May 6, 2026
9 mins
Destination: Devon & Cornwall
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Cornwall Food & Drink. Our Top 9 Favourites
Throughout childhood, our holidays werenโt overseas โ all early starts and sun loungers. Time away for our family meant loading up the car, and at first, journeying over the Anglo-Welsh border to Pembrokeshire, or, latterly, as my teenage years approached, heading further South and then West to the proud county of Cornwall.
Hailing from slap bang in the centre of England meant the allure of golden sandy beaches and azure waters was always a tantalising prospect. But it wasnโt simply the geography and landscape of Cornwall that appealed.
The food in Cornwall was the reason to visit, with the mere mention of a holiday enough to start my tummy rumbling. The crumbly pastry and piping hot filling of a Cornish Pasty. Early-season Cornish potatoes, boiled with mint and swimming in melted butter. The smell of a fresh-baked scone, doused in clotted cream and smothered in jam.
And it seems Iโm not the only one to have been lured to the region thanks to its food. Research from 2019 suggested over ยฃ300million was spent by staying visitors on Cornish food and drink.
After continuing to eat my way around the region in the intervening years, more than once returning a few pounds heavier than I left, I thought itโd be worth sharing some of my favourite tastes of Cornwall.
The Cornish Pasty
What is a Cornish Pasty?
Starting on safe, well-known ground, with what might be the best-known of Cornwallโs regional delicacies. The Cornish pasty is a hearty, hand-held pie traditionally filled with beef, potato, swede and onion, all encased in a thick, golden pastry and crimped along the edge.
Originally designed as a portable meal for miners, itโs as practical as it is delicious. The thick Shortcrust pastry edge served as something for workers to hold onto, with the end often discarded to prevent ingestion of dangerous contaminants like arsenic.
Historically, some pasties were baked with a savoury filling at one end and a sweet one at the other. Two meals in one โ ingenious.
Best consumed after an hour or so cycling Cornwallโs undulating lanes.
Hidden favourite
Thereโs fierce debate about the best โ or best hidden pasty โ in Cornwall, so rather than get myself into some hot water, Iโll sit on the fence! Places like Annโs Pasties and Philps are consistently excellent.
A Cornish Cream Tea
What is a Cornish Cream Tea?
A food and drink combination, known the world over, an English Cream Tea usually consists of a freshly baked scone (straight sides and a high rise are markers of a good one!), clotted cream, jam and a pot of tea.
Down in Cornwall, an English Cream Tea can also be referred to as a Cornish Cream Tea. Itโs an afternoon ritual worth slowing down for, but few things spark more debate than the correct order of which to top your scone.
In Cornwall, itโs jam first, then clotted cream โ and anything else is, frankly, wrong (depending on who you ask). Whichever item you choose to spread first, just be sure itโs going on top of a nice layer of butter!
Best sampled after hiking Cornwallโs rugged cliffs, golden beaches, windswept moors, and woodland trails.
Rather than recommend the best place to sample a Cornish Cream tea, Iโd like to recommend the best Clotted Cream instead! Whilst Rhoddaโs seems to have monopolised the market, Iโve always had a strong penchant for Cornish Dairy Co (Previous Trewithen Dairy) Clotted Cream. Made from the finest Cornish milk, this thick, unctuous cream always leaves me wanting more.
Hidden favourite
The Village Tearooms in Tintagel, Northern Cornwall, isnโt the largest, but this quaint little tea room serves up one of the best cream teas Iโve tried. Warm scones, lashings of cream and jam and a steaming hot cup of tea to wash it down โ lovely!
Saffron Cakes
What are Saffron Cakes?
Sometimes baked individually, and thus called Saffron Buns, these lesser-known Cornish specialities are lightly spiced, fruit-filled sweet buns, enriched with saffron. This gives them their distinctive golden hue and subtle flavour.
