Eat My Pasty: Sharing A Bite From Home
BY DIANE MERCADO; PHOTOGRAPHY BY RICK COOPER
Jeff and Stacey Temperley, owners of the Eat My Pasty (pronounced past-ee) food tent and, most recently, restaurant, epitomize the American dream. The husband and wife team are both natives of Essex, England. Jeff immigrated to Panama City Beach a little more than two years ago to start a property maintenance company. In England he had started and sold several small businesses and, at one time, owned two health clubs and a boxing club where he coached and sparred.
“I come from a family of builders,” Jeff says. “Hard work has never been an issue for me.” He knows “firsthand how hard it can be to start a new business.” When Jeff and Stacey decided to emigrate, Jeff sold his UK business and spent 18 months making several trips establishing his first U.S. company, Allied Window Cleaning. The longest trip kept him away from his family for five months, he remembers.
“That was tough for me being away from my family, but it was worth the sacrifice for our new lifestyle,” he says. When business became profitable enough, Jeff sent for his wife, Stacey, 8-year-old daughter, Honey, and their 15-year-old son, Josh. Eat My Pasty quickly became a family affair.
The idea was to share the taste of home with others. Pasties are a traditional comfort food in England, much like meat or fruit turnovers are in the states. Pasties are shaped differently and come in many unique flavors.
“Our mission is to make the best pasty you’ve ever tasted,” Jeff says. “We combine the best flavors from traditional English recipes with a modern twist.”
Admittedly, Jeff admits he knew nothing about creating pasties when he moved away from England but he was determined to learn. Half laughing, he remarks, “I like to tell people Chef Gordon Ramsey taught me how to make pasty in a two-minute, thirteen-second YouTube video.”
In early 2015, the Temperleys started out by setting up a food tent and offering the pasties at area farmers markets and festivals. In their peak season they offered choices with 28 taste combinations, from 1,000-year-old recipes such as traditional Cornish, the sausage and sage, sausage with garlic and rosemary, or sausage and sweet onion relish. Contemporary choices are peppered steak, pork and apple, cheese, chicken, bacon and tomato and international flavors such as Thai green chicken, spicy Mexican chicken or Jamaican beef curry. The sweet pasties are filled with a tasty variety of apple strudel, peach cobbler, cherry and white chocolate, and their family recipe, auntie Helen’s waffle berry pudding.
“There’s something for everyone” Stacey says. “We share all the short-order cooking, but we leave the pasty up to Jeff.”
With the relatively quick success of the Eat My Pasty food tent, it became obvious to the couple that they were onto something special. So this past October, after renovating a space in a record six weeks, Jeff and Stacey gambled their house deposit on opening their first Eat My Pasty restaurant, with the hope that investors can be secured and it will develop into a franchise across the U.S.
Aside from all the pasty selections offered at their food tent (that is on hold temporarily) the restaurant offers many other British classics such as Fish ‘n’ Chips (cod or haddock cooked with Jeff’s original batter recipe), battered sausage or saveloy served with chips. Sides include traditional English delicacies such as mushy peas, black pudding and curry sauce, and a wide variety of domestic and imported beers. Generous portions are served at reasonable prices.
“Most people think we are just about the food, but we also serve different beers and most of the popular American beers.” Jeff also hopes to serve London Stout when the brewery starts exporting to the USA some time next year. Jeff knows that this historic beer has been around for hundreds of years and is where Arthur Guinness drew his inspiration.
“Eat My Pasty had humble beginnings but it quickly became clear that interest in the brand was growing and, after receiving several inquiries about franchising, we decided to start taking applications to explore that opportunity,” Jeff says. “We know that often the biggest obstacles are overcome easiest when you simply have a chance to talk to someone who has faced them before.”
“There are some things I miss from home, obviously family and friends and some foods,” Stacey says. “But who wouldn’t love the sunny, warm weather here year round. Plus there’s always something happening.”
For Jeff the move was more a matter of chasing a dream and finding new beginnings. “The yoke of business is much heavier in England,” he says. “I find the American dream is still alive and well with a bit of luck and a lot of hard work.”
Eat My Pasty
280 S. Arnold Road, Panama City Beach
(850)235-7981
Open Tuesday – Sunday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
www.eatmypasty.com