{"id":836431,"date":"2026-07-31T21:13:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T21:13:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/836431\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T21:13:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T21:13:15","slug":"porridge-championship-australia-the-pearly-spurtle-our-answer-to-scotlands-golden-spurtle-is-coming-to-pearl-beach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/836431\/","title":{"rendered":"Porridge championship Australia: The Pearly Spurtle, our answer to Scotland\u2019s Golden Spurtle, is coming to Pearl Beach"},"content":{"rendered":"

Something is afoot in the NSW seaside village of Pearl Beach. You wouldn\u2019t guess it from a glance down the street, but a peek inside locals\u2019 mailboxes might tip you off. <\/p>\n

Just ask the town\u2019s postie Jadei Rose, who suddenly found herself delivering multiple parcels a few weeks ago. \u201cIt was funny, when I got my first box I thought, \u2018OK… this is different,\u2019\u201d she told nine.com.au.<\/p>\n

\"Pearl<\/p>\n

This time next week, the NSW seaside town of Pearl Beach will be abuzz with porridge lovers.\u00a0iStock<\/p>\n

It was an influx of oats to the area, but wasn\u2019t the result of some viral food trend. In exactly a week, the Central Coast town will be a hive of activity, and it\u2019s all thanks to porridge<\/a> \u2013 more specifically, Australia\u2019s very first festival of porridge<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Named the Pearly Spurtle, it\u2019s an Aussie spinoff of Scotland\u2019s World Porridge Making Championship<\/a>, where entrants battle for the coveted \u2018Golden Spurtle\u2019. (FYI, because we know you\u2019re wondering: a spurtle is a wooden utensil traditionally used for stirring porridge.)<\/p>\n

From Scotland to the Central Coast<\/p>\n

The contest, held in the Scottish Highlands town of Carrbridge, has been running since 1994. It\u2019s been recently thrust into the spotlight by the 2025 documentary film The Golden Spurtle<\/a>, which is what planted the seed of inspiration for a group of Pearl Beach locals.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy friend saw it at the Australian Film Festival and came home and said, \u2018Oh my God, the hall in that documentary is identical to our village hall. We should do something\u2019,\u201d Karina Stafford, a member of the organising committee, tells nine.com.au.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, after a number of wines, a group of us went, \u2018Yeah, that\u2019d be fun\u2019. Originally, we were looking at doing a big community porridge breakfast, but it has grown from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

It might seem like a quaint idea, but the enthusiasm for porridge isn\u2019t to be underestimated. Tickets for the August 8 event \u2013 which will raise funds for the maintenance of Pearl Beach\u2019s Memorial Community Hall and local domestic violence and homelessness charity Coast Shelter \u2013 have already sold out.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we talk about it, people either kind of cross their eyes and look at us strangely, or their eyes light up, and it\u2019s like, \u2018I\u2019ve got to be there\u2019,\u201d Stafford laughs.<\/p>\n

\"Porridge<\/p>\n

Even the Pearly Spurtle organisers have been inspired to up their porridge game.\u00a0Supplied\/Karina Stafford<\/p>\n

A porridge-making contest is the main event, but there will be other elements and nods to the dish\u2019s Scottish origins on the day \u2013 a parade featuring the City of Gosford Pipe Band, a Celtic band performance and Scottish dancing, and treats including bacon butties, hot buttered rum and porridge (with a bar\u2019s worth of toppings).<\/p>\n

The Pearly Spurtle\u2019s porridge contest will involve 15 competitors and three heats, with two categories \u2013 Traditional and Creative \u2013 and the same rules that apply to the World Porridge Making Championship. <\/p>\n

\"Pearly<\/p>\n

The event was inspired by Scotland\u2019s famous World Porridge Making Championship.\u00a0Supplied<\/p>\n

This includes entrants providing their own oats, hence the wave of local mailbox drops. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t be surprised if I delivered most of [the 15 competitors\u2019 oats], I couldn\u2019t say for sure, but there\u2019s been a few!\u201d Rose laughed.<\/p>\n

The Aussie victor will win flights to Scotland to compete in Carrbridge later this year.<\/p>\n

