Tunisian Immigrant Crowned Paris’s Top Baker in Remarkable Career Shift

Nothing predestined Taieb Sahal for a career as a baker. In 2014, he left Tunisia for France. First job: mover. He practices this work for nearly 18 months and spends part of his free time with a childhood friend who has become a baker, reports Le Parisien.

"Seeing him work gave me the desire to learn. He offered to teach me and I accepted; I was tired of moving," says Taieb Sahal. His professional conversion happens overnight. Self-taught, he works in various bakeries, including an organic bread factory. At the Maison Julien bakery, he seduces the man who hired and trained him.

"He’s a guy apart. [...] He has the will and he learns quickly. Despite only one year of experience, he already had a professional sense. We took the bet to appoint him head baker in this store right away and we were not mistaken," testifies Yassin Moudjari, partner of five Maison Julien bakeries.

Three years later, it’s consecration. Taieb Sahal wins the prize for the best baguette in Paris. "It’s a pride! He has progressed to an incredible point. He is a bread enthusiast: as long as he does not master the product to perfection, he insists," rejoices his mentor. For the young baker, winning this award is "the dream of all bakers, even before delivering the Elysée (the winner of the Grand Prix de la Baguette delivers the presidential palace for a year, editor’s note)".