About Us and Our Pasties

Over The Top Cornish Pasties is the culmination of a long-held dream for myself, Mikaela Parry, my daughter Kelly. For several years kelly and I would talk about how we would love to create a business using our families traditional pasty recipe.

  We all crimp over the top, which is not unusual for many parts of Cornwall. Our grandmothers, great grandmothers, relatives and neighbours all crimped in the same over the top fashion. We wanted to keep this tradition alive and fly in the face of the EU which, under guidance, stated that not only must a pasty be made in Cornwall, it must also beside crimped!

Despite the many talks and plans, we hatched, the pasty company never came about. We were all too busy with another business and life in general. Then on November 2nd 2016, I was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer, to say it knocked me for six and took the wind out of my sails, is an understatement. Nine months of gruelling treatment followed during which I realised I didn't like, professionally, where my life was going.

Once treatment finished, I felt lost, like the best of my life had passed and I did not have and direction until one-day pasties came up again. Kelly  and I talked and talked about it, a dream became a possibility, a possibility a plan and a plan a business. The business has rejuvenated me, I no longer worry about what may lay ahead of me, I am excited by life again and ready to full-fill my dream.

Back to the Pasties! 

We all agreed we needed to stay true to the traditional pasty that my mother and her mother made, the pasty kelly and my other children all refer to as"the granny pasty". This pasty was and still is, served us when we visit. It is like a loving hug, on a plate, from my 82-year-old mother, Wendy Laybourn. She is now helped by my father, Eddie Laybourn, to still produce one of the best pasties in mid-Cornwall!

Our pasties are entirely hand made. The pastry is made using the rubbing method which is then hand-rolled. Sometimes hand-rolling produces rounds that are not of even thickness, resulting in the odd pastry patch. We do not see these as imperfections, they are a sign that a pasty has been handcrafted and true to its roots. The ingredients are chopped  and then they  are layered, always potato first, then swede (turnip to the Cornish) then onion followed by best beef skirt and generous seasoning. we the gather up the pastry and crimp, proudly and defiantly over the top.

We believe our pasties are a joyous celebration of our Cornish heritage. The pastry is light and crisp, the ingredients fresh, Cornish and local so as not to create a large carbon footprint.

If you don't believe our tall Cornish tale about how good our pasties are, the Cornish are renowned for them, then give them a try, or check out our Facebook page for reviews, we know you will love them!