The Bakers Union headquarters in Paris is a cathedral for aspiring bakers and rising debutantes. 'Bread is god' in the city, they say, and this institution continues to produce many such god-makers for the world. One of them was recently crowned for crafting the best traditional baguette in Paris.
On Thursday, the 33rd Grand Prix de la Baguette de Tradition Francaise, took place. Pari's most revered bread competition where only "baguettes de tradition" (traditional baguettes) are allowed to enter. Legally, this means a dough made with four ingredients only, flour, water, yeast and salt. Additionally, each loaf must adhere to the standards of size, weight and salt content.
Out of the 143 contestants who delivered their entries, a Sri Lankan baker, Sithamparappillai Jegatheepan won the prize. The 43-year-old baker at Fournil Didot in the 14th arrondissement of Paris became the recipient of 4,000 euros along with the opportunity to supply bread to the French president's residence, Élysée Palace, for a year.
The jury, presided over by Nicolas Bonnet Oulaldj, Deputy Mayor of Paris analysed the creations on the basis of appearance, taste, baking, crumb, aeration, size and salt content. “It has to look a bit like what we would call a beehive,” said Bonnet-Oulaldj, about the ideal baguette.
Once ID'd the baguettes were measured for length and weighed. Thirty pairs were taken off the table and would be sent to a local charity. The remaining 113 were then sent for blind tasting.
Jegatheepan's baguette stood out for its quality and exceptional craftsmanship. He arrived from Sri Lanka in France in 2003 and worked in restaurants, only turning to baking in 2008 and now has two bakeries in the city that loves breads. He learnt the art on the job without any formal training. When mobbed by congratulating customers at his bakery in southern Paris, he said: "I never thought I would win the competition."
“It was the first participation for me, and I won the first time,” he said in the busy shop. “I’m happy. Happy, happy, happy.” Jegatheepan, who has three children, added that his daughter was the most thrilled. “My daughter yesterday told me I wouldn’t be allowed home if I didn’t win the prize,” he joked. “She was so happy when I called her yesterday afternoon. She loved it.”
Another bakery worker Christianne Ribeiro noted that the team was still absorbing the news. “We’re happy to have won the prize, we’d never thought we would, and now it’s actually true,” she said, adding that supplying the Elysee palace would be “all new to us.”
Interestingly, this is not the first time a Sri Lankan baker has received the honour. In 2023, another Sri Lankan baker, Tharshan Selvaraj won the prize in the 30th edition of the competition. The competition was started in 1994, a year later after the French government passed Le Décret Pain (the Bread Decree) to officially separate high-quality baguettes from their lesser counterparts.