\"Porridge<\/p>\n

Porridge photos are populating the committee\u2019s WhatsApp chat.\u00a0Supplied\/Karina Stafford<\/p>\n

\u201cThey only take 30 entrants and hundreds of people apply, but any country that has a national porridge competition gets a seat at the table,\u201d Stafford says, adding that the organisers have worked closely with the team in Scotland in putting their event together.<\/p>\n

Three judges will assess the creations: Sydney-based Scottish chef Karen McPherson; Lawrie McKinna, Mayor of the Central Coast Council and a fellow Scot; and Caroline Velik, who won the Specialty category at least year\u2019s World Porridge Making Championship.<\/p>\n

Stafford says even the organising committee \u2013 a small group of residents with some friends \u201cdragged into the mix\u201d \u2013 has been inspired, sharing their porridge creations in their WhatsApp group chat.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone sent a photo of porridge with buttered rum, and I was like, \u2018OK, I really need to step this up\u2019 … it\u2019s made me realise there is a much bigger world of porridge,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re hoping people will get inspired, and maybe some of the people from the audience will be a competitor next year. We hope to double the competitors.\u201d <\/p>\n

The world of the Golden Spurtle<\/p>\n

Founded in 1994, the international contest attracts entrants from around the world, including Australia. Velik has competed twice, first in 2022 and again in 2025, as has Sydney chef Toby Wilson, who features in The Golden Spurtle \u2013 the film centres on the 2023 competition.<\/p>\n

\"2025<\/p>\n

Pearly Spurtle judge Caroline Velik (right) has competed twice at the World Porridge Making Championship.\u00a0Instagram\/@goldenspurtle<\/p>\n

There are two categories: Traditional porridge, which is awarded the Golden Spurtle, and Specialty porridge. Strict rules apply; for instance, the Traditional porridge must only be made with untreated oatmeal, water and salt.<\/p>\n

Last year, Velik\u2019s Campfire Porridge Jaffles, which heroed flavours including wattleseed, Davidson Plum and Bundaberg Rum, wowed the judges and clinched her the Specialty title. She also came runner-up in the Traditional category.<\/p>\n

The Melbourne food stylist recalls being delighted by the traditional pageantry around the event the first time; unfortunately, bad weather in Carrbridge put a dampener on the 2025 festivities.<\/p>\n

\"Caroline<\/p>\n

The Melbourne food stylist won the Specialty category and came runner-up overall in 2025.\u00a0Instagram\/@carolinevelik<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re in this tiny village and there\u2019s a procession down the main street from this beautiful medieval bridge. You walk down behind a Scottish pipe band … It sounds a bit kitsch, but I absolutely loved it,\u201d she told nine.com.au.<\/p>\n

The cooking might be low and slow, but don\u2019t be fooled \u2013 Velik says the stakes are high. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou meet the competitors the night before, and everyone is so lovely. But once you\u2019re in that competition, everybody is very serious and very competitive. That was an interesting paradox.\u201d<\/p>\n

The anatomy of a perfect bowl of porridge<\/p>\n

Like her fellow Golden Spurtle alumni, Velik has learned a lot about nailing a bowl of porridge through her time in the contest. She favours steel-cut oats, and says finding a high-quality base pays off.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to have good-quality oats, and if you soak them overnight, then drain off the soaking liquid and add fresh water, that will give you a really good start,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd don\u2019t underestimate a good salt, it brings out the flavour.\u201d <\/p>\n

While making porridge is a relatively simple process, Velik says a common mistake can derail the result: cooking it at too high a temperature.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the contestants who won in 2024 had researched that you should not go above 92\u2103 because that\u2019s when the gluten, the starch, can leach out and break down too much,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"Stock<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be fooled by its humble reputation: porridge is serious business.\u00a0iStock<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can get a bit too gluey, and when people talk about that, I think it\u2019s because they\u2019ve let it bubble away … I add cold water throughout the cook and that it will just drop the temperature.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot in it that can go wrong if you\u2019re not following the way to cook it properly. I\u2019ve cooked a lot of porridge very badly to get to this point!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Something is afoot in the NSW seaside village of Pearl Beach. You wouldn\u2019t guess it from a glance…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":836432,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-836431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=836431"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836431\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/836432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=836431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=836431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=836431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}