摘要：In 2020, I was on a camping trip with my Swedish friend, driving through Carrbridge – a village in the Scottish Highlands about tw

Experience: I am the world porridge-making champion

Thousands watch the competition on a live stream. People cheer and chant like it’s a football match

Chris Ormiston

Fri 5 Sep 2025 05.00 BST

In 2020, I was on a camping trip with my Swedish friend, driving through Carrbridge – a village in the Scottish Highlands about two hours from where I live in Aberdeenshire – when we passed a sign saying “Welcome to the Home of the World Porridge Championship”.

It triggered a vague memory of seeing the competition on the news as a child. When my friend looked it up, he found out that the last few winners had actually been Swedish. He started teasing me, saying: “We’re better at making porridge than you.” So I thought, “We’ll see about that.” Two years later, I ended up entering the competition myself.

I work as an app developer, but I’m a decent cook. I’m self-taught – I had a bad bout of food poisoning from a restaurant about 20 years ago, when I was 26, and didn’t fully trust anyone else’s cooking after that. In 2020, I even started a YouTube channel where I cook on camping trips. However, I had no idea what I was getting into when I entered the competition.

It was set up in 1996 to raise the profile of Carrbridge and of porridge as a healthy food. It pulls in people from all over the world, from India to Australia. Anyone can apply, and then the competitors are randomly picked from a ballot , as there are only 30 spaces. It’s entirely run by volunteers from Carrbridge – they’re really proud of the event and work on it for about 10 months of the year. It’s a wholesome and welcoming community.

There are two parts to the contest . The first involves making “traditional porridge”, in which you’re only allowed three ingredients : water, oats and salt. Then, there’s a speciality competition where you can make anything you like as long as it contains oats. You have to make them simultaneously on a camping stove , and with only half an hour on the clock.

There are five heats of six people, and a grand final at the end of the day with the best six people. The judges’ criteria are based on taste, texture , colour and seasoning, but they don’t give feedback so it’s hard to know what they like and dislike.

I used to think porridge was gloopy and bland, but the variety is remarkable

The first year I entered, I didn’t get through my heat. Afterwards, I thought that if I took it a bit more seriously, I could probably do pretty well. So I started experimenting with different blends of oats and salts. I entered in 2023, and got to the final.

By then, I had the porridge-making bug . Ahead of the competition last year, I started looking at the process more scientifically. Oats are 60% starch, so I did some reading and discovered that starch starts to go through a process called gelatinisation between 60C (140F) and 92C, where it absorbs the most water. But the research I found suggested that above 92C it starts to burst, which creates a sort of wallpaper paste texture . So I used a thermometer to keep my porridge under 92C – I don’t think anyone’s ever done that before. I also used Himalayan pink rock salt, as it has a slight sweetness to it.

Much to my surprise, I won. Adam, who had won the year before, was the first to come up and congratulate me. It’s a really supportive community.

It’s also a much bigger event than I realised. There are a few hundred spectators in the village hall where it takes place, and thousands watching via a live stream. People cheer and chant like it’s a football match.

Being the world porridge-making champion is slightly strange. I often get people talking to me about it in the pub because they recognise me from the local press. There is even a film about the competition, The Golden Spurtle, which comes out this month.

This year’s champion ship is in October, and I’m preparing to defend my title. I’ve been practising my speciality porridge – I’m trying to make a vegan cheese fondue out of oats. I’m also messing around with different salts for my traditional porridge – I may try to blend some Bolivian pink salt with some Himalayan pink salt.

It’s amazing what you can do with porridge. I used to think it was gloopy and bland, but all the competitors taste each other’s, and no two are the same. It’s remarkable the variety in something with so few ingredients . There’s more to porridge than people realise.

