Pasty Week brings big boost for cooking in schools

Yuriko Shigyo gets a crimping lesson from professional baker Graham Cornish

More than £16,000 has been raised to support cooking in schools across Cornwall as part of Cornish Pasty Week 2025.

The funds will be used to purchase cookers, aprons and other equipment, as well as to finance food-related field trips and cookery sessions.

Cornish Pasty Week is organised by industry body the Cornish Pasty Association and raises money for the Cornish Pasty Community Fund.

Recipients of this year's funding include two schools in south east Cornwall, Fourlanesend Community Primary and Carbeile Junior, which are part of the Rame Federation.

Crimper from Japan

The federation's head Pete Hamlyn said the schools were "prioritising cooking as part of the curriculum, but also as a life skill".

More than 20 schools have already applied for funding, with more expected to follow.

Highlights of the pasty week included a tour by mascots Mr and Mrs Pasty, a pasty-making masterclass at St Mabyn Primary School, and the World's Fastest Crimper contest.

One of the contestants was Yuriko Shigyo from Japan, who had a crimping lesson from award-winning professional baker Graham Cornish.

The overall winner was Sue Mountford, a grandmother from Penpol, near Truro, who has been making pasties for more than 50 years.

Schools can still apply for funding through the Cornish Pasty Community Fund on the CPA website.