Tharshan Selvarajah

Last updated

Tharshan Selvarajah (born 1986) is a Tamil-French chef known for baking baguettes. [1] He was adjudged as the winner of Grand Prize of the Traditional French Baguette after taking part in a competition conducted by Paris City Hall. [2]

Biography

Selvarajah moved to France from Sri Lanka in 2006, and began his culinary career at an Italian restaurant making salads and desserts. [3] Through one of his regular customers at the said Italian restaurant, he received a golden opportunity in the form of a job making bread, even though he initially did not have any idea over baguettes. He gradually learnt the art of making baguettes and he went onto become a chief baker in 2012. [3]

In 2018, he participated in the Grand Prix de la Baguette de Tradition Francaise de la Ville De Paris, a competition for the title of "best baguette," where Selvarajah attained third place. [4] On May 10, 2023, he won the competition whereas he was conferred with the best Parisian baguette in 2023 after edging out 126 other baguettes. He currently supplies baguettes to the Élysée Palace, the official home of the French president. [5]

Selvarajah married his wife in France, and has two children. [3] According to sources, he is yet to apply for the French citizenship although he has been residing in France for over 17 years.

In May 2024, he was officially selected as a torchbearer for the 2024 Summer Olympics and he became the first person of Sri Lankan origin to receive the honor of being chosen as torchbearer for an Olympic event. [6] [7] [8] [9]

Related Research Articles

The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. The Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece, several months before the Olympic Games. This ceremony starts the Olympic torch relay, which formally ends with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. Through 2022, the flame would continue to burn in the cauldron for the duration of the Games, until it was extinguished during the Olympic closing ceremony. In 2024, electric lighting and mist were used to create a simulated flame for the Olympic cauldron, with the actual flame kept in a lantern exhibited at an adjacent location.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1968 Winter Olympics</span> Multi-sport event in Grenoble, France

The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baguette</span> Long French bread

A baguette is a long, thin type of bread of French origin that is commonly made from basic lean dough. It is distinguishable by its length and crisp crust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Moratuwa</span> University in Sri Lanka

The University of Moratuwa is a public university in Sri Lanka. It is located on the bank of the Bolgoda Lake in Katubedda, Moratuwa, a suburb of Sri Lanka's capital Colombo.

Deshabandu Robosingho Arachchilage Don Sugath Thilakaratne, commonly as Sugath Thilakaratne, is a Sri Lankan athlete who competed in the 400 metres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bathiya and Santhush</span> Sri Lankan hip hop duo

Bathiya & Santhush, also known as BNS, are a Sri Lankan pop duo consisting of Bathiya Jayakody and Santhush Weeraman, who met while at the "Mary Anne David School of Vocal Music" in Colombo. They both were born in Colombo, Sri Lanka. They have been one of the most commercially successful music acts in Sri Lanka in the last two decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingswood College, Kandy</span> National / public school in Kandy, Central Province, Sri Lanka

Kingswood College, Kandy is a Sri Lankan Public school offering boys primary and secondary education. The school was founded by Louis Edmund Blaze on 4 May 1891, with eleven students at a site on Pavilion Street in Kandy. Later, the school was moved to Randles Hill. Since then, the school has grown considerably, having over 3,500 students and 300+ faculty members. It is one of the oldest schools in Kandy and is commonly known as KCK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sri Lanka Air Force</span> Air warfare branch of Sri Lankas military forces

The Sri Lanka Air Force is the air arm and the youngest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. It was founded in 1951 as the Royal Ceylon Air Force (RCyAF) with the assistance of the Royal Air Force (RAF). The SLAF played a major role throughout the Sri Lankan Civil War. The SLAF operates more than 160 aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Summer Olympics</span> Multi-sport event in Paris, France

The 2024 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event that occurred from 26 July to 11 August 2024 in France, with the opening ceremony having taken place on 26 July. Paris was the host city, with events held in 16 additional cities spread across metropolitan France, including the sailing centre in the second-largest city of France, Marseille on the Mediterranean Sea, as well as one subsite for surfing in Tahiti, French Polynesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Summer Olympics torch relay</span>

The 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay was run from March 24 until August 8, 2008, prior to the 2008 Summer Olympics, with the theme of "one world, one dream". Plans for the relay were announced on April 26, 2007, in Beijing, China. The relay, also called by the organizers as the "Journey of Harmony", lasted 129 days and carried the torch 137,000 km (85,000 mi) – the longest distance of any Olympic torch relay since the tradition was started ahead of the 1936 Summer Olympics.

Deshabandu Kobala Vithanage Damayanthi Dharsha-Kobalavithanage is a retired Sri Lankan athlete who competed in the 200 and 400 metres race events. She is the current Asian Games record holder in women's 200m event and current Asian Athletics Championships record holder in women's 400m event as well as national record holder in women's 400m. She is regarded as one of the greatest track and field athletes to have represented Sri Lanka at international level alongside her teammate Susanthika Jayasinghe. She is also regarded as the most successful Sri Lankan athlete at the Asian Games with a medal haul of four medals including three gold medals and became the first Sri Lankan female athlete to clinch three Asian Games gold medals. She represented Sri Lanka at the Olympics on three occasions in 1992, 2000 and 2004. She also represented Sri Lanka at the Commonwealth Games on four occasions in 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006 as well as at the South Asian Games on four occasions.