1. champion [ˈtʃæmpjən] n. 冠军，第一名；拥护者，斗士 v. 捍卫，拥护，支持 adj. 极好的；冠军的，得一等奖的 【名】 （champion）（英）钱皮恩，（法）尚皮翁（人名）；champions；champions；championing；championed；championed

2. trigger [ˈtrɪgə] n. （枪械等的）扳机；（尤指引发不良反应或发展的）起因，诱因；（炸弹的）引爆器，触发器 v. 引发，激发；起动，触发；引爆（炸弹） 【名】 （trigger）特里杰（人名）；triggers；triggers；triggering；triggered；triggered

3. vague [veɪg] adj. 不明确的，不清楚的；（形状）模糊的；（感情、记忆等）不完整的，不清晰的；含糊其词的，闪烁其词的；茫然的，心不在焉的 【名】 （vague）韦格（人名）；vaguer

4. tease [tɪːz] v. 取笑，嘲笑；逗弄（动物）；（尤指性方面）挑逗，撩拨；哄，逗；拨，分离；梳理（羊毛、头发等）；（为了使头发显厚）回梳 n. 爱开玩笑的人，爱戏弄别人的人；玩笑，戏弄；卖弄风骚的人；激起兴趣的广告；teases；teases；teasing；teased；teased

5. decent [ˈdɪːsnt] adj. 像样的，尚好的；得体的，合宜的；穿好衣服的；正派的，规矩的；待人宽厚的，和善的

6. profile [ˈprəʊfaɪl] n. （人头部的）侧面（像），侧影；（某物的）外形，轮廓；（人、团体或组织的）简介，概况；（人或组织的）形象，姿态；纵断面，剖面；（地球表面纵断面的）轮廓（如河流走向）；（舞台的）平面布景；（以数量形式记录事物特点的）曲线图，数据图表；（记载个人心理或行为特点、喜好等的）档案 v. 概述，扼要介绍；给……画侧面像，显出……侧面轮廓；显出……的轮廓（be profiled）；（尤指用模板）铣出轮廓，使……成形；profiles；profiles；profiling；profiled；profiled

7. ballot [ˈbælət] n. （无记名）选举，表决；选票；总数（the ballot） v. 要求（某人）；（为……）；抽签决定 【名】 （ballot）（英）巴洛特，（法）巴洛（人名）；ballots；ballots；balloting；balloted；balloted

8. wholesome [ˈhəʊlsəm] adj. （食物）有益健康的；有益身心健康的，增进身心健康的；（显得）健康的，朝气蓬勃的

9. contest [ˈkɒntest] n. 比赛，竞赛；争夺，竞争；争论，争执 v. 争辩，提出异议；争取赢得，角逐；contests；contests；contesting；contested；contested

10. involve [ɪnˈvɒlv] v. 牵涉，涉及；包含，需要；使陷入，使卷入；（使）参加，加入；使承担，使面对；involves；involving；involved；involved

11. ingredient [ɪnˈgrɪːdɪənt] n. （食品的）成分，原料；要素，因素 adj. 构成组成部分的；ingredients

12. speciality [ˌspeʃɪˈælɪtɪ] n. 特色菜，特产；特制品，特需品；专业，专长；医学专科，专外科；常做之事；specialities

13. stove [stəʊv] n. （取暖或烹饪用的）炉子，火炉；厨灶，炉头；窑；温室 v. （为了喷涂表层而）在炉中对（物体）进行热处理；（用硫磺等烟雾）烟熏，消毒（房屋）；在温室中加速（植物）生长，培植（植物） v. 击穿；挡开，延缓（sta v. 的过去式和过去分词） 【名】 （stove）（瑞典）斯托韦（人名）；stoves；stoves；stoving；stoved；stoved

14. criterion [kraɪˈtɪərɪən] n. 尺度，标准，准则；criteria；criterions

15. texture [ˈtekstʃə] n. 质地，纹理；口感；（音乐或文学的）谐和统一感，神韵 v. 使（织物、墙面等）具浮凸结构（或特征）；textures；textures；texturing；textured；textured

