West Cornwall Pasty Company

[Spud Addict]

Just thought anyone who likes pasties might like to know that the West Cornwall Pasty Company are changing their recipes.

I got the following email from them -

Until very recently all of our pasties were finished with an egg-free glaze which contains a small amount of milk proteins. We estimate that the amount of milk proteins present after baking is less than 1 gram. Very recently we have switched to a glaze free from both milk and egg by the end of this year – we have already started this process but it is possible that the West Cornwall Pasty Co may have the some of the original glaze in their freezers for a few months still.

The pastry in all varieties contains the following ingredients:
Wheat Flour, Vegetable Fats (vegetable oil, water, salt, lemon juice), Water, Salt, Glaze (water, cornflour, salt, sugar, natural colour: carotene)

The Wholemeal Vegetable Pasty contains the following ingredients:
Vegetables 53% (Potato (preservative: sodium metabisulphite), Swede, Onion, Carrots), Basil, Parsley, Cornflour, Salt, Pepper

If the above ingredients are not likely to cause you problems, I am pleased to confirm that the recipes for the following varieties do not contain any other ingredients or additives derived from eggs or cow’s milk in the recipe:


Wholemeal Vegetable Pasty
Apple & raspberry Pasty


Please be aware that the products are made and baked in an area where dairy ingredients/products are present, so we can not guarantee that accidental crossover does not occur in the factory or in the shop. Please feel free to contact me if you require further clarification.

Regards

So I reckon by the start of next year anyone stuck for something out will be able to buy a nice wholemeal veggie pasty from this place.

[harpy]

Thank you - worth knowing for emergencies as they seem to be all over the place!

[Gorilla]

yes, thanks for the info.

[Cumin]

That's fantastic news. I LOVE pasties !

[twinkle]

Mm, apple and raspberry sounds good

[scarlett]

gaaaah, now I can't just walk past them I love pasties, my waistline does not !

[Mr Flibble]

Their map shows Clapham Junction as being in Cambridgeshire

There's one at the station I pass through when working in London, however I'm not sure I could bring myself to buy from them. Whilst the ingredients may be vegan, I'm not convinced about the cross contamination friendliness, especially if they are all cooked on the same slab.

[Cumin]

I heard from someone on here a while back (can't find the thread now) that this company were going to change their glaze and make their otherwise vegan pasties properly vegan.
Yesterday I visited their shop in Hereford and spoke to the area manager who confirmed that this has now been done, and the glaze had all traces of egg, milk etc removed from the recipe. They have also removed any artificial additives to make them 'natural' (their words).
So they now have 2 pasties - the vegetable and wholemeal vegetable which are of totally vegan ingredients. I have tried both and they are great - proper cornish pasties with lots of onions, potato, black pepper, carrots etc.
This is good news, but the only thing perhaps to watch for is where they cook them. In the Hereford shop, I saw them cook all sorts of pasties in their large oven, and I believe that the vegetable ones were on a tray all of their own - but this may not always be the case. Perhaps ask if you visit one. Also check that the shop is using the new stock with the yellow "New Glaze" sticker on the box.

[Cumin]

quick update - just spoke to the shop. They always cook all the vegetarian pasties on separate trays to the meat ones.

[Spud Addict]

Excellent, thanks for the confirmation Cumin. (it was me before)
Also got confirmation that potato wedges from the pasty shop are ok, so have pasty from West Cornwall with wedges from Pasty Shop.

[vegcurry]

And if you're in Falmouth check out the Cornish Miner pasty shop, near to Customs House Quay as they do a few that are suitable for vegans.

[aubergine]

This thread is why I love cornwall. That and the people, the landscape...

[Cumin]

All lovely .. unless you want a job that pays more than the min wage.

[Corum]

I had one of their pasties recently! It was rather nice! I'm not sure about the blokes selling the pasties... I somehow don't think they had any cornish in'em!

[flying plum]

sweet! that's handy to know and i have a min. wage job in london...i reckon i could live a lot better off the same money in cornwall

amanda

[sponge]

Oh my gosh, I've been thinking of pasties lately! Where I live, no one even knows what a pasty is. I should have known you all would.

