You won’t return home hungry from a day at the Ploughing, and you’ll also be leaving Co Offaly having discovered and sampled food from new producers across the country.
Snack attack
O’Donnells Crisps is always a favourite at the Ploughing, because, well … nothing beats the humble hand-cooked crinkle-cut crisp. O’Donnells make theirs using Irish potatoes grown in Seskin, Co Tipperary.
The stand always goes down a treat with the youngsters at the Ploughing, who crowd around to sample the bestselling flavours.
This year, O’Donnells will be debuting its latest flavour – hot honey fusion. It offers a spicy and sweet flavour profile that is currently trending in the culinary world.
If you didn’t know already, O’Donnells also run an annual crisp competition at the Ploughing.
It fills a full tractor cab with bags of its crisps and visitors can guess how many bags are in the tractor to win a year’s supply of crisps. You could be the lucky winner.
Food to bring home
Apple cider vinegar is all the rage these days because of its many benefits, including its antimicrobial properties and impact on digestive health. Why not stock up for the winter and bring home a bottle from Northern Ireland producer Natural Umber which celebrated 70 years in business this year.
It sources the apples to produce its vinegar from its own farms in Dublin and Meath, and buy more apples from local farmers in Armagh too. The apple cider vinegar comes in two flavours, one of which has been enriched with vitamin D, which we all need more of living in Ireland. Natural Umber is returning to Ploughing after a particularly good year – having secured a national listing with Holland and Barrett and a trial listing with Marks & Spencers.
Natural Umber source the apples to make their apple cider vinegar from their farms in Co Dublin, Co Meath and Co Armagh.
Sweet treats
If you haven’t come across SOS Cookies at the Ploughing before, maybe you’ll have seen them on, dare I say it, TikTok?
The Limerick-based bakery, which now has a pop-up store in Dublin, has stacked up millions of views on the social media platform with viral videos of soft and doughy cookie creations.
This year, SOS cookies is returning to the National Ploughing Championships with an extra sweet treat for visitors – bringing back its rare and limited-edition flavours. Incorporating everyone’s favourite chocolates and nostalgic flavours, like oreo, nutella and kinder, SOS cookies are a crowd pleaser. Choose a couple to take home with you – but we can’t guarantee they’ll last the car journey.
SOS cookies incorporate everyone’s favourite chocolates, like Oreo, Nutella and Kinder.
Something to gift
Looking for a gift to bring home for the unlucky few who can’t make it to the Ploughing? Aoife Nic Giolla Coda, who owns and runs Galtee Honey Farm is selling her pure, raw honey produced by the native Irish Black Honey Bees on the farm which sits along the Tipperary/Cork/Limerick border. A fourth-generation beekeeper, Aoife has taken the reins over from her father, Micheál, who established Galtee Honey Farm in 1970. Aoife and Micheál manage 170 hives of native Irish Black Honey Bees, a threatened sub-species of honey bee. The bees are very busy producing a variety of wildflower honey from around the Galtee Mountains for the Mac Giolla Coda family to sell, including blackberry blossom, white clover, heather and ivy blossom. At the Ploughing, the family will also be selling freshly harvested raw Irish honey comb, collected by the bees from the same flowers as the wildflower honey. Every batch is slightly different in flavour – you can sample at the Ploughing and see for yourself what all the buzz is about.
Tipple to take home
Symphonia Spirits is, once more, making the long trek down from Co Tyrone for the Ploughing. This year has been a big one for this craft gin manufacturer with two of its products shortlisted as finalists in the Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards: the Irish Apple Rum and the Irish Apple Gin.
The apple gin contains bramley apple juice, a protected geographical ingredient in Co Armagh. Symphonia Spirits is proud to support local: the botanicals are sourced within 10 miles of the distillery, and it sources its apples from the nearby orchard county of Armagh.
At the Ploughing, the spirit company will be giving away free samples of its four spirits,and the team is still on a high from an appearance on BBC1 in the first episode of Paddy and Nigel’s Tourist Trap, a new series exploring Northern Ireland’s hidden gems.
Clonakilty Food Co
Another stalwart of the Ploughing Championships is Clonakilty Food Co. A family business in west Cork, it enjoys something of a global reputation for their sausages, rashers and blackpudding. The latter is particularly famous because, to date, the Clonakilty blackpudding recipe is still a complete secret, having been passed down since the 1800s.
Clonakilty Food Co has exhibited all over the world, including in the UK and Australia, but the Ploughing Championships remains one of its favourite Irish shows to attend.
Its meaty product range makes the Clonakilty stand a very popular spot the morning of the Ploughing, providing you with just a quick bite to keep you going before lunch. Hungry visitors can expect to sample the full offering of products at the stall, including its more recent veggie range.
Clonakilty Food Co at the National Ploughing Championships 2023.
Food entertainment
The Ploughing is really second to none for culinary entertainment, with many cookery demonstrations and foodie events happening over the week – including in our own Irish Farmers Journal stand.
Perhaps one of the finest foodie traditions at the Ploughing is the National Brown Bread Baking Competition, which has been ongoing since 1954. It’s certainly as popular and entertaining now as it was then.
The competition consistently draws quite a crowd to ascertain whose hearty and wholesome brown bread has that perfect rise.
Eight finalists will take to the stage in the semi-finals on 16 and 17 September, with the winner crowned by the judges during the final on 18 September.
The only reasonable excuse for not being at the Irish Farmers Journal stand is that you’re watching it all kick off at the National Brown Bread Baking competition.
Rose Egan from Tullamore, Co Offaly was announced as the 2024 winner at the National Brown Bread Baking Competition. \ Finbarr O'Rourke
You won’t return home hungry from a day at the Ploughing, and you’ll also be leaving Co Offaly having discovered and sampled food from new producers across the country.
