By Tammy Sue Struble
What started as a functional meal for miners in England has become a tasty delight for those in the states. Pronounced “pass-tee,” this delicious meal in a pie-type shell originated in Cornwall, England.
In a tedious process that takes many steps, owner Allan Gower builds these delights at his shop, Ye Olde Miners Pasty Shop at 35201 SR 54 in Zephyrhills, in the Zephyr Village shopping area near Sergio’s restaurant. To some Northerners they are known as Michigan pies, although, they are nothing like a fruit pie or a potpie. Pasties are unique.
A pasty is a meal. It is more firm than a pot pie as it was intended to be eaten by hand like a sandwich.
Monday through Saturday, Gower peels and dices potatoes. Then he makes the pasty dough, which is a little like pie crust, but easier to handle. Gower portions out the dough into pasty size balls. Next he dices the onions and rutabaga then mixes all the vegetables with the ground meat. Gower rolls each pasty by hand, puts in the vegetable and meat mixture, folds the pasty dough over it and crimps the edge closed.
The pasties take about 45 minutes to cook in his convection oven at 350 degrees.
“Some, mostly Michiganers, like them with extra rutabaga,” Gower explained. So, they call ahead so Gower can have it ready for them.
How the pasty made its way to Zephyrhills is interesting. Gower described the origination of a pasty. They came from Cornwall, England where the miners used to take them down into the mines so they would have something nutritious to eat. The original pasties had an extra large crust or handle around the edge that the miners could grasp with their dirty hands. They had no way to wash their hands in the mines back then. They could eat the pasty without contaminating their lunch. When they were finished eating the pasty, they threw the dirty crust on the ground as good luck, by feeding the mine’s gremlins.
In the mornings, the miners would bring their pasty cold. At lunch, they would set the pasty on a clean shovel and place the shovel over the warm ventilation pipes to heat them up.
//From England to Michigan
Gower continued the story. Work for miners in England started getting scarce. When iron ore and copper was found in the upper peninsula of Michigan, thousands migrated from England to Michigan to work…bringing their pasty tradition with them.
Tom Freeland, founder of the Zephyrhills pasty shop, was originally from Gladstone, Michigan. Tom met Gower working at Outback Steakhouse in the Englewood area. Tom got the idea to open a pasty shop, so he semi-retired from Outback and opened a pasty shop in Englewood. Gower learned the pasty trade from Freeland. Tom helped Gower start his Zephyrhills pasty store, sold the Englewood location and moved to Colorado. Gower has been at this location for a little over three years.
Longtime customer Lonnie Smrkovski, from the Lansing, Michigan area, noticed Gower’s pasty shop when he came to Zephyrhills. He had to try them.
“I was very familiar with the pasties (before coming to Florida),” Smrkovski explained. “It’s really a different kind of meal. It’s a lot of work making them yourself. It’s a lot easier to get them from Gower’s shop!”
Regarding Gower’s Ye Olde Miners Pasty Shop, “They are great pasties. Everybody should try them. I eat mine with ketchup. Some eat theirs with gravy. They’re great either way!”
Just a little shop off SR 54 with four small restaurant tables and not a dozen metal folding chairs is a pasty shop open Monday-Friday 11 a.m. to 6p.m and Saturday from 11a.m. to 5 p.m. Gower sells them hot or frozen to take home and bake. A filling 14-ounce pasty is $4.99; a mini half-size seven-ounce is usually $2.99. Bite size/hors d’oeuvre (special order) two-ounce size is $6 a dozen.
Call ahead for special events and ask for a large order discount. Southern Charm park in Zephyrhills recently had a pasty night with a 200-pasty order.
For more information, contact Gower at his shop at (813) 715-7278.