I make an easier vegan version I call a pasty pie as I'm too lazy to deal with more than 2 circles of dough. Now, I feel a craving coming on.

[Spud Addict]

Best one of gets a ready made one in the post to you then, sponge!

[alisont]

Wishes there was a branch near me or Birmingham or Worcester would like to try a vegan cornish pastie!

[Stu]

This is super news. If I'm not mistaken, there's a West Cornwall Pasty Company shop in King's Cross station in London. Handy for me!

[Troutina]

Went in at the weekend and was told the glaze had milk protein in it

[Cumin]

Troutina,
They must still be using old supplies of pasties then, as the new box has a big yellow label saying "No milk or egg" in the new glaze.

[Troutina]

Troutina,
They must still be using old supplies of pasties then, as the new box has a big yellow label saying "No milk or egg" in the new glaze.

Cool, thanks for the tip
Glad we asked, I would have just ordered one, but thought it better to check first!
My boyfriend is MEGA excited about having a pastie!
Though you can get far better ones in Brighton, they are top banana.

[rainbowcarousel]

Thanks for this post, I just had a scrummy wholemeal vegetable pasty for lunch. I noticed the label said "suitable for vegetarians" on the wholemeal and regular vegetable pasty but not on the cheese-based veg pasties, which was refreshing!

[Ginger]

Fantastic! There is a branch near me in Horsham. I often go in there with a (veggie) friend of mine and I get so jealous when she gets a pasty to take home. I feel a shopping trip comming on

[Melanie]

oOo I think there's one of these near me.

[Ginger]

Just reporting back on my pasty exploits
Being a bit desperate for a vegan pasty and the fact I heated it soo efficiently (can't be too careful reheating things kids) I managed to burn the roof of my mouth which is now sporting a very painful blister
Pasty was great though
The chap in the shop said they now glaze with soya milk.

[Stu]

The chap in the shop said they now glaze with soya milk.

That is blooming ace! Such a heart-warming sign of the way things are going, methinks.

[Mixxi]

In our one in town apparently only the wholemeal vege pasty is vegan but it is really yummy

[Cumin]

Mixxi,
That makes no sense as they are all made at the central factory and sent out to the shops. I suspect they were just being a bit over-cautious, or applying the well known "vegans-only-eat-wholemeal-healthy-varieties" rule.

[Marrers]

Great news!

[Mixxi]

Mixxi,
That makes no sense as they are all made at the central factory and sent out to the shops. I suspect they were just being a bit over-cautious, or applying the well known "vegans-only-eat-wholemeal-healthy-varieties" rule.

I think they said it was the only one that didn't have egg used as a glaze .

[Marrers]

I had a wholemeal one today at Victoria - I enjoyed it but found the filling a little bland. I'd have one again though.

[alisont]

Anyone know if you can get these at euston or Liverpool St? Will be in London Feb half term and would like to try one

[flying plum]

there is indeed a wcpc stall at euston. tis outside in the little row of shops with starbucks and krispy kreme.

amanda

[alisont]

Thanks might have to stop off there when im there in Feb

[alisont]

Went to the Euston branch today and asked about the glaze the staff were not sure so got the folder out and said according to that milk/milk protein is in the glaze, we had quite a chat about the new glaze containers but he was sure that the new one still contains milk. I didnt worry in the end as neither staff member knew and i was not really hungry, he phoned a more senior member of staff who also said the glaze had milk in.

Dont think all staff know about the new glaze yet or what a vegan is

[Cumin]

Depressing conversation with said company at Kings Cross at the weekend. Seems they have the same info as you saw Alison. Whether this is in fact correct and the company have gone back to the old glaze is not clear.
I'm going to contact them to clear this up and I'll let you all know what I find.

