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Nasty Pasty
It is Cornwall, 2013. The dear old county is on a knife-edge, in imminent, grave danger of becoming just another non-descript, leafy suburb of the Home Counties. Increasingly, the ethnic Cornish are being bought up and sold out, their dialect ridiculed and their accents punctuated by estuarine glottal stops, marginalized in their own land. Cup cakes and slices of quiche are rumoured to have been seen in a baker’s window in Truro. The tin mines have all closed. The Spanish are hoovering up the fish, Marks and Sparks are trying to make clotted cream, and now the greatest Cornish icon of them all, the pasty, is under threat.
In the sleepy north coast fishing village of Tredogend, TV star super-chef ‘Huge!’ larges his way into town with his simpering, sycophantic media circus in tow. Huge!, a swaggering blackguard, a bounder, a rake, a snake-in-the-grass, shagnasty, pasty-grasping fake, is intent on bulldozing his celebrity through centuries of Cornish culture and identity in his gluttonous lust to wrest the secret alchemy of the pasty from the Cornish, and re-invent himself as Pasty King of the World.
And it is in Tredogend that he finds supreme artisan pasty baker Oggy Sloggett; a proper honest family man, a man who sings for joy, his voice as an organ pumping from the depths of his big old, good old Cornish heart. He is a man dogged by a log-jam of debt and bogged down in the unrelenting daily slog of pasty baking, but a man whose family are the unwitting custodians of the mysterious sorcery of the world’s most fabulous, mouth-wateringly delicious dish.
Will he, and Cornwall, sleepwalk into oblivion, or will a hero emerge to save the dear old county?
Shall Trelawney live? Or shall Trelawney die?
Nasty pasty…
In the sleepy north coast fishing village of Tredogend, TV star super-chef ‘Huge!’ larges his way into town with his simpering, sycophantic media circus in tow. Huge!, a swaggering blackguard, a bounder, a rake, a snake-in-the-grass, shagnasty, pasty-grasping fake, is intent on bulldozing his celebrity through centuries of Cornish culture and identity in his gluttonous lust to wrest the secret alchemy of the pasty from the Cornish, and re-invent himself as Pasty King of the World.
And it is in Tredogend that he finds supreme artisan pasty baker Oggy Sloggett; a proper honest family man, a man who sings for joy, his voice as an organ pumping from the depths of his big old, good old Cornish heart. He is a man dogged by a log-jam of debt and bogged down in the unrelenting daily slog of pasty baking, but a man whose family are the unwitting custodians of the mysterious sorcery of the world’s most fabulous, mouth-wateringly delicious dish.
Will he, and Cornwall, sleepwalk into oblivion, or will a hero emerge to save the dear old county?
Shall Trelawney live? Or shall Trelawney die?
Nasty pasty…
349 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 22, 2014
3 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
About the author
Jon Cleave
7 books9 followersAuthor and illustrator, Jon Cleave, lives in the heart of the lovely old Cornish fishing village of Port Isaac with his wife Caroline and three children.
Jon is also an experienced singer and storyteller who has appeared on TV and radio, and entertained on stage at the Eden Project, Sidmouth Folk Festival and the Royal Albert Hall, as well as appearing regularly at Cornish events.
Jon is also an experienced singer and storyteller who has appeared on TV and radio, and entertained on stage at the Eden Project, Sidmouth Folk Festival and the Royal Albert Hall, as well as appearing regularly at Cornish events.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 5, 2025
It's not my usual choice of reading material, but my father lent me his author signed copy, so as an exile from Cornwall myself, I felt obliged to give it a go. I'm glad I did.
The characters, setting, language, and humour are so perfectly Cornish. It not only oozes the heart and soul of Cornwall but reminds us there is hope for the future.
Jon Cleave perfectly captures the Cornish personality and the 'dreckly' way of being that is as Cornish as the pasty itself. Cleave cleverly interweaves patriotism, 'nationalism', and identity into a comical tale of calamities, confusion, and cash-rich emmets annexing the only part of the British Isles that never joined the Union!
Obviously, given his background, Cleave draws upon the world of fisherman's choirs to introduce folk music, folklore, and through his protagonists the old Cornish dialect and splattering of the old Celtic language.
The book is beautifully structured, flowing seamlessly despite rapid switches of location and viewpoint. Each chapter is begun with either a definition of dialect or lines from a traditional song. Funnily, as I was reading, I constantly had Harry Glasson's 'Cornwall My Home' going round in my head. It should, therefore, have been no surprise to find it quoted in the final pages.
Maybe the book was a little clichéd in its portrayals of stereotypes, but it aided the narrative and humour. It definitely felt like home.
