Rising to the top! Tipperary baker advances to Aldi bake-off final

A Tipperary baker has been named as one of the finalists in a live final bake-off with retail giant ALDI.

Julia Sommer from Templemore, Co. Tipperary will be vying for the chance to have her bread sold in 161 ALDI stores nationwide for a year, as well as a 15,000 cash prize.

Following a nationwide search for Ireland’s best amateur bread bakers, ALDI announced that Julia and two other finalists will be take part in the live final of Rise with ALDI.

The final is set to take place at the Airfield Estate, Co. Dublin on September 3rd, and baking enthusiasts are encouraged to attend.

Originally from Berlin, Julia inherited her love of baking from her mother and grandfather. Since moving to Tipperary, she has sought to pass on her love of baking to each of her four children and was encouraged by her 11-year-old daughter to enter her seeded sourdough into this year’s Rise with ALDI competition.

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Julia will now contest the all-important live final where one lucky winner will be crowned Rise with ALDI’s Top Bread Baker.

The Rise with ALDI final will be hosted by TV and radio broadcaster Síle Seoige. Rugby star turned baker Jonny Murphy, better known as The Hungry Hooker on Instagram, will be on hand to offer his expert opinion as a celebrity judge alongside Laurence Kelly, Buying Director at ALDI.

Speaking about this year’s competition, Julia Sommer, Rise with ALDI finalist, said it was "an honour" to be selected as a finalist.

"Earlier this year, I took the plunge and learned how to bake sourdough bread. After lots of trial and error, I perfected my seeded sourdough and now here we are! I am really looking forward to this year’s final and thank ALDI for the opportunity," Julia said.

Laurence Kelly, Buying Director at ALDI, added: “We are delighted with the success of the Rise with ALDI competition. Our judges had the very difficult job of whittling down hundreds of entries to just three, and they were blown away by the quality, variety and creativity on display.

“Rise with ALDI is yet another example of ALDI’s steadfast commitment to showcasing the finest Irish produce and supporting homegrown producers all year round. On behalf of everyone at ALDI, I would like to congratulate our three finalists on making it this far and wish them the very best of luck in the live final.”

More information on Rise with ALDI is available at their website here.