- 5 months ago
Whilst it's still summer, it will soon be autumn and time for one of Scotland's food competitions which takes place every October in Carrbridge in the Highlands, it's the World Porridge Making Championships. A new documentary looking at the festival and those involved had it's premier at the Edinburgh film festival recently. On this episode of Scran Rosalind does a deep dive into this competition. She is joined by Charlie Miller, organising and ex-Championship Chieftan, Constantine Consti, writer and director of The Golden Spurtle and Chris Ormiston, reigning porridge-making champion who is set to defend his title in October.
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00:00Hello and welcome to Scran. While it's still summer, it'll very soon be autumn and one
00:13of Scotland's annual food competitions which takes place every October in Carbridge in the
00:18Highlands. It's the World Porridge Championships. It's something I've known about for years and
00:23I've written about past winners, but it's not something I've been to yet. For those
00:27curious to know more, a documentary on the championships titled The Golden Spirtle has
00:31had its premiere at the Edinburgh Film Festival in August and will be out in September. So to
00:36discuss this documentary and the championships in general, I'm joined by documentary maker,
00:42director and writer Constantine Coste, Charlie Miller, the championship chieftain and Chris
00:47Ormison, former winner who was crowned champion in 2024. So hello everyone, how are you? Good
00:52morning, very well. So I think the first thing I have to ask all of you is, did you have your
00:57porridge this morning? Because I did and I don't normally.
01:01Yeah, too warm for porridge. So I had overnight oats instead. It's too warm.
01:05Yeah, you're right. It is too warm. Just for anyone that doesn't know about the film or doesn't
01:12know about the championships or hasn't seen the film, Charlie, I'll come to you first. How did
01:16the championships start? Do you want to give us just a potted history of how it all came to be?
01:20It started in 1994 when one of the local hoteliers was out walking in the wood and trying to think
01:30of a way in which they could present Cadbridge to the world in order to make it a bit more busy
01:36during the winter months. So he came up with the notion that a food festival would be the way forward
01:44and what better than a porridge festival being the national dish. So he consulted with a local
01:51restauranteur and between them, they came up with this idea of a World Porridge Championship.
01:57And it's been going strong ever since?
01:59It's been going strong since 1994, yeah. And it's getting bigger and bigger every year.
02:05And you can really see that from the film. So just to come to you, Constantine, what was it that
02:10sort of first made you aware of the championship and what made you then want to make the film?
02:15Yeah. So in the film, there's an Australian competitor called Tony Wilson, who travels from
02:20Sydney for his second attempt to win the Golden Spurdle. He got to the final the year before.
02:26And we had a mutual friend who told me about the competition and I just happened to be
02:30in Germany on another project and did a bit of research. It looked really exciting and really
02:37charming and really interesting. So I just rocked up to the village and met Charlie and started
02:41knocking on doors and kind of fell in love with the place and found these amazing characters.
02:46Like, my God, there's two great stories here. One about this, you know, joyful porridge making
02:52competition, another story about community and, you know, the fact that this small village of putting
02:57on this competition year after year from strength to strength. And I was like, yeah, I think there's a
03:02project here that kind of evolved quite spontaneously.
03:04Yeah. And one of the, one of the competitors in the film actually says what keeps her coming back
03:09is like how wet the warm kind of welcome and feeling. And you can really feel that in the
03:13film, which is lovely to see.
03:15Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I feel like I spent half my time filming a documentary and half my time
03:19having tea and biscuits and lunches and dinners at the pub. So it was, it was kind of half film
03:25project, half hospitable travel diary. Yeah.
03:29I mean, that sounds amazing. How long did the whole thing take from start to finish? Because
03:33obviously you, you must have, you must have obviously been gearing up to actually film
03:37the competition in the October.
