I tried every Cornish pasty in Worcester to find the best

And, as a Cornishman in a foreign land, it was my duty to find the best.

In Cornwall, pasties are more than just something for tourists to try once; they are a staple of the native lifestyle.

Like pubs, everyone has their favourite bakery, but they are more than happy to try somewhere else if the time is right.

From a meal in the school canteen, to lunch on a break at work; from a hearty snack on the way to a football match or the pub, to the main course at a wedding (yes, really), pasties are the food of the Cornish.

Leaving the county in 2021, first to Leicestershire and now to Worcestershire, pasties became few and far between, replaced by a Greggs steak bake or Costa panini.

That was until I first walked down Broad Street.

Cornish Bakehouse, Broad Street (Image: Newsquest)

For a long time, The Cornish Bakehouse, Broad Street, had a monopoly on the fresh pasty market in the city.

That was until the Cornish Bakery opened its new store on the High Street, giving some competition.

Cornish Bakery, High Street (Image: Newsquest)

So which one is the best? I decided to find out.

What should be in a Cornish Pasty?

The elements of a pasty are very simple. Chunks of beef, onion, potato, swede, and gravy, wrapped in a shortcrust pastry and crimped along the side to seal the ingredients.

The outside of the crust should be stiff to the touch, and the inside soft and delicate.

COMAPRE: Cornish Bakery (left), Cornish Bakehouse (centre), and Ginsters (right) (Image: Newsquest)

Ginsters - The Control

Ginsters can be found in almost every supermarket and petrol station across the country, but how does it stand up against the fresh pasties?

Following the heating instructions of 105 seconds in a microwave delivers an oily pastry which is beginning to split the moment you pick it up. Unfortunately, there is no proper crimping on the pastry; instead, it is sealed along a seam.

INSIDE: Cross section of a Ginsters pasty (Image: Newsquest)

Cutting into the pasty, you find the pasty cardinal sin: minced meat. While it helps spread the meat around the pasty to give you beef in every bite, a true pasty uses chunks of meat you can really sink your teeth into, whereas this is hardly noticeable.

Alongside this, the pasty is flat and the pasty is waterlogged.

SPLIT: The seam of the Ginsters began to split after microwaving (Image: Newsquest)

The one thing I can give Ginsters is that their prices are unbeatable. £2.50 for a pasty, or £1.80 with a Clubcard, at Tesco, High Street, is a very cheap meal compared to the others, but the gulf in quality is on show.

Cornish Bakehouse - The Champion

Now onto the longstanding favourite in the city: The Cornish Bakehouse. From inside its small bakery at the top of Broad Street, queues regularly build up at lunchtime, showing its established popularity with the city.

A medium steak pasty costs £4.85 and, if you want it a bit warmer, you can ask them to heat it in the oven for a few seconds.

INSIDE: Cross section of a Cornish Bakehouse pasty (Image: Newsquest)

Opening up the pasty for a cross-section, the pastry has a fantastic structure, with meat chunks throughout, and all the necessary vegetables mixed in.#

The taste is fantastic, everything you could want from a pasty, and traditional in every sense of the word.

Cornish Bakery - The Challenger

Now for the newest bakery on the block. The Cornish Bakery has grown from its humble beginnings in the South West to have dozens of locations across the country.

The Worcester store, which opened on October 20, has been an instant hit, with crowds regularly queuing to get something to eat.

Also priced at £4.85, the pasty is filled to the brim, and features a slightly softer but still firm crust on the inside and the outside.

INSIDE: Cross section of a Cornish Bakery pasty (Image: Newsquest)

While the crimp isn't as big as the Bakehouse, it is still substantial and holds everything together.

The larger chunks of meat in this pasty are cooked perfectly and melt as you bite into them, while the contents of the pasty don't spill out as you eat it.

The verdict

By the finest of margins, the Bakehouse continues to be the best Worcester has to offer, in my opinion, with its fantastic crust and great balance of meat to veg.

But this should not take anything away from the Bakery's pasty, which is still a fantastic choice and one I would happily eat any day.

Ultimately, pasty preference comes down to what you want most from your meal, be it the pastry, the meat, or something else