TORONTO – From February 3 to 6, ACE Bakery's senior director of Product Development Marcus Mariathas will compete for the title of World Master Baker against the world's best bakers in the Masters de la Boulangerie in Paris, France. He will bring his expertise in traditional European methods as the sole North American representative in the Nutritional Bread Making category, competing alongside bakers from Australia, Japan, Taiwan, Turkey and the Netherlands.
"I'm very proud and excited to be competing among the baking elite in front of an international jury," Mariathas said. "Winning over a jury is like winning over a customer: you need to be creative, innovative, and bring the best quality ingredients together into mouthwatering, savoury products they'll love."
Escaping civil war in his native Sri Lanka, Mathiathas came to Toronto in 1995. While studying accounting, he took a part-time job as a night baker at ACE Bakery. Although he had no prior baking experience, it was his ability to manipulate numbers – and his unstoppable passion for baking – that helped him rise to the role of senior director of Product Development. He has successfully created over 400 breads and baked goods for ACE Bakery, each built upon nine proprietary, aged starter doughs.
"Since joining the ACE Bakery team more than twenty years ago, Marcus has become not only the face, but the heart and soul of our company," said Brian Sisson, VP Operations, ACE Bakery. "His passion and dedication to creating products that reflect our artisan values have helped us become the company we are today. We wish him the best of luck in this exciting competition."
Competing in the Master de la Boulangerie competition is the pinnacle for a baker's career, resulting from four years of individual and team competitions. Eighteen bakers will compete in three categories, with the winner in each achieving the title of World Master Baker. Only six bakers in the world currently hold this title – a testament to their unique expertise on an international scale.
To join Marcus' journey through the competition and for more information, follow ACE Bakery on Facebook and Instagram, or visit www.AceBakery.com.
About ACE Bakery
One of North America's leading artisan bakeries, ACE Bakery opened in 1993 creating European-style rustic breads. The gentle shaping of each loaf, long fermentation periods, and a stone deck oven all work to create exceptionally flavourful bread with a pleasing texture and crisp crust. The breads contain no preservatives and are made with the finest ingredients. ACE Bakery's baguettes, artisan breads, buns and rolls are sold at countless restaurants, grocery stores and other food shops across North America. For more information, visit ACEBakery.com.
Source: ACE Bakery
