When it comes to culture nothing beats the French for protecting their heritage..and nothing is more French than the baguette.
In France, strict rules have been applied since 1933 to protect the recipe, and the artisans, from cheaper breadsticks. The threat never more real than in contemporary France where preservative laden knock-offs frozen down and shipped from the sweatshop bakeries of countries with cheaper labour.
Each year they hold a fiercely contested competition for the best baguettes from the Parisian bakeries. First prize is for the winner to deliver 20 baguettes a day to the President's Élysée Palace
As a further precaution, to be called a boulangerie, a French bakery must bake on the premises. Boulangeries often display a sticker on the storefront or add to their outside advertising that it is an “Artisan Boulanger.”
Another protection is the name. The baguette traditionnelle is a step up from ordinaire being hand-formed, as evident by the pointy ends and bumps in the loaves. In the photo above the traditional loaf is on the right and will cost a little more than the baguette ordinaire on the left.
An innovation has been for the Artisans to install 24 hour vending machines into the outside walls of their bakeries. The one below was in a small village in Brittany. Not everyone agrees that this is a good move |
| A recent concession to the modern world: the artisan boulangeries vending machines |
Last year, President Macron ratcheted up the game by started the process for the traditional baguette to get UNESCO World Heritage status
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