Scotland reclaims world porridge prize after chef uses innovative spoon

LONDON - The title for the world’s best porridge has once again been won by Scotland after a chef used a double-backed spoon called a Spon, which he had invented.

Scotland had lost the World Porridge Making Championship last year to the United States.

Neil Robertson, 53, owner of the Tannochbrae Tearoom in Auchtermuchty, Fife, won the title back in the 17th run of the event in the Highland village of Carrbridge held on October 10.

“It’s brilliant bringing the title home for Scotland. It was a wake-up call last year to see how seriously porridge is taken across Scotland and around the world,” the Scotsman quoted Robertson as saying.

“This year we found a local source of water called Lady Mary’s Well. Lady Mary wasn’t really a lady - she ran an illicit still around Burns’ time and when the excise guys caught up with her, they smashed all her stock and filled in the cave. The story is the whiskey is still seeping down.

“The double-backed spoon I invented - the Spon - works almost like a mortar and pestle at first. It puts more air into the mixture and makes it lighter and fluffier,” he explained.

Competitors from the US, Sweden, Canada, England and across Scotland were challenged to make both traditional recipes and speciality dishes, which have included fish and risotto in previous years.

Robertson said the perfect bowl of porridge requires precision with measuring ingredients, which should be put cold into the pan.

He said the mixture should be gently brought to a boil and always stirred clockwise, “because if you stir anti-clockwise you let the devil in”. It should take about nine minutes in a conventional warm kitchen. (ANI)