Cullen Skink contest makes a return

A world championship soup competition will return this weekend after being cancelled last year.

The Cullen Skink World Championship will take place at the Cullen Bay Hotel on Sunday after organisers rallied to make sure the event returned to the local calendar.

Yesterday, Graham Bell said this year’s competition – the fifth time it will run – would again welcome entries that put a “twist” on the classic dish.

As well as traditional recipes to crown the world’s best Cullen Skink

“There were about six entries in our first year”

maker, competitors are being invited to submit alternatives to the fishbased soup.

Mr Bell, the secretary of the Discover Cullen group, added: “There were about six entries in our first year but it generated a lot of interest in Cullen.

“And this year we have got people from Skye, the west coast, and even someone from Cornwall coming up to compete.

“We could get anywhere from 80 to 100 people in the hotel just to spectate.”

The event, which includes a food fair, will run from 10.30am-4pm on Sunday.

A panel of four judges will undertake blind testing of each competitor’s soup before a winner is decided.

In the afternoon, the “twist” recipes will also be tested.

When the championships last took place in 2015, Ian Watson of the Cullen Bay Hotel won the crown.

Alex Grahame of Hornblower’s Seafood Restaurant in Gourdon was judged to have the best “twist” recipe.