Behind the Scenes of The Golden Spurtle
The World Porridge Making Championship is my favourite kind of competition. So much so, that I entered three years running. In 2022, my first year, I made it to the final round - it was amazing to be in the top 6, so I didn’t mind not winning. One of the other finalists was an Australian chef called Toby Wilson, and after the final round we briefly chatted about how he wanted to bring a film crew back the following year.
Carrbridge village hall audience for the final round of 2022 Golden Spurtle. Toby Wilson foreground right.
Fast forward to 2023, and a film crew capture the lead-up to the competition. There was only five of them in the crew, a small scale documentary was the assumption. No matter, we’re always happy to talk porridge.
Director Constantine (Con) was super-friendly and made me feel comfortable. Another Australian, Dimitri, was lining up the shots - he was the cinematographer. A final Aussie, Rebecca the producer, was the organisational powerhouse. Coco and I were initially filmed bursting out the studio door onto Balfour Street, with me proclaiming that we were competing in the Golden Spurtle. We did that a few times…
Coco meeting the crew: Director Constantine Conti, Soundguy Dougie from across Pilrig Park, cinematographer Dimitri Zaunders and Producer Rebecca Lamond.
Filming continued on our allotment, talking oats and the importance of food in general. We had a brief flapjack break, where I tested my speciality recipe on the crew, see photo.
Coco supervising a snack break at the allotment
The final segment was filmed at one of my favourite spots, the top of the hill at Pilrig Park. There is a wonderful view, however we were all getting a bit cold. Dimitri thought a bench press up was not a boring shot, too much tarmac. So we moved onto the grass and I remembered it was possible to do a press up against a tree. It’s not something I do often, but it is doable, and more picturesque!
The film crew were at the 2023 Golden Spurtle competition but it was very difficult for them to film as the hall was rammed, and it was bucketing with rain outside (you’ll see in the film!). Maybe that’s why there’s not as much footage of the competition as you might expect. The speciality round, that my Pan-fried Flapjacks recipe got a judge’s commendation for, was absent from the film. I think it might have confused the audience, and also been less funny.
Anyhow, after the competition, we thought no more of the documentary. I competed again in 2024 and decided three times of travelling to the Highlands for a weekend to prepare porridge was enough. Here’s my final cook station…
Note Healthy Living Yearbook on table, that makes it into film. Coincidentally first recipe in the book is… porridge!
2025 came and I was secretly relieved to retire from the world of competitive porridge making. My life was busy enough, but I thought about the beautiful village of Carrbridge… And then around Easter time, an invite! To a sneak preview of the new Golden Spurtle documentary. It was a special screening for the villagers, volunteers and any competitors who wanted to journey to Carrbridge to watch it in the village hall. I couldn’t resist an excuse to spend a weekend in the Highlands. We were warmly welcomed and seated at the front, Coco snoozing on lap.
Seeing the film about a competition in the village hill it was filmed at, with the cast and crew present, was such a special moment. We were blown away with how beautifully the film tells the story of Chieftain Charlie Miller’s final year of running the Golden Spurtle. It seemed we were not the only people bitten by the Spurtlebug. And the warm oaty vibes are contagious.
In Edinburgh the Golden Spurtle is screening at Cameo, Filmhouse, Everyman and Vue Omni cinemas. It’s showing around 100 cinemas across the UK, check for your local here.
Have you seen the Golden Spurtle? What do you think? Drop me a line!
