Someone's been eating my porridge

Like Goldilocks, we simply can’t get enough of the stuff. Emma Hughes goes in search of the perfect bowl of porridge oats

- Emma Hughes

FOR 364 days of the year, Carrbridge Village Hall hosts wedding receptions, ceilidhs, music and art classes—all the things you’d expect from a community hub in the Highlands. However, for the past 27 years, one October day has seen the handsome building transformed into the venue for an event you won’t find anywhere else in the world.

‘The contestants plan their year around the date,’ reveals Charlie Miller, one of the organisers of the World Porridge Making Championships. ‘Hundreds of people come here every year just to watch it. Some of them get here early in the morning and put down camping chairs, and they’re here until 6 pm.’

Echoing Dalemain’s Marmalade Awards, the contest, which began in 1994 as a way of boosting the village’s profile in the winter months, has become a global phenomenon, with entrants from as far afield as Sweden, Canada and the US travelling to Scotland. They’re all hoping that the bowl of porridge they make on the day using only oatmeal (we’ll come back to that), salt and water will bag them the Golden Spurtle: a trophy fashioned after the time-honoured porridge-stirring implement. The only preparation allowed is pre-soaking of the oats (‘half an hour can make all the difference’), to level the playing field. ‘We’ve actually had competitors who’ve never made porridge before,’ admits Mr Miller. ‘It’s a dish anyone can make.’