16. feedback [ˈfɪːdbæk] n. 反馈意见；（信号返回电子音响系统所致的）噪声；（返回机器、系统或者程序的）返回信息，返回电流

17. remarkable [rɪˈmɑːkəbl] adj. 引人注目的，非凡的

18. blend [blend] v. （使）混合，调和；（使）协调，融合；调制，配制 n. 混合物；交融，融合；混合词；blends；blends；blending；blended；blended

19. bug [bʌg] n. 昆虫，虫子；小病，轻微的传染病；（计算机程序中的）漏洞，故障；窃听器；热衷，着迷 v. 烦扰，使恼怒；装窃听器；（由于吃惊或害怕）张大眼睛，瞪大双眼；bugs；bugs；bugging；bugged；bugged

20. paste [peɪst] n. 面糊，糊状物；糨糊； 肉（或鱼等）酱（作涂抹料或烹饪用）；（制作人造宝石用的）铅质玻璃；（制陶、瓷器用的）湿黏土 v. （尤指用浆糊）黏，贴；（在计算机上屏幕上）粘贴（文字、图片等）； 狠狠地打，彻底打败 【名】 （paste）（印度）帕斯泰（人名）；pastes；pastes；pasting；pasted；pasted

21. thermometer [θəˈmɔmɪtə(r)] n. 温度计，寒暑表，体温计；thermometers

22. spectator [spekˈteɪtə;ˈspekteɪtə] n. （尤指体育比赛的）观看者，观众；旁观者；spectators

经历：我是世界煮粥冠军

Thousands watch the competition on a live stream. People cheer and chant like it’s a football match

数千人通过直播观看比赛。人们欢呼雀跃，就像观看一场足球比赛一样。

Chris Ormiston

克里斯·奥米斯顿

Fri 5 Sep 2025 05.00 BST

2025年9月5日星期五 05.00 BST

In 2020, I was on a camping trip with my Swedish friend, driving through Carrbridge – a village in the Scottish Highlands about two hours from where I live in Aberdeenshire – when we passed a sign saying “Welcome to the Home of the World Porridge Champion ship”.

我2020 年，我和瑞典朋友一起去露营，开车经过卡布里奇（Carrbridge）——苏格兰高地的一个村庄，距离我居住的阿伯丁郡大约两个小时车程——这时我们经过一个标志，上面写着“欢迎来到世界粥锦标赛的发源地”。

It trigger ed a vague memory of seeing the competition on the news as a child. When my friend looked it up, he found out that the last few winners had actually been Swedish. He started teasing me, saying: “We’re better at making porridge than you.” So I thought, “We’ll see about that.” Two years later, I ended up entering the competition myself.

这勾起了我儿时在新闻上看到这项比赛的模糊记忆。我朋友查了一下，发现最后几位获胜者其实是瑞典人。他开始调侃我：“我们煮粥比你厉害。” 我就想：“走着瞧吧。” 两年后，我终于自己参加了比赛。

我是一名应用程序开发人员，但我的厨艺还不错。我是自学成才的——大约20年前，我26岁的时候，在一家餐馆食物中毒，情况很严重，从那以后，我就再也不相信别人的厨艺了。2020年，我甚至开通了一个YouTube频道，分享我在露营旅行中烹饪的美食。然而，参加比赛的时候，我完全不知道自己会遇到什么。

该活动 于1996年创办，旨在提升卡布里奇市以及粥作为健康食品的知名度。它吸引了来自世界各地的人们，从印度到澳大利亚。任何人都可以申请，参赛者将通过抽签随机抽取，因为名额只有30个。活动完全由卡布里奇市的志愿者运营——他们为这项活动感到自豪，每年大约有10个月的时间都在为此努力。这是一个健康而热情的社区。

There are two parts to the contest . The first involve s making “traditional porridge”, in which you’re only allowed three ingredient s: water, oats and salt. Then, there’s a speciality competition where you can make anything you like as long as it contains oats. You have to make them simultaneously on a camping stove , and with only half an hour on the clock.

