The competition was fierce in Cullen as men and women battled to gain a prestigious title.
In what has become a really souped-up annual battle, the Cullen Skink World Championships were held in the coastal town – and, for the first time in the event’s history, both the traditional recipe and the twist category were won by the same person.
Margaret Macrae, from the Kyle of Lochalsh, took home the title of world champion for her brace of tasty creations.
Mrs Macrae, who runs Buth Bheag’s Fisherman’s Kitchen, said: “To win the traditional category was brilliant.
“I won it back in 2017, so it was really nice to win it again, but then winning the twist category was a shock. I was shaking a bit, but it was great.”
The 45-year-old said she has been making Cullen Skink every day for nine years and it always proves to be the most popular item on her shop’s menu.
She added: “For the twist category, our biggest seller besides Cullen Skink are prawn rolls, so I always have langoustines in the shop. I thought I would poach them in cooking liquor to give it a sweetness.
“I didn’t want to take away from what it was and make it chowder, so I tried to be careful.”
She added: “It was a great competition and there were a lot of entries this year.
“Hopefully, it will carry on being filled with so many people wanting to get involved.”
David McCubbin, chairman of the Cullen Voluntary Tourist Initiative, said: “It was absolutely fantastic. We changed it up this year from running it in November to March.
“We noticed it got a little bit lost with Christmas coming up.
“It was really positive. We could have filled up the competition three times over with the amount of applications we received.”
Dozens of spectators turned up to cheer on the nine entrants in the traditional category and the five in the twist category.
The CVTI originally launched the celebration of the soup in 2012 and it has become a mouth-watering event for people across the north-east.
Mr McCubbin added: “There was also positive feedback from the judges who said that the quality of the dishes had improved from the previous year.
“It’s about having a fantastic day and we come away from it buzzing – and smelling like Cullen Skink.
“We’re really proud of Cullen Skink and, rightly so, we want to shout about it.”
The history behind Moray coastal town’s tastiest competition
The Cullen Skink World Championships has been pitting makers of the famous soup against each other since 2012.
Every year, eager competitors throng to the Cullen Bay Hotel to demonstrate their recipes are the best and secure the coveted title of Cullen Skink world champion.
The unique dish consists of smoked haddock, potatoes and onions and originated in the little coastal town.
The Cullen voluntary trust initiative launched the celebration of the soup in 2012.
Its first champion was Nigel Ross, originally from Cullen, who used an old family recipe to gain the upper hand over his competitors.
At the time of his triumph, Mr Ross said the technique was handed down from his grandmother and it was estimated to be about 100 years old.
In 2014, the honours went outside the north east for the first time when Fife man Neal Robertson scooped the main prize.
Portsoy-based Glenglassaugh also got in on the action by contributing a large measure of its Revival dram to a pot of the delicacy.
The whisky-laced version of Cullen Skink would normally cost £100 a bowl, but visitors were able to sample it for free.
The contest has attracted attention from around the world, with visitors from Egypt, India and Japan visiting the Cullen Bay Hotel to sample owner Ian Watson’s winning recipe in 2017.
This year, the contest was moved to the spring in an attempt to boost its popularity.
