Sami Bouattour: the baker of the Elysée

A prestigious contest 

He was the 8th in 2015 and the 2nd in 2016, but he finally did it! Sami Bouattour won the 2017 Best Baguette of Paris Contest on May 4th. This victory has opened the gates of the Elysée for him: he will be the official baker of Emmanuel Macron for a year. Since his victory, his Brun bakery, located at 193 rue de Tolbiac in the XIII district of Paris, hasn’t been empty. Everyone wants to taste the President’s baguette.

Sami Bouattour, winner of the 2017 Best Baguette of Paris Contest

The contest is very selective. There were almost 200 competitors for this 23rd edition. Baguettes must meet specific criteria in terms of size, weight and salt content per kilo of flour. The jury, composed of professionals and amateurs, judges the product based on several criteria, such as its taste, crumb and smell.

Sami Bouattour says he has a trick to keep his bread crispy all day: “cook the French baguette at 518°F and let it dry for two or three minutes before taking it out of the oven”.

A successful career change

This prize awards six years of hard work. Former Parisian restaurateur, this Franco-Tunisian left his job based on his wife’s advice. She has always been passionate about bakery. They both went to the Banette school in the Loiret and got their professional certificate in bakery. Then, they moved to Paris.

Their keys to success of their bakery? Passion, quality and high standards. “The secret of a bakery is simple: good products, hospitality, savoir-faire. It’s a balance of everything. This is how my wife and I see artisanal work. We have partners: family windmills with  good flour”.

What’s next ? Sami Bouattour doesn’t want to open a new bakery but would like to participate in other regional contests and maybe try the national contest.