The smell of French bread pervaded through downtown Jeanerette Saturday as the town celebrated the first ever International French Bread Festival.

The event, held at the downtown pavilion, featured a baking competition for the coveted title of best French bread between several competitors.

The winner of the day was Redd’s Culinary Experience, a Morbihan-based food truck that set up shot across the street from the pavilion and baked a variety of French bread-based culinary dishes for the competition and the general public.

Jalon Hill and Tyran Redding said they have been cooking for years in the Teche Area and operate Redd’s on Duperier Avenue. The winning bread recipe was an innovation they got from Tijuana, Mexico, and obviously captivated the judges who tasted several different types of bread for the competition.

A special guest for the judging of the bread was Ella Wagner, the 1951 Ms. Brown Sugar who was unable to stop by for this year’s Louisiana Sugar Cane Festival but was luckily able to attend the French Bread Festival. The 90-plus year old dressed in full pageant garb for the event while posing for photos to mark the occasion.

Apart from the competition, dozens of vendors set up shop all along downtown Jeanerette near the pavilion while traffic was closed off, allowing those attending to have free reign of Jeanerette’s historic Main Street.

Organizers and public officials alike were grateful and pleased with the response of the inaugural festival, and a music stage and dance floor kept event-goers entertained throughout the day.