Scottish man crowned world's porridge making champion - despite mother 'not a big fan of it'

Chris Ormiston, 45, won the 31st World Porridge Making Championship - and says the secret to his success is using pink Himalayan pink salt. But despite making the best oats on the planet and taking home the 'Golden Spurtle Trophy', his mother Elizabeth, 65, is not a fan of his oats.

Mr Ormiston, an IT worker from Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, received the accolade after beating competitors from around the world. The championship happened in Carrbridge with 30 participants from 14 different countries.

Judging of the porridge is made on the consistency, taste and colour of the porridge - and on the competitor's hygiene in the cooking process. Competitors can only use three ingredients - oats, water and salt.

Mr Ormiston said Himalayan pink salt was crucial to his mix - as was cooking it to 92C for perfect creaminess.

He said: "I thought it would be fun and it is a great day. It is interesting cooking in front of a crowd. The competition is like a football game - people are like shouting and cheering.

"Everyone is really friendly there. It is the friendliest competition I have ever encountered - it is open for everyone.

"My mum does not like salt in her porridge. She prefers porridge with mandarin and cinnamon rather than salt. The last couple of years my friends say it is quite quirky.

''They have been nice since I won it, but I have heard loads of porridge jokes around the years."

After practising for months, Mr Ormiston was able to improve his recipe and winning the contest on Saturday with only three ingredients, oats, water and salt.

When asked why he thinks he won the contest, he said a large part of it was down to “luck”.

Mr Ormiston said: "I also did a bit of research and found out that if you cook it to 92C, it gets creamy and it is the perfect point - I used a little bit of science.

"I was surprised and it is still sinking in a little bit - it is quite funny. I never expected to win."

Mr Ormiston said his friends and family were all “very proud” of his achievement, despite his mother “not being a big fan” of his porridge.

The IT worker said that cooking was one of his hobbies as he finds it a “nice relaxing process”. He shares some of his cooking experiences across Scotland on his YouTube channel called Camp Cook Explore.

Mr Ormiston is already planning to take part in the porridge competition next year. The idea of the championship was to raise the profile of Carrbridge and of porridge.

When asked what makes the perfect porridge, Mr Ormiston said: "Everyone likes it in different ways. Creamy, but not watery and just the right amount of salt."

Kim McGee, representing the Philippines, won the specialty dish competition. Kim's Coconut and Pandan Porridge was based on Buko Pandan a traditional dessert served chilled for tropical Filipino nights.

The competition is organised by volunteers from the Carrbridge community.

Alan Meikle, managing director of main sponsor Hamlyns of Scotland, said: 'Huge congratulations to the new world champion Chris on a fantastic win, and to the speciality champion Kim for their creativity and skill.''