Sri Lankan baker 'cries’ when she wins best baguette in Paris

„I cried because we are foreigners and we came here to learn how to make traditional French bread,” Darshan Selvarajah told AFP on Thursday.

I am very happy to win the prize.

Fifteen baguette enthusiasts on Wednesday chose their best version of Selvarajah’s French bread from 175 anonymous contestants.

Members of the jury, including six ordinary Parisians, had to rate dozens of baguettes based on their taste, crust, crumb, air bubbles and overall appearance.

„Don’t drink at the beginning or you won’t make it to the end of the tasting,” Paris official Olivia Polsky warned the judges before they began.

A video he shared on Twitter shows him telling the eastern Paris-based baker the good news.

„No,” he could be heard saying on the other end of the line.

Selvaraja told AFP that she always makes her long rotis „with love”, „smiling, laughing and singing” and the result is well-cooked, tasty and crispy.

He won 4,000 euros (over $4,300) and the chance to deliver baguettes to the presidential palace.

„I am very happy that the president will taste my bread. It is exciting to take it to the palace,” she told AFP.

Unesco, the United Nations’ cultural body, granted Bagoda World Heritage status in November last year.