No visit to the Copper Coast is complete without a Cornish pasty. We trace the dish's mining roots and where to find a good one in Moonta, Kadina and Wallaroo.
When Cornish miners poured into the copper towns of Moonta, Kadina and Wallaroo in the 1860s, they brought their food with them, and nothing has endured like the Cornish pasty. A hearty parcel of pastry filled with beef, potato, onion and swede, the pasty was the original miner's lunch: portable, filling and sturdy enough to survive a trip underground.
A miner's lunch
The story goes that the pasty's thick, crimped edge was a handle, gripped by dirty hands and discarded so the miner never ate the grime. True or not, the dish became central to the identity of Little Cornwall, and it remains the unofficial food of the Copper Coast today.
Where to find one
The bakeries of Moonta, Kadina and Wallaroo all turn out pasties, and tracking down your favourite is half the fun of a Copper Coast day. The traditional version sticks to the classic beef-and-veg filling, though you'll find modern variations too. Locals have strong and rarely shared opinions about who does the best one.
Pasties and the festival
The pasty takes centre stage during the biennial Kernewek Lowender, billed as the world's largest Cornish festival, when the towns celebrate their heritage with pasty-making, swede-and-tatty pies, brass bands and Cornish dancing. Come hungry; this is a town that takes its pastry seriously.
