The best baguette in Miami battle

Who has the best baguette in Miami? That’s a question that can now be answered after yesterday’s Baguette Battle held in the National Hotel. Last night’s event had us feeling like we were strolling down the Parisian streets, as Miami’s best baguette makers and bakers showcased their wonderful pieces of art. French Morning, an online French culture magazine, decided to host this event to finally show who has the best baguette in Miami.

Contrary to what many Americans are used to when it comes to baguettes, a proper example of one should be sturdy when you pick it up, have a large and irregular hole structure, have a light but crunchy exterior, and a chewy and light interior. There’s an art to making a proper baguette, and yesterday’s bakeries definitely showed that all of them had what it took.

The contestants were Patrick Baboun (Délices de France), Georges Berger (Chocolate Fashion), David Loprete (Pause Café), Arthur Arnaize (L'Épicerie Wynwood), David Thau (La Provence), Sébastien Sangely (Tulipe Café), Tomas Strulovic (True Loaf), Alibey Embarek (La Parisienne), and Bernard Casse and Matthieu Cartron (Croissan'Time). These bakeries also showed up with some of the best items that their bakeries have to offer, from croissants, to brioche, to fruited loaves.

To properly pair with the food, there were French foods abound. Tables of cheese and charcuterie lined the tasting area, with a bar area serving wine until you couldn’t drink anymore. The atmosphere at the event could not have been more french. French music tastefully played through the speakers while the host of the event made his way from bakery to bakery to interview the best bakers in Miami. The interviews were heard through speakers, although we could not make much out of them, seeing as they were in French. This added to the authenticity of the event, as we noticed that the whole crowd was speaking French as well. This crowd was definitely the appropriate one to choose a winner.

Our personal favorite baguettes were those from True Loaf in Miami Beach and those from L'Épicerie Wynwood. It seems like the crowd disagreed, as David Thau from La Provence took the judges hearts. Either way, the event was a massive hit and one that definitely differed from other culinary events that we have been to. This event definitely transported us to a different part of the world and showed us how important the baguette is to French culture. Hopefully, this event will become an annual thing to look forward to.

French Morning's Best Baguette Miami 2016
National Hotel
1677 Collins Ave
Miami Beach, FL 33139

By Santiago Cardona