Pasty filled with PINEAPPLE sees off traditional Cornish competition to be crowned best in the world
US baker Mike Burgess called his winning creation 'the Hawaiian pizza' of pasties
A PASTY filled with pineapple has seen off local competition to be crowned winner of the World Pasty Championships in Cornwall.
The controversial champion — made by a baker in the US — is described as "the Hawaiian pizza" of pasties because of its unusual sweet-and-sour flavours.
The prestigious baking contest has in the past been dominated by traditional British entries filled with meat and root vegetables.
But this year the judges gave first prize to the pineapple creation made by the Pure Pasty Company based in Virginia.
It also contains barbecue pulled chicken with sweet potato, courgette, red pepper and sweetcorn.
And instead of being crimped along one edge, the whole thing is shaped like the tropical fruit in honour of its key ingredient.
Pure Pasty Co founder Mike Burgess, originally from Cheshire, said he was "over the moon" and described the winning pasty as "an American fusion".
He said: "We were aiming for something spicy with the barbecue sauce and sweet, but not too sweet.
"We wanted an element of fruit flavour, a bit like Hawaiian pizza. The pineapple is an important element of our chicken pasty, definitely.
"It is very bright inside — it has a normal deep brown but also reds and yellows as well as the orange of the sweet potato."
Judges gave it first prize in the Open Savoury category, the first time a baker from the US has won the accolade at the awards, held every year at the Eden Project near St Austell.
Second prize went to another controversial choice - a vegan yellow Thai pasty made by the Warrens Bakery from Cornwall.
Local mum-of-three Gillian Francis, from St Cleer, won the amateur crown despite only learning to crimp a fortnight ago.
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Eden Project spokesman David Rowe said: “There was a great spirit at our seventh World Pasty Championships.
"The pasty bakers made heroic efforts to be here despite everything the weather could throw at them this week.
“Huge thanks to our friends from the Cornish Pasty Association for helping us deliver the event as fitting end of the first-ever Cornish Pasty Week.”
More than 200 bakers who entered had to battle through Storm Emma snow to get there on Saturday.
On Friday we told how a Greggs delivery driver gave away free pasties to drivers stuck in two-mile queues on the snow-hit A1 in Northumberland.
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