The Michelin Guide has acknowledged veganism as a meaningful food movement by awarding a Michelin Star to a completely plant-based restaurant in France. This is the first time the Michelin Guide has awarded a star to an institution that forgoes all meat products in France. The star was awarded at Michelin’s annual awards, held virtually on Monday.
The restaurant is called ONA — which stands for Origine Non-Animale (animal-free origin) and is named to reflect its 100% plant-based and animal-free cuisine. Located in the south west of France in the town of Arès, near Bordeaux, the restaurant is run by chef Claire Vallée.
Addressing her fans on instagram, Vallée had this to say of being awarded the star: “We will continue on this path because this star is mine, it is yours, it is that of the impossible, it is the one that definitively brings plant-based gastronomy into the closed circle of French and global gastronomy.”
The award defies plant-based sceptics in the culinary world, who have long turned their noses up at the merits of vegan food as a stand-alone concept. While more and more restaurants include vegan menu offerings, there are comparatively few vegan fine dining restaurants. One of the most polarising topics in the food world, veganism is the most stringent plant-based diet, eschewing all animal products as well as their derivatives.
Vallée has defied the odds, succeeding in the world of fine dining which is an arena dominated by meat-based menus and male cooks. In addition to the more traditional single star she was awarded, Vallée also won a green star, which Michelin introduced last year to reward establishments with a strong record for ethical practices.
Vallée opened ONA in 2016, financing it through crowdfunding and a loan from a bank, Le Nef, which specialises in lending to projects it considers ethical. At the time, traditional banks said the outlook for vegan food was too uncertain. Indeed, even now, of the 2,000-plus restaurants currently on the Michelin guide, only seven are completely meat-free (vegetarian) while only 14 conventional restaurants on the guide are able to offer fine dining for vegan patrons.
That one of the world’s most respected dining guides and rating groups has awarded a vegan restaurant its coveted star is an indicator that plant-based food is no longer considered a niche. And a show of what is to come for the future of dining — especially as more consumers begin to couple their food choices with their concern for a degrading environment.
