A Michelin chef?
Yes. And not just any Michelin chef - the only Cornish-born Michelin chef in the world, according to the pasty player (we’ve also Googled it).
Ah, so it’s Rick Stein then?
Nope, he’s from Oxfordshire.
Nathan Outlaw?
Kent.
Fair enough. Who then?
Chris Eden, who got his Michelin star in 2011 as head chef at Portscatho’s Driftwood Hotel. He’s going to be working with Ginsters’ own head chef, Graham Cornish. And yes, that really is his name.
So what's he doing?
Ginsters, the nation’s ‘favourite Cornish pasty’ brand and service station stalwart, is launching a collaboration with Eden to bring a selection of new savoury pastries (the first is a slice) to Tesco. The food company presumably wants to raise the profile of what is hardly considered to be haute cuisine.
Sounds classy
The aim is to reflect the ‘very latest food trends’, but with a Cornish twist. So obviously its starting with a Mexican Chilli Beef filling. You’ll be able to get it in Tesco from 6 November for £1.70… a small price to pay for Michelin food.
That is cheap. But it isn’t new, trendy, or Cornish. Are we missing something?
Well, it’s a tenuous link, but the Cornish part is a homage to the Cornish miners who emigrated to Mexico in the 1800s to mine for silver. The new and trendy aspect comes from the ancho chillies, black treacle and cocoa, we assume. Not normal Ginsters ingredients, to be fair.
So no swede specification then?
Alas no. But Eden says it should be eaten fresh from the oven, served with avocado dip, tomato salsa or new potatoes. Or briefly zapped in a microwave at a petrol station. Your choice.