03:39Yeah. So I, we filmed it in three stages. Well, the first stage of Iceman on my own,
03:43as I said, without a camera or anything, just getting to know everyone. Then we had a preliminary
03:47shoot. Then we were back for the competition. And that was kind of it. And then a few pickups
03:52after that with a few people that we needed a bit more information on. I won't give anything
03:56away, but the winner of the competition in 2023, we did some more stuff with him. So it took,
04:01you know, the good part of the year to get it all up and running, which is actually quite
04:04fast for a documentary. But yeah, you know, we definitely needed a whole year to kind
04:10of get, to develop the story and to sculpt in the edit and the post-production.
04:14And so Kelly and I were, we watched it, Kelly watched it yesterday. I watched it last night
04:18and we were sort of messaging saying it's, it's almost like, like Wes Anderson style. It's,
04:23it's like a really charming way that it's been shot. And is that just your style or was
04:27that something that you wanted to sort of put forward for this because of like the
04:31coziness of the competition, but also the community?
04:34Yeah. I mean, it might be my style because this is the only style I have, this being my
04:38first documentary. So I guess accidentally, uh, that's kind of it. But to be honest, we
04:43were, I was really captivated by how beautiful the village is and it almost felt like an old
04:49picture book in a lot of ways. And so, yeah, we shot it in this very stylized, um, you
04:56know, almost an old timey heightened kind of way that to me really just like kind of
05:01was an expression of how I felt when I first went to the village, that there is something
05:05kind of dreamy and larger than life about the whole place. So it's not really a kind
05:09of a handheld scratchy fly on the wall documentary. There's something more, um, painterly about
05:15it, which to me just speaks to both the village itself and the landscape within which it sits.
05:20And Charlie, obviously it starts with, with you and ends with you. You were the chieftain,
05:25you've retired from it now, but you're still involved, but what was your highlight of your
05:29time, um, running the championship?
05:31Oh, so many, um, I think the highlight is at half past four on the day of the competition
05:39when it's over and you've got such a relief that everything has clicked into place and
05:44everything that you thought would work has worked. So I think that's probably the highlight,
05:49but there's so many joys and the ups and downs during the course of the year, getting ready,
05:54because you really only have a month off. The competition's in October. So once it's over,
06:00you've got October off. And then in November, you start planning for the following year.
06:05So I would say that was my highlight.
06:07How did you come to be the chieftain?
06:10It was one of these situations where the current chieftain at the time was moving out the village
06:17and we were looking for a replacement. I was the treasurer of the community council
06:23at the time, and we called a meeting, a public meeting, and we couldn't get anybody to do it.
06:30And the chairman of the community council whispered in my ear, looks like you've got the job.
06:37And that was it.
06:38Chris, I should come to you and say congratulations, because you won 2024. That must have been quite
06:45an achievement.
06:46It was a surprise. Yeah, it was nice. It was enjoyable.
06:50And what made you want to apply? Because obviously you were in, you were in the documentary,
06:55but you've obviously kind of gone on from then and applied again and won it. So what was it
07:00that sort of attracted you to it in the first place?
07:02I remember I grew up in Inverness and I remember it being on the radio. It must have been one of
07:07the very early ones in the 90s. And it kind of sat in the back of my head. And then I was on a
07:13camping trip in 2020 and drove through Carbridge and saw the sign and sort of remembered it from
07:20there and just decided it would be quite a fun thing to do.
07:24Yeah, it certainly looks, it looks really, it looks fun because I was thinking about this
07:30morning and it seems really simple. You know, it's just a simple ingredient to something we've
07:34been doing for a long time, if you like porridge, but there must be so much more to it because
07:39obviously, you know, the judging criteria and trying to get it right and the timings and
07:43things. So is it more complicated than people first expect, do you think?
07:47Absolutely. Like you've got 30 different people all making something with three ingredients.
07:55But if you try them all, they're all totally different. The variables within those three
07:59ingredients are quite extensive. It sounds a lot simpler than it is.
08:04Yeah. So it's a bit like whiskey making in terms of you've got three ingredients,
08:07but no whiskey is the same.
08:08Yeah.