Jin Jing is a Chinese female Paralympic fencer. She was a torchbearer carrying the Olympic torch amid political protests during the 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay in Paris, France. According to ABC News, she fended off protestors who "threw themselves" at her; most were wrestled away by French police but at least one reached her wheelchair and tried to wrench the torch away. Jin has gained national fame in China because of the incident, but was attacked on Chinese internet bulletin boards for her stance in the following call to boycott French retailer Carrefour that resulted from public anger toward France. In contrast, Western media concentrated on how the incident involving Jin Jing ignited Chinese nationalism and claimed that the incident was exploited for propaganda purposes by the state media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnston Fernando</span> Sri Lankan politician

Johnston Xavier Fernando is a Sri Lankan politician, former Cabinet Minister, Chief Government Whip and a current member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka from the Kurunegala District. He belongs to the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna. He is considered a leader of the Rajapaksa loyalist mobs that carried out violent attacks against peaceful protestors during the 9 May 'Black Monday' incident of the 2022 Sri Lankan Protests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niluka Karunaratne</span> Sri Lankan badminton player

Niluka Karunaratne is a Sri Lankan badminton player who has competed at the Olympics in 2012, 2016 and 2020. His father Louie Karunaratne and brothers Dinuka Karunaratne, Chamika Karunaratne and Diluka Karunaratne are also professional badminton players. He is currently regarded as the number one premiere badminton player in Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka's most decorated badminton player with a record 21 medals to his name at international events including 9 gold medals. He also holds the unique distinction of winning five gold medals in five different continents. He reached his higher career singles ranking of 34 in June 2013, which is also the personal best ranking by a Sri Lankan badminton player. He has also emerged as national badminton champion for record 17 times, the most by a Sri Lankan badminton player. Despite his achievements in the sport, he was also sidelined for disciplinary issues on few occasions.

The 2019 cyberattacks on Sri Lanka were a series of powerful cyberattacks on at least 10 Sri Lankan domestic websites with the public domains of .lk and .com. The cyberattack is speculated to have been conducted on 18 and 19 May 2019, the day following the Vesak festival and amid the persistent temporary social media ban in the country. The website of the Kuwaiti Embassy operating in Sri Lanka was also affected by the cyberattacks. The investigations are currently carried out by Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team along with Sri Lanka Signals Corps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">16th Parliament of Sri Lanka</span>

The 16th Parliament of Sri Lanka is the current Parliament of Sri Lanka, with the membership determined by the results of the 2020 parliamentary election held on 5 August 2020. According to the Constitution of Sri Lanka the maximum legislative term of the parliament is 5 years from the first meeting.

Abeykoon Mudiyansalage Yupun Priyadarshana, known as Yupun Abeykoon, also referred to as Yupun Priyadarshana, is a Sri Lankan track and field athlete and a national record holder in men's 100m, men's 200m and in men's indoor 60m. On 3 July 2022, he became the first South Asian to break the 10-Second barrier for the men's 100 meters event at the Resisprint International competition, with a timing of 9.96 seconds, in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. He currently resides in Italy as he went on a scholarship to Italy in 2015. He is also attached to the Electronic and Mechanical Engineering Regiment of the Sri Lanka Army and represents Army Sports Club. He is currently regarded as the fastest Sri Lankan man as well as fastest South Asian man in men's 100m and 200m disciplines.

The following lists notable events that took place during the year 2023 in Sri Lanka.

Dissanayaka Mudiyanselage Tharushi Dilsara Karunaratne is a Sri Lankan middle-distance runner who competes mainly in the 800 metres. She won a gold medal at the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships held in Bangkok in the 400m women's event and also the broke the 25 year old Asian record in the event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yong Sang Seo</span>

Yong Sang Seo is a Korean-French pastry chef. He owns bakery, Mille & Un in Paris' district 6. In 2023, Yong Sang Seo became the new king of the Flan when Mille & Un was awarded as the best Flan IIe-de-France in Paris' annual "Grand Prix de la Flan".

References

  1. ↑ Compton, Natalie B. (2023-05-12). "Paris crowns its best baguette". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2024-01-20.
  2. ↑ "Meet Tharshan Selvarajah, Sri Lankan-Origin Baker And Winner Of Best Baguette In Paris". CNBCTV18. 2023-05-13. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  3. 1 2 3 Cohen, Roger (29 September 2023). "A Sri Lankan Baker's Baguette Conquers France". The New York Times .
  4. ↑ "Meet Tharshan Selvarajah, Sri Lankan-Origin Baker And Winner Of Best Baguette In Paris". CNBCTV18. 2023-05-13. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
  5. ↑ Briscoe, Oliver (2023-05-16). "He makes the best baguette in Paris, but he's not from France". CNN. Retrieved 2024-01-20.
  6. ↑ "From Sri Lanka to Paris: Baker Tharshan Selvarajah to carry Olympic torch". Latest in the News Sphere | The Morning. 2024-05-10. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  7. ↑ "Sri Lankan-born baker Tharshan Selvarajah to carry Olympic torch in France". www.adaderana.lk. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  8. ↑ "Tharshan Selvarajah makes history as first Sri Lankan to carry Olympic torch - Breaking News | Daily Mirror". www.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  9. ↑ "Perspective - 'I'm very lucky,' says award-winning baker and Olympic torch bearer Tharshan Selvarajah". France 24. 2024-05-08. Retrieved 2024-05-18.


Flag of Sri Lanka.svg

This Sri Lankan biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.