Pj Kirby Galang reports from the National Ploughing Championships, where he meets the finalists for the National Brown Bread Baking Competition and gets all the goss about secret recipes, rivalries and what they'll do with the prize money.
After two days of furious measuring, sifting, weighing and waiting, four finalists have made it through to the National Brown Bread Baking Competition final, which is taking place this afternoon at the Ploughing, in the cosy setting of Block 2, Row 22, Stand 424.
There, four women will whip up a batch of their finest brown breads, hoping to impress the judges and walk away with not only €5,000 in cash, but also a NEFF Slide & Hide Oven, the very model made famous by The Great British Bake Off, which is valued at over €2,000.
Áine Cotter from Cork, Pauline Browne from Dublin, Kathy Bolger from Wexford and Maureen Igoe from Mayo are the last bakers standing, after making it through the semi-finals this week.
Meanwhile, podcaster and presenter Pj Kirby Galang is achieving a dream of his own: witnessing the Brown Bread Baking Competition. After following the results with bated breath and a grumbling tummy last year, the I'm Grand Mam co-host has come on board as our man-on-the-ground at the event.
Taking the temperature in the tent, Kirby checked in with Kathy about how she's feeling: "Nervous. Very nervous."
Kathy's recipe took "about two years" to perfect, she said, adding: "It's an old recipe, I didn't want to tweak it too much."
But she's almost more proud of her other hero dish: a chicken curry, her husband's favourite.
"He wouldn't eat chicken curry years ago, he couldn't because it was too spicy, but I started using everything from scratch and making up and making up the curries", she told Kirby. "He'll have it."
But how would this cool, calm character react if she won, Kirby asked?
"Probably faint. I think a refurb on the kitchen now at this stage would be [good]."
Cotter told Pj she had applied last year but didn't make the cut. This year, she has a simple and effective mantra for getting through the final: "Just don't burn it, Áine. Just don't burn the bread."
A Maths teacher in a school near Kinsale, Cotter said there was some tweaking needed to perfect her bake, drawing on "a bit of ratio and proportion" to adapt her recipe. When asked for her secret ingredient, the proud Cork woman was eager to shout it out to fellow Corkonian Kirby: local Macroom flour.
There was another secret ingredient in the mix, though: family tradition. Supported by her five sisters and her kids, Cotter gave a special shout out to one supporter that was missing in action: her mammy. "She hurt her back, so can't make the Ploughing, so love you mam and thanks for the recipe!"
Keeping it in the family is probably second nature for Maureen, who told Kirby that she's been baking for over 50 years. "I've been at it for a long time, before you were born."
Having emerged victorious from the semi-final yesterday, the Mayo woman said she was "feeling good". That said, she wasn't ready to confess her secret ingredient just yet. After some prodding by Kirby, she relented:
"Well, it'll be revealed anyhow soon, but let me say ... there's a drop of the black stuff in it."
As for what she'll do if she wins, she said: "I'll be going on a holiday somewhere. I'll probably be going on holiday anyhow, but it's going to be easier if I've the extra bit of money, extra bit of cash to spend!"
One woman not revealing her secret ingredient, however, is Pauline.
For the Dublin-based woman (originally from "very West Cork"), her plan of attack was to keep the head and "do exactly what I did on Tuesday. It worked on Tuesday, so then we'll have to see if it works today."
"I would definitely be remodelling my kitchen for that oven", she said of her hopes for winning. "I might be in love with the oven. Don't tell my husband."
As for sussing out her competition, Pauline was diplomatic: "I've a one-in-four chance. As long as the bread rises, I've a one-in-four chance."
Check back to see who is crowned the winner of the National Brown Bread Baking Competition 2025 at 3pm.
