Category: PR

#AldiPloughing

Watch a preview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdY6wuBZCPs

The ovens are being heated, the recipes are being tweaked and the 8 finalists of The National Brown Bread Baking Competition sponsored by Aldi and in association with the NPA and ICA are getting ready for the bake-off. To celebrate please find enclosed a mini brown bread with Aldi’s compliments – grab a knife, some butter and maybe some jam to enjoy a slice of Aldi’s traditional brown bread recipe.

The semi-finals will take place in the Aldi Marquee at the National Ploughing Championships on the 23rd and 24th of September. Two people will be picked from each day, and they will go head-to-head on Thursday the 25th of September for the final. Having fought off some stiff competition in An Grianan, Co. Louth on the 14th of August, the 8 finalists spoke of their excitement ahead of the competition at The National Ploughing Championships:

Kerry: Tina Boulton – “My three sisters will be traveling with me so it’s a real case of sisterly support. I am over the moon to be representing Kerry and can’t wait to be in the Aldi tent.”

Monaghan: Pauline Carney – “I am pleasantly surprised that I am in the final, it was a stiff competition. When the judges cut through the various brown breads, they looked like they were going to be hard to beat so I was very lucky that they liked mine. I have been baking since I got married 30 years ago, so I have just adapted my daughter’s recipe and that’s what I use. I hope my daughter Roisin will travel down to the Championships with me; she’s in 5th year in school. I’ve never been before so it’ll be an experience in itself and let the best woman win!”

Wicklow: Statia Ivers – “I am delighted to have gotten so far in the competition and I’m really looking forward to the final, hopefully it will go well for me. I have been baking for 50 years and have always baked brown bread, it’s a definite favourite of mine. I can’t wait to get to Laois, most of my family are traveling down with me.”

Westmeath: Margaret Kelly – “Surprised is not the word, I can’t believe it, I am overwhelmed that I have gotten this far, it’s great to get the recognition, I’ve been making brown bread for the past 45 years! My daughter and 4 sons as well as lots of neighbours are getting a bus to come down to support me at the National Ploughing Championships, and I can’t wait for it!”

Mayo: Margaret Jennings – “My feet haven’t hit the ground at all yet, I’m still in shock. My partner Sean will be traveling down with me, as well as my daughter, her husband and their two kids. I am over the moon excited about it!”

Galway: Patsy Kenny – “I’m really surprised and thrilled, I’m not sure what baking in front of everyone will be like, but I’m sure it will be fun! I am originally from Dublin, so family will come from there, and some of our ICA ladies from Renmore Guild and Galway Federation will also be coming along to support me.”

Tipperary South: Betty Williams – “Naturally I am surprised and pleased with the win and I can’t wait for the National Ploughing Championship. I’ll be traveling with my daughter as she drove me to An Grianan and my friend Mary White will also come along. It’s a great honour and Aldi have been so kind and generous, I am delighted, over the moon actually!”

Limerick: Bernadette Daly – “Traveling to the final with me will be my husband, my three adult children, my mother Marguerita McCarthy, my three sisters, a few friends and some work colleagues! I’m absolutely thrilled because I’ve been making brown bread for over 30 years and have tried every recipe under the sun. I have had numerous failures and successes – it’s been a labour of love! I bake a lot but the bread is my favourite, always has been! I buy all my ingredients from Aldi and I can’t wait for the event!”

Liz Wall, President of the ICA said, “The competition was fierce but we feel we have got the best in the country ahead of the finals at The National Ploughing Championships,” “It’s going to be a fantastic few days, and we would encourage everyone to pop into the Aldi tent and support these fantastic ladies – you might even get to sample some of their now infamous brown bread!”

#AldiPloughing

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#AldiPloughing
A stunning living wall of salad greens and flowers, grown from a million seeds, covers the exterior of Aldi’s Marquee at the National Ploughing Championships. Grown from seed, and eight weeks in the making, the 3 metre tall, 90 metre long living wall covers a total area of 270 metres – a truly impressive feat!

Featuring Kale, Spinach, Salad Greens and Red Clover, the Aldi Marquee’s living wall incorporates a water and feed system to keep it looking fresh and beautiful for the many thousands of visitors expected to visit the marquee over the three days of this iconic annual event. The Aldi logo has been woven into the wall with Winter Pansies and Violas, in the signature colours of various shades of orange, blue, white and red!

Carmel Farrell of Focus on Flowers has worked for many years with Aldi Ireland. “This is such an exciting project! As soon as we agreed the design with Aldi Ireland, we began planting seeds to grow every single plant from scratch, here in Mooncoin, Kilkenny.  The end result is more than worth the work, and we can’t wait to see people’s reactions!’

The Aldi Marquee will showcase Aldi’s suppliers and the very best of Irish produce, with a few special guests too. Two large venues within the Aldi Marquee will feature entertainment by the D’Unbelievable’s hilarious Jon Kenny, Gaeltacht superstars Seo Linn, the legendary Sharon Shannon, the first National Brown Bread Baking Competition since 1973, with guest MC Síle Seoige.

Currently Ireland imports 120,000 tonnes of foreign frozen potato products each year, despite being a nation of great potato producers and connoisseurs!  More interestingly, to produce that 120,000 tonnes of imported frozen potato products requires approx. 240,000 tonnes of fresh potatoes to make – this represents the entire Irish potato crop output per year!  Yet our Irish potato growers suffer year after year when yields are high but there are no markets for their potatoes – our fresh potatoes end up being exported because there is no market here, and on the other hand we’re importing 22 articulated lorries full of frozen potato products each week!   We at Meade Potato Company want to change this.  We want to make a dent in the imports of the multinationals (Green Isle and McCain) and bring stability to the Irish potato industry.

The Company

For over 30 years Meade Potato Company has been growing, packing and bringing top quality potatoes, as well as fruit, vegetables and organic produce, to retailers nationwide from our family farm in Lobinstown, Co Meath.  Now we are putting our passion for potatoes and our knowledge of the humble spud to good use with the introduction of Meade Irish Rooster Chips.

The Product

We want to give Irish consumers the choice of purchasing an Irish home grown chip when they are shopping in the frozen aisle of their local supermarket.  And what a great product we have produced – Meade Irish Rooster Chips are made exclusively from Ireland’s favourite potato variety – the Rooster, sunflower oil and nothing else; they are naturally gluten free as well so it’s as healthy a chip as can be had.

Feedback

Customers love our chips – the first frozen chip that actually tastes like a potato, and it’s Irish to boot!  They love the homemade taste, fluffiness, the golden colour and the real rooster potato taste. But people are equally amazed by our story – the fact that until now there has been no Irish frozen chips in Ireland, and the fact that we import all our frozen potato products when we are a nation of people who are particular about their spuds and have the growing capability to produce our own frozen potato products!

Stands at the National Ploughing Championships:

We will have 2 stands at this years’ NPA event:

An Indoor stall at the Exhibitors Marquee (Stand 421, Row 27, Block 1)

People will meet our sales and marketing team at the Exhibitor Stall and can hear all about the story behind Meade Potato Company – Ireland’s quality fresh and frozen produce provider – and our exciting new product, Meade Irish Rooster Chips. We will be running competitions, giving away coupons for our new chips and providing details of upcoming special offers.

Our Chip Bar will be located outside (Catering Block 2).

Here people can purchase our tasty chips throughout the day and see our colourful and branded Irish Rooster Chip Bar! We will also be giving away coupons to buy our frozen chips in the supermarkets.

www.meadepotato.com

facebook: Meade Irish Rooster Chips

twitter: @RoosterChip