Competition Rules

Traditional Porridge Section 

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.

Speciality Porridge Section

A further award will be made for the best speciality porridge made with oatmeal [pinhead, course, medium or fine] which can have other ingredients added. No pre-cooking of any ingredients (other than the soaking of oatmeal) is allowed. This porridge should be made at the same time as the traditional porridge.

For the speciality porridge, the blending and harmony of the porridge with the other ingredients will be the criteria used. Presentation bowls or dishes must be provided by the competitor to enable them to present their 4 speciality porridge portions for the judges to their best advantage. Recipes for the speciality porridge are required 6 weeks in advance of the event date and are supplied to the judges on the day.

General Information

All competitors must produce both a Traditional porridge and Speciality porridge.

Gas hobs with 2 rings will be provided by the organisers. The competitors are asked to provide their own favourite porridge pan & spurtle etc. No cooking equipment is provided by the organisers. Washing services for your equipment is provided by the organisers in the hall. There is no electricity supply at the workstations and contestants must therefore rely on the gas cooking rings or battery powered devices. Competitors are NOT allowed in the Village Hall kitchen. For safety reasons, deep fat frying will not be allowed, although shallow frying is permitted.  There is no running water at the cooking stations.

Each heat is 30 minutes. Competitors are expected to produce both their traditional and speciality dish within this time. Heats will be held at intervals of approx 30 / 40 minutes to allow cleaning between.

The number of competition places are limited with the organisers reserving the right to the selection of entries should the event be oversubscribed. Competitors will be notified of the acceptance of their entry. The Golden Spurtle cannot accept more than 2 competitors from a single company or family.

Places are reserved for current champions and for winners of associated national championships

Competitors are required to submit a pen portrait with photograph for the competition programme, together with their speciality porridge dish recipe in advance, for later use on the website and competition programme.

All competitors must give express permission for their photograph and pen portrait to be shared with the media.

We look forward to seeing you at the World Porridge Making Championships ®!