Tourism Minister Dr. Uzi Landau and French Ambassador to Israel Patrick Maisonnave rolled up their sleeves Monday morning to lead two teams of Israeli and French culinary students in a "head to head" competition at the Tadmor culinary school.
Landau led the team of French students, who baked the traditional Shabbat challah bread; Maisonnave led the team of Israeli students who baked traditional French baguette.
Guillaume Gomez, Chef to the President of France, judged the competition, which is one event held within the framework of the French Culinary Week. Gomez is currently the chef at Elysee Palace in Paris and has been the chef for three former French Presidents.
In the end, Gomez chose the Shabbat challah - even though the second panel of judges preferred the baguettes.
This is the second annual French Culinary Week held in Israel, in a joint project between the Ministry of Tourism and the French Embassy. As part of the program, French culinary students and 19 leading French chefs visit Israel and participate in workshops with Israel's culinary students from the Tadmor culinary school.