Barney's Pasty Challenge Blue Peter Bite

This is Blue Peter, but mini.

Expect epic adventures, bakes, makes, badges, pets,

presenters and your post.

We've only got five minutes, so get ready for your Blue Peter adventure.

This is the Eden Project,

home to one of the world's largest indoor rainforests.

It is quite simply stunning.

Even the Latin names for these plants are incredible and beautiful.

Look at this - Simmondsia chinensis.

It just sounds beautiful, doesn't it?

But if you want to see something really exotic, take a look at this.

This is...

The Cornishius pastius.

That's the real reason we're here today.

Oh, yes, because I'm not here to see the stunning plant life.

Oh, no - I'm here because this place also hosts

the World Pasty Championships,

and this year, they have a new challenger.

Me.

I'm going to be entering the competition

and trying to create a prize-winning Cornish pasty,

but I don't know the first thing about making these famous treats.

Luckily, though, Jake, Naomi and last year's junior champ Jack do.

Let's talk about what makes the perfect pasty.

Jack, what do you think?

Well, you need to have fresh, home-grown ingredients, if you can.

But they need to be, like, perfect.

Use good ingredients in your pasty - OK.

Then, Jake, what would you say is important?

Well, you've got to make sure it tastes good and not just looks good.

These guys take this seriously - but who can blame them?

The iconic Cornish pasty is a little piece of history.

They were created hundreds of years ago

for those working underground in the mines of Cornwall.

Their unusual crimped crust gave the miners something to hold on to,

without getting their lunch dirty.

Well, I think it's time to get cracking,

so if I get some pastry - here's one I made earlier...

-Doesn't look like a Cornish pasty yet, does it?

-No.

You need to roll it to about 25 to 30 centimetres.

What sort of shape am I going for?

-A circle.

-A circle. OK.

For the filling, in goes potato, swede, onion, beef

and Jack's special secret ingredient -

clotted cream.

Wait - what?

What the clotted cream does is,

it makes a sort of gravy in the pasty.

I'll have to trust you on this one, Jack.

The ingredients are then placed onto the rolled pastry,

which is folded, ready for crimping.

You have to start from the right side,

and then keep on folding in a triangle, like that.

It's this folding of the edge, called crimping,

that seals the filling in and makes the pasty unique.

Wow - that's my first-ever pasty.

-Can't eat it now, though, can we?

-No.

-We need to put it in the oven.

55 minutes in the oven, and that's my traditional Cornish entry done.

I'd also entered into the Open Savoury category.

That means I can make another pasty,

which gives me another shot to win the competition,

and, also, I don't have to do the traditional food inside it.

I can make anything I want.

So I'm going to make steak and blue cheese,

which is a match made in heaven.

So I'm adding blue cheese to your classic recipe...

..and a cheeky BP badge on top, obvs.

Next stop, competition time.

There are literally hundreds of pasties here,

and the competition is tough.

When I come to submit my crimped creations,

I realise the rules on entering are even tougher.

OK, so, for the Cornish pasty,

are you a professional baker or cook?

-No.

-Does it have beef, potato, onion or swedes?

-Yes.

-Perfect. Is it side-crimped?

-Yes.

-Is it made in Cornwall?

-Yes.

-OK, perfect. So, you've passed that one.

-Brilliant. Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

-This is exciting.

Jake, Naomi and Jack also get their entries in,

meaning all that's left is for me to pop mine on display.

There you go.

Mine, for sure, look very different.

No-one is going to miss this.

From space, actually - look how big that is.

I've got my savoury and I've got my traditional.

And while we're being traditional,

why not stick a Blue Peter flag in there as well?

So that everyone knows just how good a chef I am.

The judges will score each pasty out of 100,

so, as we await the results, I want to know what these guys

with a passion for pastry think of my efforts.

Hello, junior judges.

-ALL:

-Hello!

So, here is a pasty that's been made by me.

It's my first time, so be nice.

The score is out of 100. Take a piece and see what you think.

So if you were going to give me a score out of 100, what would it be?

-100.

-OK.

-1,000!

-1,000 out of 100? That's a good score.

Thank you for trying them.

Shall I see if anyone else wants to try them?

-Can I take another one?

-You want another one?

-Really? It's that good?

-Yeah.

Sadly, though, these guys don't actually decide the competition,

so it's time to find out how I've done.

Has he done it?

Cue the tension music.

The winner of the Open Savoury Pasty Amateur is...

Don McKeever.

Right - so maybe the steak and Stilton wasn't my best idea.

But I've still got my traditional Cornish - come on!

And the winner is...

Vanessa Farr.

Oh, well. Better luck next time.

You can't win them all.

But Naomi and Jack both get third place in their categories.

What an effort!

And as the pastry dust settles, I get my scores from the judges.

I got a total of 38 out of 100.

That was for my savoury one, the steak and cheese,

which I thought, actually, was the worst one.

Underneath that, we've got the traditional pasty.

I got 48/100. That's not too bad.

OK, I take it on board.

I'm not the best pasty maker in the world.

But what I have done is enjoyed myself -

not just the tasting and the cooking, but the learning.

And who knows what's going to happen next year?

I'll be back.

Join in every Thursday on CBBC.