Grand Prix de la Baguette: Baker from Sri Lanka Becomes Supplier to the Élysée Palace

This year's edition of the Grand Prix de la Baguette de la Ville de Paris concluded with the spectacular success of a craftsman who began his professional journey far beyond France's borders. Sithamparappillai, who runs the family bakery "Le Fournil Didot" on Rue Didot in the 14th arrondissement, has been officially recognized as the creator of the best baguette in the capital. The jury, composed of professional bakers, food critics, and six randomly selected Parisians, evaluated a total of 203 submitted samples. Each traditional baguette had to meet rigorous technical standards: a length of 55 to 65 centimeters and a weight between 250–300 grams. Products failing to meet these criteria were immediately disqualified, even before the tasting stage, during which the bake, crumb texture, aroma, and flavor were assessed. The Grand Prix de la Baguette competition was established in 1994 by the Paris authorities to promote artisanal baking in contrast to mass industrial production. In 2022, the French baguette was inscribed on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage.Sithamparappillai's victory has a dimension that extends beyond the local prestige of the 14th arrondissement. The laureate received a prize of 4,000 euros, but the reputational aspect is crucial for his establishment's future. For the next twelve months, "Le Fournil Didot" will become the official bread supplier to the Élysée Palace. This means that every morning, fresh baguettes from southern Paris will reach President Emmanuel Macron's table. The winner's story has sparked significant media interest, as the baker openly admitted that upon arriving in France from Sri Lanka, he never planned to work in this profession. This success fits into a long-observed trend where the highest honors in the field of French culinary heritage are won by people with immigrant roots, becoming a symbol of integration through hard, artisanal work. „La boulangerie, je n'y avais jamais pensé” (I never thought about baking.) — Sithamparappillai Experts emphasize that the baguette from "Le Fournil Didot" stood out for its ideal combination of characteristics rarely achieved simultaneously. They particularly appreciated the golden, crispy crust and the creamy, irregularly porous crumb, evidence of long and natural dough fermentation. For a small, local bakery, such recognition means a drastic change in daily operations – typically, immediately after the results are announced, long queues of customers from across the city form in front of the winning establishments. This event once again proved that the heart of Parisian gastronomy beats in the artisanal ovens scattered across all the city's arrondissements, not just in expensive downtown restaurants. 203 — this many baguettes were evaluated in this year's competition

Perspektywy mediów: Liberal media highlight the integration success and the fact that an immigrant from Sri Lanka has become a guardian of French national tradition. Conservative media focus on the technical artisanal skill and the necessity to protect traditional baguette recipes from industry.