In a big surprise, a baker from Sri Lanka clinched the prestigious prize for best traditional French baguette, which comes with a \u20ac4,000 prize and the right to supply the Elys\u00e9e Palace with fresh loaves every morning, according to The Telegraph.<\/p>\n
\nSithamparappillai Jegatheepan, 43, works at the Fournil Didot bakery in the 14th arrondissement. He is Sri Lankan, and so are his two deputy bakers.
\u201cIt was a big surprise. It was my first time and I won straight away. I\u2019m very proud,\u201d he told The Telegraph.<\/p>\n
\nEvery year since 1994, the city of Paris and the Greater Paris Bakers\u2019 Union convene to elect the grand prix de la baguette de tradition fran\u00e7aise de la ville de Paris (grand prize for the traditional French baguette of Paris).<\/p>\n
\nA jury of experts, councilors, aficionados and laymen munch through hundreds of loaves from among the capital\u2019s 1,100 boulangeries, before homing in on a winner.<\/p>\n
\nThe rules are strict.<\/p>\n
\nEach baguette has to weigh between 250 and 270g, measure between 50 and 55 centimeters, and not exceed a salt content of 1.4 grams per 100 grams. Some 29 bakeries were disqualified this year.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThere is a score for appearance, another score for baking, a third score for alveolation, one for taste and a fifth for smell,\u201d said Pascal Barillon, former laureate, vice president of the Greater Paris bakers\u2019 union and a jury member for this year\u2019s award.<\/p>\n
\nThe best baguettes, he said, have a crisp crust and a regular \u201choneycomb\u201d crumb inside, with small, evenly distributed holes rather than large gaps followed by dense patches.<\/p>\n
\nColor also plays a role: \u201cIdeally you\u2019re looking for a slightly golden crumb,\u201d he said, explaining that a faint yellow hue can indicate careful fermentation and less kneading, which helps preserve flavor and aroma.<\/p>\n
\nThe baguettes that finished on the podium this year, he added, all shared the same qualities: \u201cA beautiful interior, a regular crumb, a good color and they were well baked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nIn the end, however, the craft of baguette-making remains something of a mystery. \u201cIt\u2019s a bit of alchemy,\u201d Barillon said. \u201cEvery baker has their own personal touch.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nFor Jegatheepan, it is a dream come true. After arriving in France from Sri Lanka in 2003, he started out with pastry, specializing in macarons, before moving on to bread.<\/p>\n
\nSetting up his own business in 2018, he has since perfected his craft and turned it into a passion and now owns two boulangeries. This one sells 600 traditional baguettes per day at \u20ac1.30 a piece. Business has surged since the prize.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI didn\u2019t know anything about baking. I had never thought about it,\u201d he told The Telegraph. \u201cThen one day, when I tasted bread and pastries in France, I said to myself, \u2018this is what I want to do\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nMartin du Vachat, 41, a classical singer, said: \u201cThe award is well deserved. It\u2019s golden and very beautiful. It\u2019s a pleasure for the eyes and all the senses.\u201d
\u201cThat said, you have to eat it quickly, because five hours later it\u2019s not worth much. You should tell that to the \u00c9lys\u00e9e.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThe bakery has not yet begun supplying the presidential palace, which generally orders 20-25 baguettes every morning.<\/p>\n
\nDespite mastering the art of that most Gallic of gastronomic traditions, Jegatheepan doesn\u2019t yet have French nationality.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cMy request is being processed,\u201d he said, confessing that perhaps this accolade would accelerate the procedure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a big surprise, a baker from Sri Lanka clinched the prestigious prize for best traditional French baguette,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":526473,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-526472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/526472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=526472"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/526472\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/526473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=526472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=526472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=526472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}