Claire Vallée created her vegan restaurant on the Arcachon Basin in 2016. -

Maxime Gautier

  • For the first time, the Michelin Guide has awarded a vegan restaurant located on the Bassin d'Arcachon in Gironde with one star.

  • Launched four years ago, the establishment offers only 100% vegetable gourmet dishes.

  • Chef Claire Vallée is delighted with this great achievement, highlighting that almost all of her clientele are not vegan, but curious to discover new culinary delights.

The bet was not won for the chef Claire Vallée, 41, who opened after a crowdfunding the vegan gourmet restaurant ONA (non-animal origin) in the fall of 2016 in the town of Arès, on the Arcachon Basin. .

This Monday, the Michelin Guide has just awarded her a star, making her the first starred vegan chef in France.

It has even been awarded a green star (created last year by the guide) which rewards gastronomic establishments for their eco-responsible approach.

She reacts with

20 minutes

after this rain of rewards.

Were you surprised by this star?

It's the recognition of years of work for me, my teams and the people who follow us and it's a lot of emotion.

We knew that we had done a good job but how do we know if we are going to have a star ... I had been warned a few days before the announcement, but I discovered this Monday that we had won an additional green star, this marks a double consecration.

The ONA restaurant offers exclusively vegetable gourmet recipes.

- Cecile Labonne

Since your opening in October 2016, what can you tell us about the profile of your customers?

We do not have a basic vegan clientele: 95% of our clientele is not, and it is important to say it at the outset.

They are passionate about cooking who come through word of mouth and it is true that it was done quite quickly for us.

They come because they want something different, with taste.

When I created ONA, it was to show that we can make vegetable cuisine with a scent, with textures and a real consonance in the territory because we work with local actors.

Is it the reward for originality in your work?

We are not looking for a star at the start, we are already looking for a cuisine, to express something through our plates.

After the star came and it is the magic that there is more.

First of all, there are customers and if they didn't like it we would have been closed for a long time.

ONA offers a market menu for lunch and a gourmet menu in the evening.

- Cecile Labonne

Vegan dishes do not have a special place in French haute cuisine, which until then has been honored by the Michelin Guide.

Do you think that mentalities are changing on this subject?

We are not here to encroach on other people's lands and as I usually say, I am not a vegan ayatollah.

You just have to find your place.

The Guide gave us a great honor because it was not easy to include a vegetable restaurant in this classification.

In 2018, the Guide had already awarded us a plate (a distinction launched in 2016) and it was already a first in France.

This star is something quite fabulous today and we are proud to wear it.

What will this star change for you?

Are you going to have to face a new notoriety?

We already had a large influx of customers.

After the summer, we were really overwhelmed and we will not be able to fill more.

We will have demand, but we are a small structure with around 30 seats inside and around 20 outside, when the weather is nice and warm.

We will do as much as possible according to what will be authorized, for example on the table spacings. 

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