08:09Which takes me on to another question about whiskey. So there is, there seems to be a whiskey
08:13tasting or lesson going on while the judges are doing their thing. Is that
08:17part of the tradition of the event or, and is whiskey integral to the porridge making
08:22championships, Charlie?
08:24It has become so. It's something that people expect that we have a master of whiskey who
08:32knows all the different nuances of all the different whiskeys and what he does, he picks
08:38a theme for the year, say for example, maybe a geographic theme. So he'll present spray side whiskeys
08:45this year. And as you say, when the judges are doing their stuff between the heats, he does
08:51a little bit of dialogue on, on what the whiskey is that the audience are drinking. And I can't
08:58remember how many, I think it's five whiskeys they, they end up tasting in the, in the course
09:03of the day, but they're tasting like a, I thought this size, it's not, it's not as if they're going
09:09to get drunk and wreck the place. Yeah. Although that would be something else for you to have
09:14to have dealt with at the time. We're now going to hear a trailer for the film, which
09:18will give you an idea of what to expect. So thanks very much to Constantine for sharing
09:22this with us. Okay. Hi, welcome to Carbridge. Let me show you around. Just wondered if there
09:47was a world championships of porridge and found the golden spurtle. Can you make a competition
09:52out of making porridge? Three ingredients, water, oatmeal and salt. The perfect bowl of porridge
10:02is a marriage of all these three things together. When you whack a kitchen in a suitcase and try
10:10and take it to the other side of the world, something probably will go wrong. The star of
10:14the show should always be the porridge itself. Just let the oats sing. What oats will you
10:19be using? Why would I want to tell you? Other people would get to know. It's mad as a
10:25mad chair. You can worry about things or you can just get on and do it. It would be wrong
10:35of me to say that I'm not burning the desire to win. Shall we start the competition?
10:44Yep. I think that gives you a really nice flavour of the film, which I must say I really enjoyed.
11:02I thought it was lovely visuals and really nice, interesting characters. Constantine, how was the
11:08film received at the Edinburgh Film Festival? Because you had your premiere there just a few
11:12weeks ago, I think. Yes, that was the UK premiere in Edinburgh and it was like such a warm and
11:20responsive room of people. I mean, we had so many participants who were in the film from the
11:26village of competitors come down to see it. And for me, that's quite a nerve wracking experience
11:31because it's like, oh my God, how are people going to sort of respond to seeing themselves
11:34up on the big screen? But I felt really rewarded that, you know, throughout the film,
11:39we were really interested in, you know, we want to be laughing with people, not at people
11:43and showing stuff in a humorous, but in a nice light. So I couldn't have asked for a better
11:50response. And it's amazing to learn how many people out there just love porridge and are so
11:54committed to it. There's as many questions in Q&As about the filmmaking as much as porridge
11:59making. So I didn't realise the porridge loving community is totally vibrant and more passionate
12:05than I could have imagined. Yeah, I don't think I knew that either. But I suppose it's one of those
12:09things, isn't it? It's kind of universal. Like there's some kind of version of it in most
12:13places in the world, I suppose. Totally, totally. And speaking of porridge, Chris, do you have
12:20a sort of perfect recipe or secret ingredient that you would want to share with people?
12:26I use Hamlin's oats, which is made in Aberdeenshire nearby. And they also sponsor the event. And
12:35Himalayan salt, pink Himalayan salt, I find is nicer. I tested seven or eight different salts to
12:42find one that worked better. And then the final thing I do is I cook it to precisely 92 degrees,
12:47anything higher, it starts to separate and becomes watery. So there's a little bit of science involved
12:52as well. It's so interesting because it just seems so, like I said, like such a basic thing,
12:58but there's there is like a real real science to having like perfect porridge. Yeah, there can be.
