Perfect Poise, Perfect Life
Bring your body into balance and revolutionise your life
By Noel Kingsley
Publisher Hodder Mobius
AVAILABLE HERE
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Golden Spurtle World Porridge Championships
Procession from Old Bridge to Village Hall, Carrbridge
Some days you just wake up and wonder where the year has gone, as I did today. We've had the most wonderful autumn weather with glorious colours in the trees and it's been unseasonally warm too. And suddenly I realise that it's not only approaching mid-November but I missed one of the highlights of the calendar, namely the Golden Spurtle World Porridge Championships in Carrbridge, Inverness-shire. How could I have forgotten the event in October?
Being a keen porridge eater myself, during the winter months and knowing how difficult it is to make a really good bowl of the gooey stuff, I appreciate all the care, training and dedication that goes into making a World-Class porridge chef! The task is not to be under-estimated!
Often referred to as 'The Happy Food', porridge is renowned for lifting one's spirits and putting a smile on one's face in the morning, and that's without the dram of whisky that some may be tempted to blend in! Straight forward, unadulterated organically grown porridge (I favour Jordan's Organic Porridge as it has lovely combination of creaminess along with the rougher texture of whole oats), with salt, and if you must have sugar, just a weeny bit, but don't tell anyone at Carrbridge!
Winners Maria Soep and Al Beaton
The title of World Porridge Making Champion is awarded to the chef deemed to have made the best traditional porridge using oatmeal, water and salt. As well as the coveted title and the 'Golden Spurtle' trophy, the winner of the competition, sponsored by 'Scotland’s leading Oatmeal producer', Hamlyns of Scotland, gets a £350 hotel voucher and a cash prize of £250.
This year's winner of the Organic Porridge classification goes to Maria Soep of Taynuilt while the top prize for the Speciality classification goes to Al Beaton for his exotic entry. Apparently the judges were impressed by the inventiveness and creative ingenuity of all the speciality porridge competitors, but it was Al's Porridge Bowl recipe that won the day with a combination of stewed apples, cinnamon and raisins with whipped cream dusted with grapenuts and served with a chocolate scroll. The delighted chef was awarded the Duncan Hilditch Memorial Trophy named in memory of porridge making legend and four times world champion Duncan Hilditch and a £150 cash prize. Congratulations to both Maria and Al!
Maria making her winning bowl of porridge
The championship attracted a strong line up of competitors from across Scotland as well other parts of the UK including professional chefs, caterers and individuals keen to prove they could make a perfect bowl of porridge.
Other main highlights of the programme included the pipe band led parade of porridge competitors and judges at 12.30pm from the Old Bridge along the main street to Carrbridge Village Hall and then one highlight I'm sorry to miss, the traditional 'Toast to the Porridge' before the championship got underway with the first of the heats. The tension must have been unbearable.
Don't you just wish you were there?
:-)
