The Eden Project has announced an all-star line-up of music and comedy and a fabulous showcase of baking skills for the World Pasty Championships on Saturday March 5.
The Voice UK winner Molly Hocking and comedy duo Pasty Man and Pastry Maid are among the stars of the show.
The event, which falls on St Piran’s Day, is the tenth time Eden has staged the gala celebration of Cornwall’s culinary gift to the globe in partnership with the Cornish Pasty Association (CPA).
Molly Hocking was born in St Ives and began performing from an early age before going on to win The Voice UK in 2019. Since then, Molly has secured a number one single in the official iTunes music chart and supported the likes of Celine Dion and Olly Murs.
Actor and comedian Edward Rowe is a star of previous World Pasty Championships. On March 5 he will be teaming up with fellow actor and storyteller Jenny Beare to play the masked and Cornish tartan-clad superheroes Pasty Man and Pastry Maid, bringing mirth, mayhem and pasty-themed fun to the Eden stage and around the home of the Biomes.
Bluegrass outfit Flats & Sharps, an energetic four-piece from Penzance, have toured the world on multiple occasions, delivering their fresh and modern music to audiences in Australia, Europe and the UK.
Bringing high-energy funk to the Championships stage are Bristol-based five-piece Horses on the Beach. Their show promises to pack a punch with Latin, Balkan jazz, hip hop and ska influences.
Other acts representing the cream of regional talent include lyrical rhyming wizard MCMC Spoken, folk-rock harmony group The Countrymen, renowned storyteller Robert Copeland, intimate acoustic musician Alex Robertson and the rag-tag group that is the Aggie Boys Choir.
Kate Francis, Living Theatre Producer at Eden said: “The stars are aligning for a great day on March 5 – the return of the championships on St Piran’s Day, a decade after the first event was held at Eden.
“As well as celebrating Cornwall’s culinary gift to the globe with a proper baking competition, we have assembled a galaxy of talent for the stage in what promises to be a great springtime Saturday.”
The Cornish Pasty Association, which represents the £300-million-a-year baking industry west of the Tamar, has supported the Championships since the inaugural event in 2012.
CPA Chairman Jason Jobling said: “It’s great to be welcoming everyone back after the event had to be cancelled last year and it is fantastic that this year we are celebrating the pasty on St Piran’s Day.
“Over the last 10 years the World Pasty Championships has proved to be a wonderful showcase for a beloved food which is not only celebrated in Cornwall but all around the world where Cornish people have travelled.”
This year the CPA will host a selection of interactive demos on the Pasty Stage, as well as the hotly-anticipated challenge to find in the World’s Fastest Crimper.
The championships are open to amateurs, professionals, juniors and companies. Entrants make pasties to the traditional Cornish recipe, or to their own recipe in the open savoury categories.
Entries are open until Sunday February 27. Visit www.edenproject.com/visit/whats-on/world-pasty-championships-2022 to find out more.
