PARIS: Celebrated French chef Alain Passard has rewritten culinary history by converting his three-Michelin-starred restaurant L’Arpege into France’s first entirely plant-based fine dining establishment.
The 68-year-old maestro, who has helmed the Parisian institution for nearly four decades, eliminated meat, fish, dairy, and eggs from his menu on July 21, retaining only honey from his personal apiary.
“There’s light in this cuisine,“ Passard told AFP, describing the transition as a year-long evolution. “There are taste sensations that I’ve never experienced anywhere else.”
The restaurant, located in the capital’s upscale seventh arrondissement, previously gained fame as a premier rotisserie before Passard’s 2001 pivot toward vegetable-focused gastronomy.
The revamped menu features innovative dishes like mesclun praline with roasted almonds and melon carpaccio, with lunch priced at 260 euros.
While environmental concerns influenced the shift, Passard emphasizes the culinary challenge: “I’m more comfortable with plants.
They allow me to learn.” The chef admits he occasionally consumes poultry and fish personally but remains committed to his kitchen’s vegan transformation.
Fellow chef Claire Vallee, who earned France’s first Michelin star for a vegan restaurant in 2021, acknowledges the difficulty of Passard’s undertaking.
“It requires a lot more preparation, knowledge and research,“ she noted, calling it “quite a colossal task.”
Globally, only a handful of high-end vegan restaurants hold Michelin recognition, including New York’s three-star Eleven Madison Park and the Netherlands’ two-star De Nieuwe Winkel.
Food critic Laurent Guez hailed Passard’s move as groundbreaking but cautioned that “exceptional cuisine that not everyone can allow themselves to launch into.”
Michelin Guide’s international director Gwendal Poullennec expressed support for L’Arpege’s evolution, calling it a “positive approach.” Passard remains unfazed by potential rating changes, stating, “We’re going to have to deliver. If we can maintain this level of quality, then I’m extremely confident.” - AFP
