A vegan restaurant in the south west of France has won a Michelin star, the first for an establishment that only serves animal-free products in France.
Claire Vallee runs the restaurant ONA – what stands for Non-animal origin – in the city of Ares, near Bordeaux, which it launched in 2016 thanks to crowdfunding from supporters and a loan from a green bank.
“It felt like I was hit by a train,” Vallée told AFP about the moment she received a call from the Michelin guide informing her of her decision.
In addition to being awarded the classic star on Monday, Vallée also won a green star, which Michelin introduced last year to reward establishments with a strong reputation for ethical practices.
ONA is “the first vegan restaurant in France to win a star,” a Guide Michelin spokeswoman told AFP.
Vallée offered seven dishes on its gourmet menu before closing ONA due to Covid-19 restrictions. Her favorite combinations are pine, boletus mushroom and sake, or celery, tonka beer and amber beer.
Traditional French banks gave the young chef short work when she reached out to them for a loan to get started. “They said the outlook for veganism and plant foods was too uncertain,” she said. The chosen location for its restaurant in the Arcachon basin on the Atlantic coast was not considered very promising either.
Vallee said she held no grudges: “Everyone does their job.”
Vallee then secured funding through crowdfunding, without the need for collateral, and through Le Nef, a bank that specializes in lending to projects it considers ethical. “This proves that nothing is impossible,” she said.
Vallée admitted to wondering “if we were good enough, because cooking based on vegetables is difficult and innovative”.
But, she added, “The important thing is to enjoy it.”
Although she is now considered a pioneer of vegan cuisine in France, Vallée said she simply followed in the footsteps of others, denouncing the late Jean-Christian Jury, who ran the Mano Verde restaurant in Berlin. suggested.