Grueling Adventure

 

I saw my birder friend Beth at the mailboxes this morning, she was coming back from a walk with her cute dog Bertie.

I asked her what was new and she reminded me that we had an Audubon Christmas bird count or two coming up in a couple months.

How could I forget?

But then she told me that she was taking off to Scotland with her friend Beth II pretty soon.

I asked her what was up with that and she said that she was going to the Golden Spurtle, with that all knowing look.

As you know, I pride myself on being a renaissance sort and a with it, man of the world type but I honestly had no idea what the hell she was talking about.

"You know, the porridge festival."

I stood there, slightly flummoxed. I can think of a lot of reasons to travel to Europe but gruel just does not rank highly on my list. I ate plenty of it when I was poor and my days of romancing with oatmeal and scrapple have long since passed.

But once again, who am I to step on anybody else's dreams or farina and so I gave her all the encouragement I could muster. How was I to know they were maestras of mush, goddesses of groats?

I looked it up when I got to my computer. Yes, the Golden Spurtle is a thing, as if you didn't know. 

Competitors come the world over to stir their cast iron cauldrons. Going on 31 years now. 

Cooks compete to create several pints of porridge for three or four judges to sample.

The World Porridge Making Championship® title and the Golden Spurtle® will be awarded to the competitor producing the best traditional porridge, made from oatmeal [pinhead, course, medium or fine].

The traditional porridge must be made with untreated oatmeal (not with oat flakes/rolled oats) and with only water and salt added. Any porridge made with oats other than oatmeal will be disqualified. Competitors, who prefer to ‘soak’ their oatmeal, may do so, but no prior cooking is allowed.

Each competitor is required to produce at least 2 pints or 1.1 Litres of porridge which is to be divided into 4 portions for the judges to taste. Presentation bowls will be provided for each competitor to enable them to present their 4 porridge portions anonymously.

Judging of the porridge will be made on the consistency, taste and colour of the porridge and on the competitor’s hygiene in the cooking process. Judges will enter the cooking area but the anonymity of the final traditional dishes is preserved by a secret numbering process.

The heat winners must be available to compete in the final cook-off (20 mins) and will be required to produce a second batch of 2 pints or 1.1 litre. of traditional porridge.

Pinhead?

The first Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championships were held in Carrbridge on Sunday, 11th September, 1994 and the 25th on 6th October 2018. 

Roger Reed was the creator behind the event, who was the owner of the Fairwinds Hotel, Carrbridge and secretary of the Carrbridge Community Council. The idea of the Championship was to raise the profile of Carrbridge and of porridge rather than to raise funds. At the time Roger was quoted in the local press “it is a very healthy food and we should make more people aware of this”.

 Roger recalled the first competition:

“At the time I was a member of the Community Council and, I think, the village tourist organisation. I was out walking the dog in the woods behind Fairwinds one day, thinking of how to promote Carr-Bridge. I knew that other small villages around the country, UK, had world championships, conkers, tiddley winks and marbles etc., what could Carr-Bridge do? I used to make the porridge at Fairwinds and the idea of World Porridge came to mind. I went down to the Ecclefechan (Restaurant) to put the idea to Duncan Hilditch. In a very short time we decided that it would be possible to hold a competition in making porridge. Everybody had their own way of making porridge, could we find the best. Duncan was sure that he knew enough top chefs to act as judges. We then drew up the rules for making basic porridge. We decided that to add interest we would add a speciality section where the competitors could let their imagination take over. It was probably all sorted out in an hour or so. Duncan sorted out the judges, I organised the event. I put the idea to the Community Council, they approved and funded the initial event and subsequent years. It was never intended to make money but not lose too much. Simple idea really.” 

I think the thing started off pretty simply but now see that we have come to the day of specialty porridges, bok choy and Piña Colada and the like. 

Can't leave well enough alone now, can we?

All I can say about the Beths' journey, is well, somebody had to go.

And if they can put Fallbrook on the international porridge map with some tasty avocado porridge number, well, all the better. Represent, ladies.

I sincerely hope that they have been honing their porridge skills and not embarrass all the hot cereal lovers in Fallbrook who will anxiously and breathlessly be awaiting the results.

Oh, and I know you are wondering, what is a spurtle? (I know that I was.) It is the wooden utensil that you use to stir soups, broths, stews and porridge.

The Scottish design comes pretty much unchanged from the 15th century. 

Before rolled oats existed, porridge had to cook for a long time, and the spurtle helped prevent lumps from forming. It has more surface area than a spatula.

So these people been evidently stirring the pot for over five hundred years.  

Guess we should listen to them. Happy stirring!

May the best porridge win.