比赛分为两个部分。第一部分是制作“传统粥”，只允许使用三种原料：水、燕麦和盐。第二部分是特色粥比赛，只要含有燕麦，你想做什么都可以。比赛必须在野营炉上同时进行，时间只有半小时。

There are five heats of six people, and a grand final at the end of the day with the best six people. The judges’ criteria are based on taste, texture , colour and seasoning, but they don’t give feedback so it’s hard to know what they like and dislike.

比赛分为五轮，每轮六人，最后决出六名最佳选手。评委的标准基于口味、质地、颜色和调味，但他们不会提供反馈，因此很难了解他们的喜好。

我以前觉得粥很粘稠，味道寡淡，但现在粥的种类非常丰富

The first year I entered, I didn’t get through my heat. Afterwards, I thought that if I took it a bit more seriously, I could probably do pretty well. So I started experimenting with different blend s of oats and salts. I entered in 2023, and got to the final.

我报名的第一年，没能通过预赛。之后，我想，如果我认真一点，应该能取得不错的成绩。于是我开始尝试不同的燕麦和盐的混合配方。我参加了2023年的比赛，并进入了决赛。

那时，我迷上了煮粥。去年比赛前，我开始更科学地研究煮粥的过程。燕麦60%的成分是淀粉，所以我查阅了一些资料，发现淀粉在60摄氏度（140华氏度）到92摄氏度之间会开始发生一个叫做糊化的过程，在这个温度里，淀粉吸收的水分最多。但我找到的研究表明，淀粉在92摄氏度以上就会开始爆裂，形成一种类似墙纸糊状物的质感。所以我用温度计把粥的温度控制在92摄氏度以下——我想以前没人这样做过。我还用了喜马拉雅粉红岩盐，因为它略带甜味。

Much to my surprise, I won. Adam, who had won the year before, was the first to come up and congratulate me. It’s a really supportive community.

令我惊喜的是，我赢了。去年获奖的亚当第一个上来祝贺我。这真是一个互相支持、互相帮助的社区。

It’s also a much bigger event than I realised. There are a few hundred spectator s in the village hall where it takes place, and thousands watching via a live stream. People cheer and chant like it’s a football match.

这场活动比我想象的要盛大得多。村里的礼堂里有几百名观众，还有数千人通过直播观看。人们欢呼雀跃，就像在看一场足球赛一样。

Being the world porridge-making champion is slightly strange. I often get people talking to me about it in the pub because they recognise me from the local press. There is even a film about the competition, The Golden Spurtle, which comes out this month.

成为世界煮粥冠军感觉有点奇怪。酒吧里经常有人跟我聊起这件事，因为他们在当地媒体上认出了我。 甚至还有一部关于这项比赛的电影《金鞭子》（The Golden Spurtle）本月上映。

This year’s champion ship is in October, and I’m preparing to defend my title. I’ve been practising my speciality porridge – I’m trying to make a vegan cheese fondue out of oats. I’m also messing around with different salts for my traditional porridge – I may try to blend some Bolivian pink salt with some Himalayan pink salt.

今年的锦标赛在十月举行，我正在为卫冕做准备。我一直在练习我的特色粥——我正在尝试用燕麦做一道纯素奶酪火锅。我还在尝试用不同的盐来做我的传统粥——我可能会尝试把玻利维亚粉盐和喜马拉雅粉盐混合在一起。

It’s amazing what you can do with porridge. I used to think it was gloopy and bland, but all the competitors taste each other’s, and no two are the same. It’s remarkable the variety in something with so few ingredient s. There’s more to porridge than people realise.

粥的用途真是令人惊叹。我以前总觉得它黏糊糊、寡淡无味，但参赛选手们的粥味道各有千秋，没有两道菜是完全一样的。用这么少的食材就能做出如此丰富的粥，真是令人惊叹。粥的魅力远超人们的想象。

来源：左右图史