Where's the boeuf? France’s first Michelin star vegan restaurant

Roquefort. Filet mignon. Creme fraiche. Foie Gras...

The menus of France’s fine dining establishment have changed over the years, but some ingredients are seemingly ever present.

However, in a small town near the South Western city of Bordeaux, something unprecedented has happened.

For the first time since Michelin started publishing its annual guide in 1900, the organisation bestowed a star to a restaurant that doesn’t use a single animal product on its menu.

Of Non Animal Origin

It’s undeniable. As a movement, Veganism is growing all across the West, and the same can be said for France with reports claiming the Vegan market grew 24% last year.

But if you take a step back and look at the bigger picture, this is really a tiny drop of oatmilk in the bucket of cream.

Vegetarians make up anywhere from 2% to 5% of the French population, depending on the reports, but Veganism is considerably less than that.

These figures won’t shock any Vegan who has travelled through France, as options for plant-friendly tourists are relatively limited throughout the country- even more so when they are looking to eat out at restaurants.

However, Veganism isn’t just rare in France - it’s been actively petitioned against in the halls of power.

In 2018, a group representing the butchers federation of France, wrote to the government requesting protection from the ‘militant vegans’ who were “threatening the country’s meat eating traditions”.

As the largest agricultural power in Europe, and one of the biggest exporters of meat and dairy products - it doesn’t require a great deal of imagination to wonder why Veganism scares some people in the industry.

So in the face of all this opposition, eyebrows were raised even higher when  ONA, or Origine Non Animale, was included in the 2021 Michelin Guide.