Two from the New York Post. First up, the headline story:
Michelin no longer has beef with France’s vegan restaurants.
The culinary institution has, for the first time, awarded one of its coveted stars to an eatery with an animal-free menu.
ONA is “the first vegan restaurant in France to win a star,” a Michelin Guide spokeswoman confirmed to AFP.
The lucky restaurant, southwestern France’s ONA (an acronym for Origine Non Animale), is just 4 years old and almost didn’t get off the ground.
Restaurant runner Claire VallĂ©e initially struggled to get the money she needed to start her venture, with French banks not sold on the business. “They said the outlook for veganism and plant-based food was too uncertain,” she said, according to the Guardian. Her location, on the Atlantic Ocean’s Arcachon Bay, was also not considered sufficiently promising....MORE
Sure, Pierre Troisgros dies and this happens.
And:
France’s Michelin Guide awards stars in virtual ceremony
France’s Michelin Guide, which has long served as a bible for foodies, is adapting its awards ceremony in Paris for the year that was like no other – 2020. It is handing out its stars for the shuttered industry at a virtual ceremony to a virtual public.
From the panoramic splendor of the Jules Verne restaurant on the Eiffel Tower’s second floor, judges are giving out this year’s stars for their 2021 France guide — based on reviews of eateries that have for large periods of time been completely closed nationwide.
The country famed for its cuisine saw restaurants shut for large parts of last year during what was one of Europe’s harshest lockdowns, while strict curfews disrupted the dinner service....MORE