Snack attack
O’Donnells Crisps is always a favourite at the Ploughing, because, well … nothing beats the humble hand-cooked crinkle-cut crisp. O’Donnells make theirs using Irish potatoes grown in Seskin, Co Tipperary.
The stand always goes down a treat with the youngsters at the Ploughing, who crowd around to sample the bestselling flavours.
This year, O’Donnells will be debuting its latest flavour – hot honey fusion. It offers a spicy and sweet flavour profile that is currently trending in the culinary world.
If you didn’t know already, O’Donnells also run an annual crisp competition at the Ploughing.
It fills a full tractor cab with bags of its crisps and visitors can guess how many bags are in the tractor to win a year’s supply of crisps. You could be the lucky winner.
Food to bring home
Apple cider vinegar is all the rage these days because of its many benefits, including its antimicrobial properties and impact on digestive health. Why not stock up for the winter and bring home a bottle from Northern Ireland producer Natural Umber which celebrated 70 years in business this year.
It sources the apples to produce its vinegar from its own farms in Dublin and Meath, and buy more apples from local farmers in Armagh too. The apple cider vinegar comes in two flavours, one of which has been enriched with vitamin D, which we all need more of living in Ireland. Natural Umber is returning to Ploughing after a particularly good year – having secured a national listing with Holland and Barrett and a trial listing with Marks & Spencers.
Natural Umber source the apples to make their apple cider vinegar from their farms in Co Dublin, Co Meath and Co Armagh.
Sweet treats
If you haven’t come across SOS Cookies at the Ploughing before, maybe you’ll have seen them on, dare I say it, TikTok?
The Limerick-based bakery, which now has a pop-up store in Dublin, has stacked up millions of views on the social media platform with viral videos of soft and doughy cookie creations.
This year, SOS cookies is returning to the National Ploughing Championships with an extra sweet treat for visitors – bringing back its rare and limited-edition flavours. Incorporating everyone’s favourite chocolates and nostalgic flavours, like oreo, nutella and kinder, SOS cookies are a crowd pleaser. Choose a couple to take home with you – but we can’t guarantee they’ll last the car journey.
SOS cookies incorporate everyone’s favourite chocolates, like Oreo, Nutella and Kinder.
Something to gift
Looking for a gift to bring home for the unlucky few who can’t make it to the Ploughing? Aoife Nic Giolla Coda, who owns and runs Galtee Honey Farm is selling her pure, raw honey produced by the native Irish Black Honey Bees on the farm which sits along the Tipperary/Cork/Limerick border. A fourth-generation beekeeper, Aoife has taken the reins over from her father, Micheál, who established Galtee Honey Farm in 1970. Aoife and Micheál manage 170 hives of native Irish Black Honey Bees, a threatened sub-species of honey bee. The bees are very busy producing a variety of wildflower honey from around the Galtee Mountains for the Mac Giolla Coda family to sell, including blackberry blossom, white clover, heather and ivy blossom. At the Ploughing, the family will also be selling freshly harvested raw Irish honey comb, collected by the bees from the same flowers as the wildflower honey. Every batch is slightly different in flavour – you can sample at the Ploughing and see for yourself what all the buzz is about.
Tipple to take home
Symphonia Spirits is, once more, making the long trek down from Co Tyrone for the Ploughing. This year has been a big one for this craft gin manufacturer with two of its products shortlisted as finalists in the Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards: the Irish Apple Rum and the Irish Apple Gin.
The apple gin contains bramley apple juice, a protected geographical ingredient in Co Armagh. Symphonia Spirits is proud to support local: the botanicals are sourced within 10 miles of the distillery, and it sources its apples from the nearby orchard county of Armagh.
At the Ploughing, the spirit company will be giving away free samples of its four spirits,and the team is still on a high from an appearance on BBC1 in the first episode of Paddy and Nigel’s Tourist Trap, a new series exploring Northern Ireland’s hidden gems.
Clonakilty Food Co
Another stalwart of the Ploughing Championships is Clonakilty Food Co. A family business in west Cork, it enjoys something of a global reputation for their sausages, rashers and blackpudding. The latter is particularly famous because, to date, the Clonakilty blackpudding recipe is still a complete secret, having been passed down since the 1800s.
Clonakilty Food Co has exhibited all over the world, including in the UK and Australia, but the Ploughing Championships remains one of its favourite Irish shows to attend.
Its meaty product range makes the Clonakilty stand a very popular spot the morning of the Ploughing, providing you with just a quick bite to keep you going before lunch. Hungry visitors can expect to sample the full offering of products at the stall, including its more recent veggie range.
Clonakilty Food Co at the National Ploughing Championships 2023.
Food entertainment
The Ploughing is really second to none for culinary entertainment, with many cookery demonstrations and foodie events happening over the week – including in our own Irish Farmers Journal stand.
Perhaps one of the finest foodie traditions at the Ploughing is the National Brown Bread Baking Competition, which has been ongoing since 1954. It’s certainly as popular and entertaining now as it was then.
The competition consistently draws quite a crowd to ascertain whose hearty and wholesome brown bread has that perfect rise.
Eight finalists will take to the stage in the semi-finals on 16 and 17 September, with the winner crowned by the judges during the final on 18 September.
The only reasonable excuse for not being at the Irish Farmers Journal stand is that you’re watching it all kick off at the National Brown Bread Baking competition.
Rose Egan from Tullamore, Co Offaly was announced as the 2024 winner at the National Brown Bread Baking Competition. \ Finbarr O'Rourke
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