IT IS the iconic foodstuff of the Westcountry and the ultimate in recession-busting, portable meals.

Now, after weeks of warm weather, pasties are selling like proverbial hot cakes as customers appear to turn their backs on cafes for lunch.

"As soon as we get them out of the oven, they're sold," said Jason Jobling, product development manager for Warrens Bakery.

"We have queues of people outside the shops and as soon as the oven door is open, the pasties are being sold."

Warrens, based in St Just, West Cornwall, with 55 shops across Devon and Cornwall, is enjoying a bumper start to the season.

"Our sales are definitely up," said Mr Jobling. "I think a lot of it is that pasties present good value for money.

"You can go to a coffee shop and have a couple of drinks and a cake and not get much change from £10 and still want something for lunch.

"The alternative is getting a pasty for not much more than £2."

The firm's best seller is a medium traditional Cornish pasty, but demand has led it to experiment – on Monday, Warrens will start selling pasties flavoured with love-it-or-hate-it ingredient Marmite.

The cheese and Marmite or steak and Marmite pasties were already causing a stir, said Mr Jobling.

"We have had phone calls from people asking if they can buy them yet."

Meanwhile, Ann Muller, proprietor of the Lizard Pasty Shop, said sales of pasties were up due to a combination of the recession and the good weather. "A pasty is wholesome and affordable. They're nutritious and very good value for money.

"I think that's why a lot of people are choosing a pasty rather than a restaurant. It's a recession-busting meal."

The chance to eat al fresco was also important to customers. She added: "People like being able to eat outdoors and we've had such good weather recently. I think people are grabbing a pasty so they can sit out and enjoy the sunshine."

Mark Muncey, marketing director of Proper Cornish, said the company was enjoying a "fantastic" summer in terms of pasty sales.

Things were looking good with the weak pound attracting more foreign visitors who may be tempted to try traditional foods like pasties, and pasties were good value in a recession-hit economy, he added.

"The 'food to go' and convenience market is bearing up well under the current economic pressures, and pasties fit perfectly into this category.

"They are portable, a wholesome meal in one and, most importantly, are perceived as value for money.

"We are looking forward to a busy summer season," he said.