Bowl of porridge right for record

Festival-goers in Waterford have been urged to arrive with empty stomachs tomorrow to help gobble up the world’s biggest bowl of porridge.

The Waterford Harvest Festival will reach a thrilling climax tomorrow afternoon when a bid is made to cook up a 914kg pot of oats.

Organisers say they are confident of entering the record books by creating the monstrous breakfast, which will be prepared in a specially made bowl measuring 2.2m in height and 1.7m in diameter.

They said their biggest concern was not having enough hungry mouths to feed and having to throw away huge amounts, as sponsors Flahavan’s are preparing enough porridge for 5,000 people.

Spokeswoman Ann Power said: “Everything is in hand. A huge amount of preparation has gone into this and we’re very confident that we’ll be successful and break the world record.”

Organisers of the record attempt, which takes place at 1pm tomorrow on the Quayside, will collect photographic and video evidence, and send it to Guinness chiefs for approval.

The target weight of 914kg has been picked to match the year the city was founded by the Vikings, and if successful will easily exceed the existing Russian record of 856kg, which was set last year.

Ms Power said the enormous bowl will be warmed up on three giant gas burners before being stirred by “three strong men”.

The bid marks the climax of the city’s week-long harvest festival, which by tomorrow will have attracted 80,000 people.