It’s not just independence that Virginia has taken from Great Britain: The 2018 World Pasty Championship's "Open Savoury Company" title went to Vienna, Virginia, baker Mike Burgess and his Pure Pasty Company.
Now he’s hoping he’ll be able to bring home the title again this year.
Pasties, (pronounced with the “a” sound in “grassy”) are British pastries filled with meat and vegetables, similar to an empanada. Last year, Burgess’s barbecue chicken won him the top prize. He remains closely guarded when it comes to revealing his recipes, but Burgess is eager to see how his new pasties fare.
“I’m expecting there’s going to be a lot of good-natured banter and chitchat about it,” Burgess said.
Burgess will be competing with hundreds of other bakers at the championship this year.
“This year going in we’ve worked really, really hard on our flavors,” Burgess said. “We thought we’d do something a little different.”
Burgess will get the chance to defend his title on March 2, when the World Pasty Championship returns to Cornwall in the United Kingdom.
