Brown Bread Competition

Aldi will once again this year sponsor The National Brown Bread Baking Competition, in association with the National Ploughing Association (NPA) and the Irish Countrywomen’s Association (ICA).  Relaunched last year by the NPA, the event was a huge success with entries from each one of the 26 counties. The final was held in the Aldi Marquee at the National Ploughing Championships, where Betty Williams from Tipperary rose to the challenge and emerged victorious.

Speaking recently, Betty reminisced on her win, “”I was absolutely thrilled to have won, it came as a great shock as I never saw the end coming. Everyone was wonderful and my sincere thanks to all involved. The best of luck to everyone taking part this year.”

In an exciting addition to this, Aldi has also announced that it will sponsor the National Junior Baking Competition, in association with Foróige, Ireland’s leading youth organisation – the finals of which will also take place in the Aldi Marquee at the National Ploughing Championships.

For the National Brown Bread Baking Competition, baking enthusiasts have the opportunity to earn some serious ‘dough’, with a top prize worth €5,000, plus 10% of the profits when their bread is stocked in store*. Second place will receive €1,000, €500 for third, €300 for fourth and the other semi-finalists will all get €200 each.

For the Junior Bakers, the theme of the competition is ‘County Cakes’, and the judges are anticipating some amazing creations from the wealth of talented young bakers around the country.

The winner of the National Junior Baking Competition will win a KitchenAid Stand Mixer to help them on their baking journey, as well as a trip for their local Foróige club or group to Delphi Adventure Centre in Co. Mayo.

Group Buying Director, Rob Farrell said, “At Aldi, we are a proud supporter of Irish suppliers so we are delighted to sponsor The National Brown Bread Baking Competition for the second year in a row, celebrating something as quintessentially Irish as brown bread. We are also thrilled to have added the Junior Baking competition this year, and we are encouraging baking enthusiasts, whether junior, novice or expert home bakers, to whip out the mixing bowl and perfect their baking skills. At Aldi, we sell a range of great value baking essentials in our 114 stores nationwide so consumers can stock their pantries and make home baked goods all year round.”

The qualifiers of The National Brown Bread Baking Competition will be held nationally through the ICA, with the Regional Finals taking place at An Grianán, ICA Adult Education Centre on 13th August.  The National Semi Finals and Final will be held from 22nd to 24th September at the Aldi Marquee during the 2015 National Ploughing Championships Ratheniska, Co. Laois.

The qualifiers of The National Junior Baking Competition will be held nationally through youth organisation Foróige, in their 834 clubs and projects nationwide, with the regional finals taking place in late July. The National Semi Finals and Final will be held from 22nd to 24th September at the Aldi Marquee during the 2015 National Ploughing Championships Ratheniska, Co. Laois.

If you think you have the recipe for success, log onto www.aldi.ie, www.npa.ie, www.ica.ie or www.foroige.ie for information on how to enter and further details about the county finals.