2023-05-16 13:10:24
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – Although the ingredients of French baguette are simple, its preparation is an art form.
It is celebrated annually when the judges gather in search of the best baguette in the French capital, Paris, in a competition called the “Grand Prix de la Baguette”.
During the 30th edition of the competition on May 10, bakers from all over the city came early to present their delicious creations.
And as for the prize? It is the honor of providing baguettes to the Elysee Palace, the official residence of the French President, for a year, in addition to an amount of 4 thousand euros.
“It’s a very important competition for them,” Olivia Polsky, the deputy mayor of commerce and crafts who has overseen the competition for more than a decade, told CNN.
Strict rules
Credit: Alain Jocard/AFP/Getty Images
Arbitration is subject to strict rules.
Of the 176 baguettes that entered this year’s competition, 40 were immediately disqualified for being too short, too long, too heavy, too light, or for using the wrong flour.
The rest of the loaves were presented to an 18-person jury, which included previous winners, officials from the Confederation of Bakers, food bloggers, and 6 Parisians chosen at random from more than 1,200 applicants.
Hot and fresh
Credit: Oliver Briscoe/CNN
Loaf No. 142 made by Sri Lankan, Tharshan Selvarajah, was the winner. His bakery, Au Levain des Pyrénées, is located in a corner of the 20th arrondissement east of Paris, far from the palaces that are the focus of public life in the capital.
Was the bakery’s victory a surprise? Not really, according to Selvarajah.
“We finished third in 2018. After that, we were sure to win,” Selvarajah told CNN.
According to Selvarajah, the bakery’s secret is to bake a batch of baguettes every 20 minutes so the bread is always hot and fresh.
Despite the completion of the bakery, the price of the baguettes it sells, which costs only 1.35 euros ($1.50), will not change.
Polsky noted that high-quality loaves are available at affordable prices, in part because the competition celebrates the expertise of the local bread industry in the face of industrial competition.
And Polsky confirmed that there is not a single neighborhood today without fresh bread, and explained: “Bread has largely disappeared on an industrial level in Paris.”
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