Taste the Nation: Cork-made pudding roulade and energy balls to add to the shopping list

The Sibly Food Company and Hanley's Butchers were among the winners at this year's All-Ireland Ploughing Championship - after building their businesses with the Grow with ALDI programme

Some of the food producers that have worked with Aldi on their Grow with Aldi programme

It was hard for some not to look at the return of the All-Ireland Ploughing Championship this year, the first since the onset of the Covid crisis, as symbolic of the post-pandemic return of rural Ireland, and the sectors of Irish society and business that attend.

For food producers, a massive shop window was back open, including the winners of the Grow with ALDI programme, announced at the supermarket chain’s tent at the event. Over twenty different producers and manufacturers, from butchers to bakers, were announced as joining forces with the retail giant, to sell their wares directly through its 152 outlets following their participation in the Grow with ALDI development programme.