Germans call it haferbrei, Americans just say ’oatmeal’ and in Swedish it’s charmingly known as gröt – but if porridge is most synonymous with any one country then it must be Scotland.

It seems only appropriate then that a Highland village, Carrbridge, should annually host the Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championships. Prepared in its simplest form – just oats, salt and water – porridge is arguably as healthy and nutritious a first meal of the day as you can eat, and the main Golden Spurtle prize is awarded for a batch made from just those three ingredients.

But there are Speciality and People’s Choice categories too, producing such winning variants as Hazelnut Honey Swirl and Winter Spiced Porridge with Blueberry Compote. Recent champion porridge-makers have included a Californian TV chef, a Gaelic singer from Strathglass and – whisper it – an Englishman.