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Search is launched for world's best Virtual Spurtler


By Gavin Musgrove

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Competitors, supporters and spectators await the final results of the 2019 competition before Covid moved the contest online.
Competitors, supporters and spectators await the final results of the 2019 competition before Covid moved the contest online.

The organisers of the World Porridge Making Championships have opened entries for this year's contest which will be run online again due to the Covid pandemic.

The winning ‘Virtual Spurtler’ will be crowned after a day-long video reveal online on World Porridge Day on October 10.

Organisers of the Carrbridge event said this follows on from the success of the 2020 Virtual Spurtle which attracted entries from across the world.

Last year's 'Virtual Spurtle' was won by Chris Young, from Crieff in Perthshire, for his Crunch sa Bheul, a Scottish take on the French desert croquembouche, with pastry puffs made with oatflour, sugar and butter, piped with cream and dipped in caramel.

Other dishes in the top 10 included Porridge of Hope from the reigning World Porridge Making Champion, Lisa Williams, which was runner up; a duck confit taco offering; pina colada porridge and blueberry cheesecake porridge.

Charlie Miller, spokesman for Carrbridge Community Council which organises the competition, said: “While we are course disappointed not to be able to hold the competition in Carrbridge again this year, the success of last year’s competition showed what a great appetite there is for the competition.

"We hope to build on this for 2021, attracting an even bigger worldwide pool of competitors who might not otherwise have been able to travel to the Highlands to compete.”

To enter the competition competitors should submit a video of themselves making their favourite sweet or savoury dish containing oatmeal.

Videos should be between three and five minutes long and should show the ingredients and the finished product.

The organisers are keen to stress that they are not looking for professional cookery videos – good quality mobile phone footage is perfectly acceptable.

The videos will be judged on five criteria including appearance, execution, originality, flair and virtual taste, reflecting which dishes the judges most wanted to try.

Recipes and entry forms should be submitted by June 30, and videos and a photograph of the finished dish should be submitted by August 15.

The videos will be judged by the Golden Spurtle committee and the 10 winning recipes will feature on the Golden Spurtle website and Facebook page on World Porridge Day.

World Porridge Day raises awareness and funds for the Scottish charity Mary’s Meals.

It provides one good meal to more than 1.8 million children in 19 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe and the Caribbean every day at school.

Anyone interested in entering should visit the World Porridge Making Championships website here for more information.


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