From which oats to use, to whether milk or water is best, the twice World Porridge Making Championship finalist reveals his tips and recipes (including porridge tacos).
In 1994, Roger Reed of the Carrbridge Community Council was looking for a way to attract visitors to his small village in the Scottish Highlands. Other British towns had already snapped up the world championships in conkers, tiddlywinks and marbles. But porridge – a local staple – was yet unclaimed.
The result was the Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championship, a charmingly offbeat event that has stirred up enough attention to put Carrbridge on the culinary map, while giving one of the world’s humblest breakfast foods a moment in the spotlight.
Three decades on, the competition continues to draw oat obsessives from around the globe, who compete in gruelling heats in pursuit of the perfect bowl of porridge. The winner takes home the Golden Spurtle, a trophy shaped like the traditional Scottish stirring stick used to smooth out lumps in oatmeal.
Among past contenders is Toby Wilson, executive chef at Sydney’s Norfolk Hotel and founder of Ricos Tacos, a 2025 Good Food Guide Critic’s Pick restaurant. Wilson has twice reached the finals, representing Australia in 2022 and 2023, and features in The Golden Spurtle, a documentary now screening in this year’s Sydney Film Festival.
Before entering the competition, Wilson made porridge like most Australians. “I’d use Uncle Tobys rolled oats and milk all the way,” he says.
But that method doesn’t cut it in Carrbridge, where the use of rolled oats or milk results in instant disqualification. Only uncooked oatmeal, water and salt are permitted.
While training for the contest, Wilson sourced oats from all over the world before settling on a grower in NSW. “I’m not going to tell you the specific one in case I go back,” he says. “But I had a good chat with the grower – she’s very passionate about oats and has a particular way of growing them. They’re super good.”
If he could share just one tip for making porridge, it would be to use steel-cut oats. “They give you really plump, chewy, nutty oats that are kind of toothsome, suspended in this starchy liquid – a bit like a really nice risotto.”
Rolled oats, by contrast, are flattened and steamed – and, says Wilson, can become claggy. “They taste like something you’d hang wallpaper with.”
He now makes porridge only with water, resulting in a lighter mixture that showcases the nutty, grainy flavour of the oats. “It gives you a blank canvas to build on,” he says.
“In Scotland, dairy is something you add at the end, once it’s cooked and on the table. You’ll sometimes get a little pot of heavy cream, then take a spoonful of hot porridge, dunk it into the cold cream and eat it like that. Or you might add a pat of butter on top, then sprinkle on some brown sugar.”
As for toppings, Wilson is a fan of velvety fruits such as mango and banana, stewed apple and berries, nuts and nut butters. “Anything that plays into that creamy texture works really well.”
You can also push it to savoury, he says. “I’ve made a cacio e pepe porridge before, just by throwing in black pepper and parmesan.”
The World Porridge Making Championship includes a “speciality” category, where oatmeal is used as a base for more creative dishes. Past entries have included a lemon and parmesan porridge risotto, a Pina Colada version and even one made with spinach and mussels.
Wilson’s 2022 entry was an Anzac biscuit-inspired bowl featuring heavy cream and golden syrup, topped with toasted coconut crumble. “I wanted to take something over that felt Australian – and it’s maybe our only dish with oats in it, so it kind of made sense.”
Best known in Sydney for his tacos – first as co-founder of Taco King at The George Hotel in Waterloo, then with Ricos Tacos, the colourful taqueria set within The Norfolk hotel in Redfern – Wilson couldn’t resist bringing his two culinary worlds together.
In 2023, he submitted a porridge taco. The recipe used oat flour to make a tortilla, which he filled with crispy, oat flour-dusted prawns, shredded cabbage and lemon pepper salsa. Alas, he was beaten by a smoky fish and cheese porridge, served in a novelty treasure chest.
So far, the Golden Spurtle trophy has eluded Wilson, but he does own five wooden spurtles, despite being unconvinced the tool is essential to a good bowl.
“It’s going to get me in trouble with the people of Scotland, but I would absolutely not worry about it. The idea is that you can touch every part of the pot and stop the oats from sticking to the bottom. It’s a novel tool, and fun to have, but you could also just use a wooden spoon.”
Wilson has registered for the 32nd World Porridge Making Championship in October, but hasn’t decided whether he will compete. He’s also eyeing off the World Gonad Cooking Championship – aka the “testicle festival” or the “Balls Cup” – in the Serbian town of Gornji Milanovac later this year.
Anzac porridge
The combination of golden syrup, coconut and brown sugar gives this dish a distinctive Down-Under accent.
INGREDIENTS
Golden syrup porridge
- 1 cup steel-cut oats
- 3 cups water
- ½ cup coconut cream
- ½ cup cream
- 2 tbsp golden syrup
- pinch of salt
Coconut crumble
- 30g butter
- ⅔ cup desiccated coconut
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
METHOD
- To make the porridge, cook the oats and water in a pot over medium-low at a gentle simmer until the grains are al dente and the porridge is creamy. Add the cream, golden syrup and salt and cook down until it is thick and creamy but still pourable.
- For the coconut crumble, melt the butter in a small pan over medium heat. Add the sugar and coconut and stir until the coconut is lightly toasted. Remove the coconut from the pan and drain on paper towel. Sprinkle over the hot porridge and serve.
Serves 2
Porridge tacos
Oat flour is gluten-free and adds a delightfully nutty, oaty flavour to the tortillas.
INGREDIENTS
Porridge tortillas
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1 cup water
- pinch of salt
Taco filling
- 4 prawns or langoustines
- oat flour to dust the prawns
- 20ml vegetable oil for frying
- 30ml mayonnaise
- ⅛ cabbage (about 125g), finely sliced
Sorrel salsa
- handful of sorrel leaves
- ½ garlic clove
- juice of ½ lemon
- olive oil
- pinch of salt and black pepper
METHOD
- To make the tortilla, add the ingredients to a medium pot and cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until you have a smooth, cohesive dough.
- Remove from the heat and when cool enough to handle, roll into 4 equal balls. Press each ball of dough in a tortilla press. If you don’t have one, place each ball between two sheets of plastic wrap or baking paper, and press it flat between a chopping board and your workbench.
- Toast each tortilla in a hot, lightly greased pan, flipping after about 30 seconds, then flipping once more to finish.
- For the filling, lightly dust the prawns in oat flour. Add the oil to the pan and gently shallow fry for 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the pan and season with salt and pepper.
- For the sorrel salsa, make a nice chunky paste by combining the ingredients in a mortar and pestle or blender.
- To assemble, dollop some mayonnaise on a tortilla and place a nice tuft of shredded cabbage on top. Nestle a prawn into the cabbage and dress with salsa.
Makes 4
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Erina Starkey – Erina is the Good Food App Editor for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Previously, Erina held a number of editing roles at delicious.com.au and writing roles at Broadsheet and Concrete Playground.
