€15,000 prize on offer as National Brown Bread Baking Competition Launches for 2019!
The National Brown Bread Baking Competition 2019 is open for entries.
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 five years ago by the NPA, the event has proven to be a huge success, with entries from each one of the 26 counties. NPA MD Anna May Mc Hugh and ICA President Josephine Helly were joined by Sile Seoige today to announce details of this year’s competition.
NPA Managing Director Anna May McHugh said “Given the huge popularity and success of the National Brown Bread Baking competition at Ploughing over the past four years, we are once again delighted to be renewing our partnership with Aldi and the ICA. It is wonderful to see the long and great tradition of baking in Ireland alive and well at Ploughing. The total attendance figures for the 2018 National Championships came to 240.700 and this year’s event in the new location of Ballintrane, Fenagh, Co. Carlow looks set to be bigger and better than ever.”
The National Brown Bread Baking competition is open to both members and non-members of the ICA, and baking enthusiasts have the opportunity to earn some serious ‘dough’, with a share of the profits from the sale of their winning loaf once it goes on sale in Aldi*. Second place will receive €1,000, €500 for third, €300 for fourth and the other semi-finalists will all get €200 each**.
Once again this year, entering the competition will be easier than ever, and Aldi is encouraging any bakers over the age of 18 to take part to be in with a chance of seeing their bread on shelves nationwide. Keen bakers that can’t make it to any of the ICA heats will be able to bring their freshly baked bread to 4 Aldi locations nationwide for tasting by the panel of independent judges.
Keen bakers can enter via the Aldi heats by dropping their bread off at the following locations on the following dates:
- Aldi Ireland Head Office, Newbridge Road, Naas, Co. Kildare (12th June 2019 from 10.30am – 1pm)
- Aldi Regional Office, Limerick Road, Mitchelstown, Co. Cork (12th June 2019 from 10.30am – 1pm)
- Aldi Store, New Town Centre, Oranmore, Co. Galway (19th June from 10.30am – 1pm)
- Aldi Store, Wexford Retail Park, Clonard Little, Wexford (19th June from 10.30am – 1pm)
Group Buying Director, John Curtin said, “At Aldi, we are a proud supporter of Irish suppliers so we are delighted to sponsor The National Brown Bread Baking Competition again, celebrating something as quintessentially Irish as brown bread. ‘Emma’s Brown Bread’ has proven a hit with our customers, and we hope the winner this year will achieve the same success with their brown bread. This year, we are making it easier than ever for people to enter with our regional drop off points, and so we hope to see keen bakers getting involved. At Aldi, we sell a range of great value baking essentials in our 137 stores nationwide so consumers can stock their pantries and make home baked goods all year round.”
ICA members can participate in the competition through local guilds, with heats taking place nationwide and regional finals taking place at An Grianán, ICA Adult Education Centre on July 18th.
The four finalists selected from the Aldi bread drops, along with the four finalists selected through the ICA will compete at the National Finals. The National Semi Finals and Final will be held from 17th – 19th September at the Aldi Marquee during the 2019 National Ploughing Championships in Ballintrane, Fenagh, Co. Carlow.
Speaking at the launch, Josephine Helly, President of the ICA said, “Our members are once again delighted to be taking part in the National Brown Bread Baking Competition to find the best Brown Bread baker in Ireland. There has been huge interest and the winner will be generously rewarded.”
If you think you have the recipe for success, log ontowww.aldi.ie/brown-bread-competition or www.ica.ie for information on how to enter and further details about the county finals.
* The winner’s brown bread will also be stocked in all Aldi Stores in Ireland for twelve months and they will receive a share of the profits, guaranteed to be at least €15,000.
**All winners (with the exception of first place) will receive their prizes in Aldi Vouchers
.