The contest rules only allow three ingredients – oats, water and salt.
She only started adding salt to her porridge ahead of the competition, but quickly realised it “really brings out the nuances and different aromas”.
She believes her secret weapon may have been the water which she brought with her from her home city.
“It’s very soft, and I think the mineral content may have something to do with it. I’m not sure – but it worked last time and this time as well, so maybe it’s the water”.
In the Speciality Porridge category, Rob, from Sydney, came up with his recipe just a few weeks before competing in the Australian national porridge championships – the Pearly Spurtle – after realising how seriously everyone was taking it.
Tapping into his family heritage – his father is Scottish and his mother is Sicilian – he decided to make a porridge cannoli.
“I then had to engineer it,” the 36-year-old told Scotland News.
The cream uses the traditional mix of ricotta, mascarpone and sugar but he blended in porridge, sieved it and added some ground toasted oats.
It provides the filling for shells, made like brandy snaps but using Sicilian Marsala wine instead.