I will have one more try at winning the Golden Spurtle!

About this recording

Doug Mackay has been making traditional porridge for over three decades, using essentially the same method taught to him by his granny in the 1970s.

Originally from Keiss, and now living in Wick, Doug has become a regular contestant in the annual World Porridge Making Championship, taking inspiration from his family connections to the land and sea.

He finished in the top six out of 30 competitors from around the world in the 2026 championship at Carrbridge, the fourth time he had taken part. Doug used oats from his cousin’s farm at Thuster and salt made from seawater collected at Keiss, as well as Caithness water.

In this recording he explains that he is keen to have one more attempt at winning the prestigious Golden Spurtle, the trophy for best traditional porridge. This year’s winner came from the Netherlands.

“I really enjoy the creative side of coming up with a dish, giving it a connection to my past, and trying to showcase Caithness and the ingredients we’ve got here,” Doug says.

“We need a Scottish winner and I’m going to give it a go again next year, if I get through the ballot. That’s my plan, to go again with the Caithness oats, with the Caithness salt, with the Caithness water.”

He is a great advocate for the “huge health benefits” of oats.

In the 2026 championship Doug was using a spurtle (stirring stick) that he had crafted himself on his bench-top lathe using hawthorn grown beside the Wick River.

He also tells the story of his Divine Spurtles, made from a pitch-pine pew that had once been in Bridge Street Church in Wick. Speaking to the local newspaper in 2025, Doug explained: “There is an old myth that porridge should be stirred clockwise, otherwise it could invoke the Devil. If you’re left-handed it’s natural to stir anticlockwise. The Divine Spurtle, made from the old church pew, could protect you against this.”

Doug sold his Divine Spurtles as a fundraiser for Mary’s Meals, a Scottish-based charity that provides school meals in some of the world’s poorest communities.

Doug is a chartered engineer who has spent more than 40 years working in the energy industry. In 2025 he became chairman of Scrabster Harbour Trust.

Photos:

Doug at the 2023 World Porridge Making Championship in Carrbridge. Courtesy of Callum Mackay / Highland News and Media

Doug showing some of the spurtles he made using wood from a former church pew.