Turkish baker Osman Gündüz represented Turkey for the first time in Bakery Masters, one of the most prestigious contests in the world in its category. His recipe for ‘Pastrami Ramadan Pita’ received a prize.
Turkish Bakers National Team member Osman Gündüz with 30 years of experience represented Turkey as the first Turkish baker in Bakery Masters, one of the most prestigious champions in the world. Competed at the “Nutritious Bread Making” category at the championship, which was organized in Paris’ Europain Show between February 3rd and 6th 2018, Master Osman’s recipe for ‘Pastrami Ramadan Pita’ was honored to be among the six best recipes at its category. He competed against formidable Australian, Canadian, Taiwanese, Japanese and Dutch chiefs and succeeded in being selected among the best with his recipe.
"Bakery Masters", organized by Lesaffre at the 2018 Europain Fair, where bakery, pastry, ice cream, chocolate and confectionary trade products around the world are exhibited, was held in Paris on 3-6 February. 18 candidates competed at the “Bakery Masters” that already had success at the “Louis Lesaffre Cup” and “Bakery World Cup” to be the winner at three different categories: Nutritional Bread Making, Gourmet Baking and Artistic Bread Making.
It was the first time that a Turkish master had the chance to compete in this prestigious competition. Turkish master Osman Gündüz contested against Australian, Canadian, Taiwanese, Japanese and Dutch chiefs. The Dutch master got the first place at the “Nutritional Bread Making,” while French baker came in the first place at the “Gourmet Baking,” and Taiwanese chief at the “Artistic Bread Making.”
Speaking after the contest, Osman Gündüz said that, “It is a great source of honor to be the first and the only baker from Turkey to have the chance in competing in this contest. At Bakery Masters, I came across five respectable colleagues, each one very successful and proven themselves in national teams. This three-day competition process was very exciting for me. I think that the preparation process with Lesaffre, my main sponsor, paid off and I am very honored for that. I would like to thank all Turks that supported me during the contest and my family and of course Lesaffre.” Calling on other Turkish bakers to participate in this contest through trusting their abilities, Gündüz added that, “There are very good bakers in Turkey too. There are many people that can do this.”
Commenting on Osman Gündüz, who is among the most six bakers in the world at the “Bakery Masters,” whose motto is “Inspire today, create tomorrow”, Pınar Çakır, the director of Lesaffre Domestic Marketing and Corporate Communications, said that, “A Turkish baker competed at the contest for the first time in the contest’s history and he is selected among the best. As Lesaffre, we support the development of industry and bakery sector employees in Turkey as well as all over the world and we believe in the importance of bakery profession to be carried to the next generation by gaining prestige. We discovered Master Osman’s talent, potential and resolution during the 2014’s national team selection. Since then, we supported him to carry his potential to even higher points. We felt great honor and happiness for Master Osman to enter the international arena. This four-year long process has proved that a Turkish baker can make a name for himself around the world if he gets necessary opportunities. We wish that Osman Gündüz can be an inspiration for all bakers.”
Ayten Çalışkan, the Director of Lesaffre Baking Center who trained Osman Gündüz, said that apart from research, they have prepared very intensively during the last six months for the contest. Saying that they worked on einkorn wheat flour produced in Kastamonu, Çalışkan said, “We showed the world the einkorn wheat flour and sourdough bread. Everybody love this.” The contest was stressful, according to Çalışkan. “During the promotion phase of our country's bread, we added pastrami and kashar cheese into pita. Thus, we presented more delicious bread to people. I am very happy and proud to be rewarded for our intensive work,” she said. Çalışkan said that they prepared 101 breads in 8 hours during the contest, adding that they cooked bread with low protein and calorie and high fiber and nutritiousness during the innovative product phase.
Osman Gündüz, who participated in the contest with long and daunting preparation process, got the first place at the Louis Lesaffre Cup Mediterranean-African Region International Selection with the Turkish National Team. After this great success, the national team member Osman Gündüz was able to put Turkey among best 12 national teams for the Bakery World Cup in Paris. Osman Gündüz got the best score. He was selected among the candidates with great potential and qualified to join the Bakery Masters.