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06 Sept 2025
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06 Sept 2025
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Loretta McGuire from Barnatra was crowned the winner of the National Brown Baking Competition last year. She is pictured with Laurence Kelly and Anna May McHugh.
Loretta McGuire from Barnatra, near Belmullet, was crowned the winner of the National Brown Baking Competition last year, and now the contest's sponsors, ALDI, are going to stock the winning product.
From January 22, Loretta’s Brown Bread will be hitting ALDI’s shelves, giving shoppers nationwide the chance to taste the rustic, award-winning loaf. McGuire reminisced on the hours spent baking in her kitchen, saying never in her “wildest dreams”, could she imagine her very own bread stocked in her local supermarket. “ I am so grateful to ALDI for this opportunity and I can’t wait to share Loretta’s Brown Bread with people at home in Mayo as well as all over Ireland - from my kitchen to yours!”
Laurence Kelly, Buying Director at ALDI, says the store is “proud to stock [McGuire’s] high-quality, locally produced bread” across the country.
Suitably, the bread will be produced by O’Hara’s of Foxford, a local family-owned company in the county. ALDI has a longstanding relationship with the company as it supplies a number of bread and confectionery products to the supermarket chain. Julie O’Hara from O’Hara’s of Foxford says they are “thrilled to partner with ALDI to share this true taste of Mayo with customers nationwide.”
An enthusiastic home baker, McGuire beat out eight stiff competitors from all over Ireland to win the competition. Adjudicators were impressed by the bread’s taste and texture, and after much deliberation, McGuire’ bread was judged to be a cut above the rest. She was crowned the winner and took home a whopping €15,000 in prize money.
McGuire labelled winning the contest as a “once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
Managing Director of the National Ploughing Association, Anna May McHugh says she is filled “with pride to see the competition continue to endure and remain as popular as ever since its inception in the early 1950s”.
Loretta’s Brown Bread, €1.99/600g, will be available in all 161 ALDI stores from January 22.
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