13:03It takes months of practice and a lot of trial and error. And do you find that you get sick of eating
13:08it once you're trialing different recipes? Sometimes, sometimes. It's the washing up that's
13:14a bigger problem. I'm having to do that every day. Yeah, I suppose it's the type of thing that really
13:17gets stuck to the bowl, doesn't it? Unless you wash it straight away. And for anyone who
13:22wants to attend to spectate, what can they expect? What they can expect is they'll have
13:28half a dozen heats and then a final. And in each heat, they'll be talked through it with
13:36a master of ceremonies who will interview the contestants and talk about their background
13:42and their recipes and so on. And then the whisky, of course, during the heat. And then
13:47this year we're planning to do excerpts from the film during the gap between the heats. And
13:57we'll have all the usual stuff, you know, a tea room, stalls for various bits of merchandise
14:05and so on. I can expect a thoroughly good day out. And if it's raining, I've got the assurance
14:10that they're going to be indoors so they won't get too wet. But what we find is that people
14:17arrive in the morning and they stay all day. And you may think that's a bit repetitive,
14:22but the people seem to enjoy it that way. And they'll spend six or seven hours watching
14:28people make porridge and it's fun, believe it or not.
14:32Yeah, it's, um, is it ticketed? So like, cause it did look really busy.
14:38Um, no, I think there's, there's donations. Yeah. People turn up, there's a donation and
14:43lots of raffles at the door. So there's, there's, um, lots of ways that you can and should contribute,
14:48uh, if you come and yeah, watch the proceedings.
14:51Cause it's, it looks really busy, which is, um, obviously that was the point and setting up
14:56in the first place, but it's nice to see.
14:58Yeah, totally. I mean, it's kind of heaving, you know, and we were, the, the year I was,
15:03it was rained out, but most, the most years it's actually quite fine weather at that time
15:06of year. And, um, yeah, they also set up a marquee next to the village hall to, to compensate
15:12for the, um, the overflow of the, of the, of the crowds.
15:15Yeah. Chris, back to you, you know, you said you heard the advert, you heard about it on
15:19the radio when you were younger and you saw that advert, but have you always been into
15:22cooking or is this just sort of?
15:24Um, yeah, I've kind of, I've got a YouTube channel where I go camping.
15:28I do proper cooking on a camping stove. It's kind of a hobby. It's something I like. I
15:34enjoy cooking in weird Scottish locations using as much local food as I can.
15:39And do you often do porridge on your camping stove?
15:42Quite often. Yeah. It's an easy thing to take camping. If you've got a water source,
15:46you can make it. It's really easy.
15:48And so just to go back to, um, the title of the film, The Golden Spirtle, Charlie, are you
15:53still making the spirtles or did you find a successor for this?
15:58There they are.
16:01Does that answer your question?
16:03Oh, there's loads. Yes, it does. Yeah. It's the, like you said, it's quite a, a mindful
16:09thing. Oh, there you go. The Golden Spirtle. Um, it's quite a mindful thing for you to do.
16:15So I can imagine you don't really want to give it up anytime soon.
16:18I don't think everybody would be as crazy to spend hours every day making spirtles. Once
16:24you've made four or five, it begins to get very boring.
16:28So you're not the chieftain anymore, Charlie, but who took over from you and are you still
16:32quite involved?
16:33Yes, I've got various roles within the organisation. I'm responsible for the flags of all things.
16:39I work with the guy who's responsible for contestants and make sure everybody's, uh, properly represented
16:48in the programme in one thing and another. Yeah. So I have various little roles, uh, in
16:55the organisation.
16:57And Chris, are you coming back this year to defend the title?
17:01I am indeed.
17:02Is that something that you have to do?
17:03No, but, well, why wouldn't you? I suppose. You can't help it.
17:08But there's something, it gets, it gets to you. It's, it's the best weekend of the year.
17:13It really is.
17:14Constantine, do you have any plans? Is there any other kind of like food or drink championship
17:19that you're interested in to make another documentary about?
17:22Uh, no, I think, I think I've hung up my food competition documentary, uh, interest for
17:30now. Uh, I think the bar's been set very high with the Golden Spurdle. So I think, um, yeah,
17:35yeah. So no, no, lots of people have commented on, yes, you should do the, the cheese wheel
17:39competition and the fondue championship and all the other ones. But I think I'll, um, I'll
17:44leave that to other documentary makers to, to find other, yeah, food themed films.