'And no one will ever move me from this land
Until the Lord calls me to sit at His hand
For this is my Eden, and I'm not alone
For this is my Cornwall and this is my home.'
Harry Glasson's 'Cornwall My Home'
The characters, setting, language, and humour are so perfectly Cornish. It not only oozes the heart and soul of Cornwall but reminds us there is hope for the future.
Jon Cleave perfectly captures the Cornish personality and the 'dreckly' way of being that is as Cornish as the pasty itself. Cleave cleverly interweaves patriotism, 'nationalism', and identity into a comical tale of calamities, confusion, and cash-rich emmets annexing the only part of the British Isles that never joined the Union!
Obviously, given his background, Cleave draws upon the world of fisherman's choirs to introduce folk music, folklore, and through his protagonists the old Cornish dialect and splattering of the old Celtic language.
The book is beautifully structured, flowing seamlessly despite rapid switches of location and viewpoint. Each chapter is begun with either a definition of dialect or lines from a traditional song. Funnily, as I was reading, I constantly had Harry Glasson's 'Cornwall My Home' going round in my head. It should, therefore, have been no surprise to find it quoted in the final pages.
Maybe the book was a little clichéd in its portrayals of stereotypes, but it aided the narrative and humour. It definitely felt like home.
'And no one will ever move me from this land
Until the Lord calls me to sit at His hand
For this is my Eden, and I'm not alone
For this is my Cornwall and this is my home.'
Harry Glasson's 'Cornwall My Home'
April 1, 2015
JC purchased this in the local shop and as he had read it so it was my turn. It was indeed good holiday read, especially when staying in 'Sloggett' land and consuming pasties by the dozen. You have to love an author who names the children of the 'London Chef' Goujon, Quenelle and Julienne. T'was 'ansum and I finished it dreckly.
January 6, 2023
As a fan of Port Isaac's Fisherman's Friends I couldn't wait to read Cleavsey's book. I was delighted to get Nasty Pasty for Christmas and it did not disappoint! Full of comedy, action and Cornish passion, Jon is a wonderfully descriptive author that fires the imagination with vivid imagery. Nasty Pasty is a must read for all those in the West Country as we can see similarities between our own struggles in this beautiful part of England (England stops at the Tamar mind, I mustn't forget that!). If you get the chance to read this do it, the Slogget's story is a real treat and something to be cherished!
May 26, 2021
Cornish spirit
What a fabulous read. Having lived in Cornwall for many years this book has brought back so many memories. Wonderfully written with typical local humour it was better than a cream tea!
Totally recommend this book, with a pasty in one hand and a beer, you wouldn’t need anything else. Proper Job, Boy!
What a fabulous read. Having lived in Cornwall for many years this book has brought back so many memories. Wonderfully written with typical local humour it was better than a cream tea!
Totally recommend this book, with a pasty in one hand and a beer, you wouldn’t need anything else. Proper Job, Boy!
December 15, 2023
A good, easy, humorous read.
A warm, humourous, and hearty story about Cornish loyalties and determination. Triumph over adversity and littered with extracts from Cornish shanties and language references.
A warm, humourous, and hearty story about Cornish loyalties and determination. Triumph over adversity and littered with extracts from Cornish shanties and language references.
April 30, 2025
Found this in the local charity shop and as I'm as Cornish as they come, and a fan of Fisherman's Friends, I snapped it up. It's a good read, very humorous with some great characters. It would make a great film or even a short TV series - Someone should plug it to the right people.
September 9, 2018
Brilliantly clever and funny look at life in North Cornwall
November 4, 2025
Entertaining read, so Cornish!
May 15, 2016
I bought this whilst at the Padstow Christmas Festival last year, from the author himself. Jon Cleave is a talented man and I found this book to be no exception to that. I can imagine that it's better to have knowledge of Cornwall and of Cornish folk, to fully appreciate it (which I did). A very enjoyable read with a message from a proud Cornish man.
October 10, 2016
This was a fun read. Picked up this book while we were visiting Port Isaac in 2014 - and met the author who signed it for us. Finally got around to reading it, and it was a hoot. Great characters, love-able and hate-able both. Next trip to the U.K. will definitely include more time in Cornwall. I'll be looking for Mothers Pasty shop.
January 21, 2015
So funny, you probably have to know Cornwall or the Cornish to get a lot of the joke tho'.
March 30, 2015
A good fun read, especially when read in situ, in Kernow. It was easy to get to know the characters and to feel the atmosphere of the setting, even more so having been sold the book by the author.
February 17, 2017
I thoroughly enjoyed it. It had everything I love in it. Food/cooking, Cornwall, suspense, humor. Well done.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews