Cornwall’s Rishi Sunak eating a pasta the ‘wrong way’ is sparking a huge debate

Rishi Sunak’s trip to Cornwall last week didn’t quite go to plan, but the Prime Minister’s stop for a Cornish lunch treat got our readers excited. He popped into the top Philps pasta shop in Hayle for what was said to be a ‘surprise visit’, leading to a backlash against the business on social media.

Sunak’s turbulent tour of Cornwall also included a visit to a dentist in Newquay to set out his plans to save NHS dentistry – which has emerged as not accepting new NHS patients. He also stopped at a nursery school near Penzance for a quick response on a small plastic chair.

But calls for a Philps boycott got you talking in our comments section.

User Gully said: “Whoever at Philps signed this off clearly didn’t think it through… with unelected Sunak being as popular as genital warts, I’m not surprised there’s been a bit of a backlash.” Jamsdad agrees: “It was Philps’ decision to post on Facebook, making it clear they were happy with Sunak’s arrival. I would have shown him the door.”

Read more: Rishi Sunak visits Philps pasta shop – and has regrets

Read more: Rishi Sunak talks about Cornwall – from a small nursery chair

For M0AJF, it’s all spiraled out of control – but there’s no love lost for PM. “It’s not Philps’ fault that Sunak used them for a photo shoot, so don’t take them off. My main gripe is when did he last come to Cornwall? When did he ever talk to the people here about the multitude of problems? He and his mob don’t care about Cornwall, only because there is an election coming up and all the polls show the Tories will be destroyed here! I suppose it could have been worse, they could have sent on Rees-Mogg or 30p Lee Anderson.

Gpz900 said: “Seriously, some people are going to stop buying from a business because a prime minister from a political party they don’t like just stopped there for a quick photo opportunity? Grow up and get a grip!” They were backed by Whpmrr: “There are some pathetic people out there threatening to boycott a business for daring to receive a visit from the Prime Minister.”

Is talk of a Philp boycott too much for you too? Comment below to join the conversation.

Saffa does not want her pleasant memories mixed with anger: “The world has gone mad. I used to go to Philp’s on my lunch break when they were just a little corner shop by the mill ponds. Now people are cursing them just because the prime minister was hungry and came to eat something. If I ever go back to Hayle again, I for one will come and have one of, if not the best cakes in the world.’

“Where Rishi ate is not a problem, it could be anywhere. Don’t boycott Philps,” PastyKing said. “He ate a lot of pasty, on the side though. As much of a spectacle as Ed Millibands ham sandwich’, referring to a bizarre photo which has gone viral of the former Labor leader’s contorted face as he bites into a sandwich. Which brings us to the second issue – that pasty picture.

Rishi was later snapped taking a bite of one of the famous traditional Cornish cakes in a seemingly traditional manner – fingers on the crimps and eating from the top, which many thought was so wrong. A bit too traditional, as it turned out, it sparked the age-old Facebook debate about how pasta should be eaten in the 21st century.

“I mean, technically he’s eating it right,” Kimberley Chantelle McCreadie said on Facebook. “The whole point of the crust is so the miner can throw it away and eat anything else. However, times have changed!” Ian Francis said, “If he’s anything like using a hammer, then God teach him right.”

Mark H Murray gives us the modern standard: “Everybody eats the first end of the crust, it’s standard now, so they try to fit in, but unfortunately they fail.” But Jenna Broadhurst goes Rishi-style: “I eat a pasty like an old Cornish miner holding the crust to eat through the last middle crust.” Although there were also comments that this was a myth and the miners ate the first end, as most of us do today.

Was the old miner’s grip managed by the Prime Minister’s team or was Rishi just guessing? Lisa Rowe seems to think so: “It’s actually the right way my 6 grandchildren eat, it’s Cornish cakes like this. But how would Rishi know this?” Helen Morley believes you can’t be too precious about it: “Visitors should be welcomed, not scoffed at… they can’t all know the Cornish way…”.

Get the best stories and breaking news delivered to your inbox every day. Choose what you want Here.

Chris Simmons is a little more cynical: “You wonder if he was trained to act like that?” Paul Gibbons reckons Rishi has been lucky with the local fauna: “Where’s a seagull when you need one?”

But it was too much for some, like Charlotte Welham: “I’ve never been so insulted in my life.” “Unelected, self-centered, crook, give him a Ginsters,” said David Welland.

Does Rishi really know how to eat a pasta? Comment below and join the conversation.