17:49I don't know if this one can be topped.
17:51Yeah, exactly.
17:52So for anyone that wants to watch the documentary that can't make it to Carbridge this year,
17:56how can they see it?
17:58Well, there's going to be a cinema release. Um, so it's in cinemas all across the UK,
18:02um, from the 12th of September. So you can go to goldenspurtle.film to find all the information,
18:08but, um, yeah, there should be publicity far and wide for catching it in the cinema very
18:11soon.
18:12Nice. And, um, yeah, Chris, I was going to say, do you have any tips for anyone wanting
18:16to take part? But if you're defending the title, you might not want to give away the secrets.
18:20It's practice and experiment. That's all it is. Eventually you'll find, you'll find a
18:26way through.
18:27And is it always just, should it very traditional porridge or can people go wild with like additions
18:31and things, or has it got to just be, you know, water?
18:34There's two different competitions at the same time. So you've got your traditional porridge,
18:39which is just the three ingredients. And then you've got your speciality one, which is anything
18:44you like, as long as it's got oats in it. So it's quite tricky managing both aspects of
18:49that. And the same, you've got half an hour with a camping stove and two burners. So you've
18:53got to, it's quite, it's quite tricky to do. You've got a lot going on.
18:57Yeah, that's, that is intense. So, and you, so you've got to come up with, you know, your
19:00traditional one and then something a bit different. And do you win off both?
19:04No, there are two separate competitions.
19:06Oh, right.
19:06So there's different prizes for each one.
19:08Okay. That's interesting. What's the, what's the most wildest thing I think anyone's
19:12ever done for the non-traditional?
19:13We had one guy did an 11 dish tapas plate, 11 different dishes on it. Another guy did
19:23perfita rolls made out of porridge. We had a lamb stew, a lamb tahin with porridge in it.
19:32The mind boggles at some of the concoctions that these people come up with. And last year
19:37when Chris won it, there was a young lady from the Philippines who produced a Filipino, what
19:43was, what would you call it? A dessert, I think. A Filipino dessert, which was absolutely
19:48heavenly. I wanted to take it home with me. Kim McGee, yeah. So the imagination goes right,
19:57goes mad.
19:59Yeah, that's, that's really interesting. I don't think I really knew that about the other
20:03one. So yeah, you think it's hard enough making it traditionally and then you've got to think
20:07of something outlandish.
20:09Yeah, it's good fun.
20:10Well, they've got to do both of these at the same time.
20:13Are you looking forward to October?
20:15Yes.
20:16I'll be, I won't be, but they live stream the competition on Facebook. So I'll definitely
20:20be tuning in probably in the middle of the night in Sydney because of time zone reasons.
20:25But you know, I'm, I'm, I'm committed and hooked now.
20:28You're, Constantine, you're committed and hooked. Is it something that you would ever do
20:31yourself?
20:32No, the irony of this whole thing is that my porridge is terrible. You know, I, I clearly
20:37haven't learned any lessons by watching the best in the world. So I think I just leave
20:41it to the experts, really.
20:42And Chris, I think you'd said in interviews you, you've won, but your mum never liked it.
20:46So it was obviously not something that you grew up on.
20:48She likes sweet porridge instead. She doesn't like the salt.
20:53Well, I think there's, I think there's many people that would feel the same.
20:55Well, thank you very much for joining me, everyone. And good luck, Chris. And yeah,
21:00if you want to see the documentary, then you go to goldenspirtle.film. Good luck, Chris.
21:05And I look forward to seeing what happens at this year's competition. Thank you.
21:09Thank you. Cheers.
21:15Thanks to my guests for being on this episode. And thanks to you too for listening. Please
21:19remember to rate, review and subscribe so you never miss an episode of Scranton. Scranton
21:23is co-produced and hosted by me, Roslyn Derskin, and co-produced, edited and mixed by Kelly Crichton.
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