Chatty Girly Lunch

What you need....

8 rashers pancetta

2 eggs

1 bunch, approx 8 spears asparagus, trimmed

2 slices seeded wholemeal bread & butter

Freshly ground black pepper & salt

 What to do...

This takes a bit of coordination to time everything, so it all is ready at the same time – the cooked pancetta can be kept warm, but poached eggs won’t wait...so time accordingly!

Cook the asparagus in salted boiling water for 6-8 minutes, then drain well. Grill or bake the pancetta until crispy, guideline- 3 to 4 minutes under high heat. 

Poach the eggs in simmering water for 3 to 4 minutes. 

Toast the bread, and spread with butter.

Assemble, season and enjoy for a treat lunch with a good friend

Pasty Wars.....may the fork be with you

As frequent visitors to St Ives..people often ask us.."where can you get the best pasty?"  with completely unscientific reasoning we have assessed and these are the results.

St Ives Bakery: Flaky steak, crispy bottom, salty, swede and potato soft, specks of black pepper, moist inside, nicely browned surface




4 out of 5: meat’s good and flaky pastry but a bit salty


Yellow Canary Cafe: Good chuck steak, crimp well defined, pastry short, good rounded savoury flavour, sliced potatoes, peppery, good all rounder pasty. http://www.theyellowcanary.com/


4 out of 5: well seasoned and nice and meaty, If it had flaky pastry it would be the best.


S H Ferrell & Sons : Packed and well filled with chuck steak which is distributed evenly, very short pastry, potato in cubes not slices, small well defined crimp


2 out of 5: nicely seasoned and well packed but personally I think the pastry is too short


Pengenna Pasties: Top crimp, pale unglazed, moist, sweet but not as much as Cornish bakehouse, obvious swede, steak flavoursome, peppery. http://www.pengennapasties.com/


2 out of 5: pastry is sweet and too short but well filled


Cornish Bakehouse: Pronounced crimp, layers of thinly sliced potato, steak not minced, but clumped, good brown glaze outer, sweet flavour which was unexpected, pastry shorter, peppery


1 out of 5: too sweet and bland

                   KEY to above