Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championships

The World Porridge Making Championship is celebrated on October 3 in Scotland, where oatmeal porridge is a staple breakfast. The traditional recipe includes oats, water, and salt, stirred using a wooden tool called a spurtle. Bob Shorter crafts these distinctive tools with rounded ends in his workshop in the Scottish Highlands.

His wife, Hilary Shorter, like many skilled Scottish porridge makers, prefers to stir the porridge with the spurtle in a clockwise direction. She explains, “It’s the shape! You can get right into the edge of the pan, and you can get a really good stir.” The spurtle lends its name to a popular Scottish event, the Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championships.

This annual championship takes place in the quaint village of Carrbridge in the Scottish Highlands, gathering participants from countries such as Bulgaria, Chechnya, Mexico, Slovenia, Spain, and Venezuela. Alan Rankin, the event organizer and known as the porridge chieftain, describes it as akin to a mini-World Cup.

With Carrbridge measuring about 700 residents and featuring two bridges, one pub, and no stoplights, it becomes a bustling hub each October as porridge enthusiasts gather. The event is free, with spectators filling the 19th-century village hall early to secure seating. Thirty contestants cook porridge in heats using double-burner stations, but only six advance to the finals under strict guidelines.

Competitors may only use steel-cut pinhead oats, which have a nuttier flavor than rolled oats. While various salts are allowed, participants often bring their own water from local springs. Judging is conducted using a secret numbering system to evaluate flavor, texture, consistency, and what’s called “mouth feel.”

Emceed by Sarah Rankin, a former Masterchef finalist, the event celebrates Scotland’s strong connection to oats, a major crop well-suited to the country’s climate and soils. “In a bad winter, there will be a harvest,” she remarks. “Everyone can eat it—the animals, the livestock, and the people.”

The previous year’s winner, Sven Seljom, impressed judges with a rare Norwegian “black oat,” noted for its appetizing color and crunchy texture. He returns this year to defend his title against competitors eager to refine their porridge-making skills.