Arpège has become the first three-Michelin-star restaurant in France to adopt an almost fully plant-based menu.
Chef Alain Passard, who operates the Paris restaurant, removed red meat from the menu in the early 2000s. Now, he has eliminated all meat, fish, and dairy products; the only remaining animal product is honey from the restaurant’s own beehives.
Previously best known for his roasted dishes, Passard was reportedly motivated to make the change by his passion for nature. He will use seasonal produce to make the new menu even more sustainable.
The dishes on offer include a mesclun praline with roasted almonds, flame-baked eggplant with candied melon, and flambéed peaches and cherries.
© Arpège
“A cuisine of emotion”
Elsewhere in the world, New York-based three-star Michelin restaurant Eleven Madison Park adopted a plant-based menu in 2021. The same year, French restaurant ONA received a Michelin star, becoming one of the first fully plant-based eateries to achieve this recognition. And in 2020, The Harwood Arms became the first Michelin-starred restaurant in the UK to offer a plant-based meat option.
“Everything I was able to do with the animal will remain a wonderful memory,” Passard told Reuters. “Today, I’m moving more towards a cuisine of emotion, a cuisine that I could describe as artistic. It’s closer to painting and sewing… Today I’m a different chef.”
Dining and Cooking