A senior Aberdeen doctor has been declared the world’s best porridge maker.
Renal consultant Dr Izhar Khan – who now holds the prestigious Golden Spurtle – is a firm believer in the health benefits of porridge and is keen to extol these benefits to his patients.
And one of his patients even helped him to glory by crafting the spurtle he used to create the award winning breakfast dish at the 21st World Porridge Championships.
The spurtle was hand carved for him after the doctor came up short in his first bid for porridge glory in 2013.
Speaking yesterday after his victory, Dr Khan said the secret to success was keeping things simple.
He said: “There’s no trick really. It’s important to get the balance of oatmeal and water right, to put the salt in at the right time towards the end of cooking and to keep tasting.
“I’ve also found it is best to boil very briefly but to keep the porridge simmering for a long time.
“I had a great day and I can’t really believe that I managed to win against very strong competition.”
The consultant is chairman of NHS Grampian’s medical committee and found time at weekends to perfect his porridge in the run up to the championships.
The result was not so clear cut in the competition’s other major field, with two worthy winners sharing the speciality porridge prize.
Judges found it impossible to separate Fife man Chris Young’s wild mushroom risotto dish and California based Christina Conte’s sticky toffee porridge, so awarded the prize to both.
Ms Conte, a Scottish Italian food blogger based in Los Angeles, said: “It tasted good when I made it in America, but I knew it would be even better made with Scottish products.”
Of his risotto dish, Mr Young, co-founder of the Handmade Oatcake Company, said: “Risotto is one of my favourite recipes and is so flexible.
“I just substituted the rice for pinhead oatmeal in the recipe.”
Event co-ordinator Margarete Paschke said: “Every year is different, and I am delighted that the judges awarded the speciality to two contestants – it really was a competition of differing tastes.”
The expert porridge judging panel was headed by Neil Mugg, Gleneagles Hotel head pastry chef, and Colin Bussey, who has 33 years experience in the industry, including working at The Savoy and Gleneagles.
Kenta Gallagher, Commonwealth Games mountain biker, was the guest judge.