Darragh O’Brien from Co. Kildare has been announced as the winner of the 9th Aldi National Brown Bread Baking Competition at the National Ploughing Championships 2022.
The first male winner of the competition, Darragh received prize money of €15,000 for his win, as well as a contract to sell his brown bread in 152 Aldi stores around the country for a year.
Darragh said the secret to his bread may be tradition, as the recipe he used has been passed down through his family for a number of years.
Speaking about his win, Darragh said it will be amazing to see his own name and his own bread on Aldi shelves when he does his shopping.
“I just did what I thought tasted best, so I’m so grateful and humbled to be here.”
The competition, which was held in association with the National Ploughing Association (NPA) and the Irish Countrywomen’s Association (ICA), kicked off on day one of the ploughing (Tuesday, September 20), with four bakers who were chosen from more than 400 applicants.
Two were chosen from the group to progress to the final, while another two from a second semi-final were also chosen yesterday (Wednesday, September 21).
The four finalists baked their loaves at 9:30a.m, which were judged at about 1:00p.m by chef Paul Smith, Aldi’s buying director for bread, Peter Bowe, and Eileen Brennan of the NPA.
All three judges tasted the brown breads and evaluated them not only on their taste, but also on their consistency, texture, sturdiness and appearance.
Fellow baker Loretta McGuire from Co. Mayo came second in the competition and received a €500 Aldi voucher, champagne and a bunch of flowers. Despite not making it into first place, she told Agriland it was a fantastic experience.
“I’ve met other bakers and we’re all swapping recipes and so on, it’s been a brilliant week down here.
“It’s a fantastic competition and I would encourage anyone to enter next year,” she concluded.