Hidden Favourite
On the South Cornish coast, the small town of Fowey is a fantastic place to visit. And tucked away on Fore Street, number 37 to be precise, is Quay Bakery. A place for artisan breads, cakes and our favourite, the saffron bun.
Cornish Yarg
What is Cornish Yarg?
A semi-hard cowโs milk cheese wrapped in nettle leaves (of all things!), giving it a delicate, slightly mushroomy rind and a fresh, creamy interior. A picnic centrepiece, no doubt.
Hidden favourite
Notable Cornish Yarg producer, Lynher Dairy, also makes a subtle, but seasonal variant โ a Wild Garlic Yarg. The deep green, pungent leaves of the garlic offer a bolder alternative to the nettle variety of Yarg.
Cornish Fairing
What is a Cornish Fairing?
A traditional spiced biscuit, once sold at fairs (hence the name). Think gingerbread, but thinner, crisper, and with a warming spice that lingers. Much like a cream tea, my favourite way to sample a fairing is with a steaming hot cup of milky breakfast tea โ never seperate an Englishman from his tea!
Hidden favourite
The story of the Cornish Fairing is, in fact, the story of one company, Furniss Foods. Though its ownership has changed hands in the intervening hundred or so years, Furniss is the only licensed company manufacturing the Original Cornish Fairingโข. So, unless youโre going to bake them yourself, thereโs not much choice of Fairing on the market! But having tasted many of the years, thatโs very much fine by me!
Cornish Ice Cream
What is Cornish Ice Cream?
Rich, indulgent, and made with local clotted cream, Cornish ice cream is perhaps the best in the UK. Even on the chilliest of winter days in Cornwall, itโs hard to resist. My tip for getting the best Cornish ice cream taste? Ask for your scoop to be topped with a generous dollop of clotted cream. Yum!
Hidden favourite
Whilst the larger Cornish producers, like Roskillyโs, Kellyโs and Callestick Farm, have grown in popularity to such an extent that theyโre available right across the UK, my heart lies with Treleavens and their luxury Cornish ice cream. If you can find it during your visit, Iโd recommend the classic chocolate flavour.
Cornish Lobster
What is Cornish Lobster?
With the longest coastline of any English county, 422 miles to be exact and some of the healthiest lobster populations in the entirety of the UK, you donโt have to look too far to find some lobster to sample.
Freshly caught from the surrounding waters, Cornish lobster is sweet, tender, and best kept simple โ grilled, dressed lightly, or served in a roll.
Hidden favourite
Whilst the larger Cornish producers, like Roskillyโs, Kellyโs and Callestick Farm, have grown in popularity to such an extent that theyโre available right across the UK, my heart lies with Treleavens and their luxury Cornish ice cream. If you can find it during your visit, Iโd recommend the classic chocolate flavour.
Cornish New Potatoes
What are Cornish potatoes?
Among the first potatoes harvested in the UK each year, these small, delicate potatoes are prized for their thin skins and subtly sweet flavour. Akin to the more widely known Jersey Royal, Cornish Earlies โ as theyโre known โ are a sign of brighter days to come.
Hidden favourite
Not necessarily a hidden favourite, but a recipe recommendation. Whilst itโs hard to beat these potatoes simply boiled with a liberal sprinkling of salt and a sprig of mint, my favourite way to eat them is quickly roasted with fresh herbs, garlic, salt, pepper and rapeseed oil. Delicious!
Cornish Wine
What is Cornish wine?
UK wine-producing regions are challenging mainland Europeโs traditional wine hegemony, with Cornwallโs mild climate giving rise to a quietly impressive wine scene, particularly sparkling varieties.
Hidden favourite
Camel Valley is perhaps the most well-known of Cornish wineries, so by no means are they โhiddenโ โ but rather than simply sampling their wares at a hotel or restaurant, visit them for a tour yourself.
That brings to a close my guide to Cornish food and drink. Feeling hungry? Or thirsty for that matter? Taste Cornwall for yourself on the tours listed below