:-(

[cornishdreadhead]

Shame, I don't think I've ever come across a west cornwall pasty co in cornwall. Bloody lol. I had a pasty from the one in reading, and it was overpriced and generally not very nice. Boooo. >

[vegcurry]

@cornishdreadhead

There's always Pengenna's giant size vegan pasties or the three [hot veg - a curry pasty, vegetable, and popeye - a spinach and veg pasty] that are on offer at The Cornish Miner pasty shop, Customs House Quay, Falmouth

[Cumin]

All is not yet lost. The guy at TWCPastyC went to get confirmation but it looks like it may just be a communication issue.
He seemed grateful to be made aware of the confusion and will get back to me with a definitive answer about the pasties.

fingers crossed!

[Cumin]

I had a call from The West Cornwall Pasty co today with some clarification (at last).
It appears that the information I was given in Hereford was correct, but so was the information at Kings Cross !
The reason is that WCPC were doing a trial at a limited number of stores of their new glaze (the vegan one) and Hereford was included in the trial, but didn't mention this when I spoke to them.
The even better news is that in May, they will be rolling out the new glaze to all stores, and so all will definitely have pasties with no animal products.
Currently, the pasties that are suitable are the 2 vegetable ones (normal and wholemeal). He assured me that these have no meat, fish,dairy,eggs etc.
To avoid any further confusion, when they roll this out in May, they will be adding some 'shop front signage' (as he put it) to indicate which are vegan.
As I explained that I'm in contact with a large number of vegans in the UK, he's also going to give me a list (on Monday) of the the other stores in the trial, and will notify me when the roll-out has taken place so I can pass the info on.
So - you can all look forward to yummy pasties wherever you are.

[Stu]

Good work, detective Cumin.

[harpy]

Great stuff, Cumin (loosens belt a notch in anticipation)

[bryzee86]

Nice one, Cumin - I hope the woman at Victoria didn't lie to me.

[Troutina]

I'm so excited!!!

[Mr Flibble]

I'm sure i'm missing something here.....

The only time I've seen WCPC (last time at Marylebone last week) they've had them all stacked next to each other on the same trays, picked up by the same tounges and cooked together in the same oven. Forgetting milk proteins in the glaze for a second, is this not a cross contamination fest?

[Cumin]

Mr F. I see the point you're making, but I like to take the problems 1 at a time.
1. Intentional, intended ingredients.
2. Possible preparation contaminants (made on a line handling...)
3. Possible kitchen cross contaminations (shared ovens etc).

I checked out how the pasties were cooked in the Hereford branch and they are cooked on a separate tray from the meat ones, with a paper liner that gets changed.
Similarly on the display, the sections were separate, but the tongs etc are of course an issue. Your experience is different, but I would always look at the specific shop anyway.
Given that they are pasties, and nicely sealed up, I think in this case, I'm happy to go with it. The pastry and glaze is (will be) vegan on all of them anyway. I'm confident that WCPC do make some effort at keeping meat + veggie pasties separated. What more can we ask?

It's clearly a personal preference thing:
Some vegans will eat vegan burgers grilled on a shared grill pan - but not me.

[harpy]

picked up by the same tounges

Uuuuurgh! They pick them up with their tongues? I'm outta there.

I take the point about cross-contamination, and it wouldn't be my number 1 dining choice, but I would certainly risk it in an "emergency". The thought is unappetising but I'm not really bothered about polluting my body (extremely pure though it undoubtedly is ). And, as has already been discussed here ad nauseam, there may be a case for encouraging omnivorous companies to sell vegan stuff.

[cornishdreadhead]

@cornishdreadhead

There's always Pengenna's giant size vegan pasties or the three [hot veg - a curry pasty, vegetable, and popeye - a spinach and veg pasty] that are on offer at The Cornish Miner pasty shop, Customs House Quay, Falmouth

OH MY DAYS you've just made my absolute day, I was only saying to my friend about 5 mins ago that I really miss pasties...and it my birthday tommorow, bitrthday lunch soorted!!!!! gjfjdfkhgkjfdhkfd hurray

[Cumin]

I've just had an update from WCPC. They say that the trial of the vegan glaze is now successful and complete, and they will be rolling out the vegan versions of the vegetable pasties to all shops over the summer. However:

**IMPORTANT**
In the meantime, NONE of the shops will be stocking the vegan versions - including those who were in the trial. This means that there are no vegan pasties in the West Cornwall shops until the new products are available.
You have been warned!