Rising hot from the toaster, no morning breakfast in Aberdeen would be complete without a flaky rowie.

Hot butter sliding across it's golden irregular knobbles and crevices, jam heaped generously on top, the only safe way to eat it is holding the edges delicately with your fingers, the melting lard in the layers making it extremely hot to the touch.

The rowie is as unique to the north-east of Scotland as crispy rolls are to Glaswegians and salt and sauce is to Edinburgers.

Yet according the the organisers of the World Buttery Championship, the rowie is an "endangered heritage food" which must be protected lest it be forgotten.

The inaugural event, due to take place in June, is calling on buttery, rowie and Aberdeen roll makers to take part to find the best buttery, flaky roll of all.

So what exactly is a buttery?

While it is unclear exactly when the buttery was created, it is believed the north-east delicacy has been around for centuries in the north-east of Scotland.

Fishermen who would have frequented Aberdeen harbour would search for food that would not spoil on long trips into the North Sea and it is thought it was created for them, to replace the biscuits which would go stale at sea.

High in fat and preserves thanks to a high salt content, the buttery could outlast any 'softie' roll at sea, for three of four weeks at a time.

While modern recipes have reduced the lard and salt content, they have still become a staple in households in the north-east.

Numerous bakers such as Thains and Aitkens have made butteries throughout the years, with Walkers Shortbread even making their own sold in their bakeries at one point.

However, there are many arguments over the correct name for the flattened food, often likened to a squashed croissant.

Depending on which area you live, it could be called a buttery, a rowie, a rollie or an Aberdeen roll.

However, it is generally considered that those living in the countryside call it a buttery, while those in the city prefer the term rowie.

J.G Ross, who have been baking butteries in Inverurie since 1962, say their bakers make over 100,000 butteries by hand each week which are then distributed across the country.

A fat pillow of dough, made with flour, water, yeast, sugar and lard is layered with vegetable fat and salt, which is folded together by hand much like a croissant to create layers.

The process of creating the distinctive irregularly of the buttery is then begun, as bakers chop and pull the dough to distribute the fat evenly to ensure each piece will be as light and crisp as the other once baked.

Fingers and knuckles are pressed into each ball of dough to flatten the buttery and create it's distinct texture before proving until risen, then baked at a high heat.

In March, butteries suddenly found themselves in the spotlight, as film director Duncan Jones began reminiscing about his time spent in Aberdeen as a child.

Soon he started making his own to satisfy his nostalgia, tweeting the process on his Twitter account and even calling them "evil bricks of tasty".

For George Ross, founder of J.G Ross, David Bowie's son made an excellent effort when trying to recreate the butteries from his childhood.

He told BBC Radio Scotland's Kaye Adams he would give Duncan a solid eight out of ten for his efforts, adding his dough looked a little stiff and could have seen better results had he mixed it for just a few minutes longer.

It's not just celebrities who have a taste for the salty sweetness of a buttery.

In 2014, Andrew and Kirsty Stewart served guests a three tiered buttery wedding cake to guests, the equivalent of 54 individual rowies.

While it seems unlikely that the buttery will be disappearing from plates any time soon, with the World Buttery Championship's warning they could become unrecognisable soon, there's more of a reason than ever to pick up a paper bag-full from your nearest bakery right away.