This Michelin-star chef has turned his Paris restaurant plant-based

Michelin-star chef Alain Passard has turned his Paris restaurant vegan, removing meat, fish, eggs and dairy from the menu at L’Arpège

Michelin-star chef Alain Passard has made a huge step for vegan haute cuisine by making his Paris restaurant plant-based.

The acclaimed restaurant, L’Arpège, will now serve an entirely plant-based menu with the exception of one controversial ingredient.

The move, which came into effect on 21 July, marks the first time a French chef with three Michelin stars has removed all meat, dairy, eggs and fish from their offering.

However, the chef will still use honey in some of the restaurant’s dishes. While this is sourced from his own beehives, it means that not all dishes on the Paris restaurant’s menu are strictly vegan.

It’s not the first time Passard has courted controversy. In 2001, he made headlines for removing red meat from the menu, focusing instead on vegetables from his own organic gardens. Now, at 68, he says the full transition to plant-based cuisine is both a personal and creative milestone.

‘There’s light in this cuisine,’ he told AFP. ‘There are taste sensations that I’ve never experienced anywhere else.’

L’Arpège’s new plant-based menu still draws a luxury crowd

Dining at L’Arpège is still a luxury affair, with à la carte dishes ranging from €60 to €160 and lunchtime set menus starting at €260.

Starters include mesclun praline with roasted almonds, melon carpaccio and a vivid aubergine dish with confit melon. The produce is grown in two biodynamic gardens tended by a dedicated team of nine gardeners, led by long-time collaborator Sylvain Picard.

Passard’s kitchen has held three Michelin stars since 1996, and while he shows no signs of chasing vegan accolades, the pressure to maintain culinary excellence remains. ‘If we can maintain this level of quality, then I’m extremely confident,’ he said.

According to AFP, Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guide, welcomed the transition, calling it a ‘positive approach’ that the guide will continue to monitor according to its criteria.

Vegan haute cuisine gets a major boost in Paris restaurant

Vegan fine dining remains rare in Europe, but Passard’s decision puts France on the map alongside pioneering establishments such as Eleven Madison Park in New York and De Nieuwe Winkel in the Netherlands.

Laurent Guez, a respected French food critic, called Passard’s move ‘a major event’ for the culinary world, though he warned that few chefs have the skill or resources to ‘excel in the art of high-end plant-based gastronomy.’

Despite the bold move, Passard says he still eats ‘a little poultry and fish’ at home, but feels ‘more comfortable with plants.’

A letter posted on the restaurant’s website framed the new menu as a natural continuation of his garden-led philosophy: ‘The garden has always guided my hand and fuelled my inspiration… Arpège will celebrate a cuisine dedicated entirely to the plant world.’

The next two years, he says, will be about pushing boundaries and continuing to learn. Whether Michelin agrees remains to be seen, but for now, L’Arpège is redefining what luxury dining can look like without animals on the plate.

Looking for a foodie experience closer to home? Here are the best vegan restaurants in London