readers will be aware I am a fanboy of my wife’s ancestral seat of Cornwall and, of course, whilst in Rome, or Falmouth, or Penzance, it is my duty to sample the range of pasties on offer.

The number one rule however of any true-blooded Cornishman, woman or emmet is never, ever eat Ginsters.

The company, like the foodstuff, are slippery: getting over the edict that they must be produced in Kernow, by locating their factory in Callington, a mere five miles from the Devon border.

The title of 'best pasty' or 'oggy' is unofficial, yet hotly contested, with worthy contenders including Philps, Warrens, St Agnes bakery and Gear farm.

Brett Ellis says that no true-blooded Cornishman would eat a Ginsters pasty (Image: Brett Ellis)

But Ginsters?

If there were only 100 pasty brands in Cornwall, they would make number 101, if they were lucky.

It is the type of food you eat if there is literally nothing else to nibble on and you have bitten your toenails down to the wick, and even then, starvation is preferable.

The campaign, backed by a £4 million budget, should reach nearly every UK adult more than 13 times during its run.

Its aim, and I quote, is to highlight the ‘care’ that goes into making their products, using 100% British beef and locally sourced vegetables.

All I can surmise is they must have had a recent BSE outbreak and the vegetable seeds must have been imported from Chernobyl.

The locals agree, with the view that they are ‘insulting’ the Cornish heritage by using mince and not chuck steak, and puff instead of shortcrust pastry, thus rendering them not real pasties at all.

The 'Cornish Pasty Association' (yes, really) says pasties must contain swede, onion and seasoning and be ‘uncooked’ when assembled, before it is crimped into a ‘D’ shape.

Despite stretching this remit to its breaking point, Ginsters do take umbrage at their reputation with the MD Kieran Hemswirth stating: "We’re puzzled and slightly hurt by what people in Cornwall might think of us."

As for me, yes, I have spent the previous 400 or so words putting the boot in, and for that I make no apology, besides stating the fact that the company is a huge employer and former sponsor of the south west’s only recognisable football team, Plymouth Argyle FC.

So, for that, begrudgingly, I must doff my cap - which thankfully, can double as a sick bowl.

• Brett Ellis is a teacher from London Colney.