A double world porridge-making champion is selling his Fife cafe after achieving success with a special spoon he created for the competition.
Neal Robertson took over Tannochbrae Tearoom in Auchtermuchty almost 20 years ago and has put the popular eatery on the market with a £125,000 price tag.
The Fifer took home the top prize at the World Porridge Making Championship in 2010 and followed up his victory by winning the speciality category in 2011.
He credits his success to a specially designed ‘Spon’ carved from beech wood.
A derivation of the spoon, the double-backed utensil is said to provide twice the power to mixing and beating.
Neal said: “When it comes to stirring your soup, or stew, or cake mix, or porridge, the Spon eliminates all that clogging.”
Neal began selling the Spon at £5 for a set of two and is now struggling to meet demand.
He said: “I’ve been at the tearoom for 19 years now and it will be sad to leave, but the Spon business is really taking up more of my time now and I feel it’s right to move on before the tearoom suffers.
“I’ll never forget opening the tearoom on Sunday May 22 1994, all the friends who helped me get started and all the local support I got.
“Maybe the success I’ve enjoyed at the tearoom gave me the confidence to start the Spon Co.”
Porridge makers from all over the world travel to the Highland village of Carrbridge in October to compete for the coveted Golden Spurtle. The winner is deemed to have made the best traditional porridge using untreated oatmeal, salt and water.
Each competitor is required to produce at least one pint of porridge, which is divided into three portions for the judges to taste.