L'arpège, opened in 1986, was awarded one Michelin star in its first year. In 1989-two. Ten years later, in 1996-collected all three.
And in 2001, chef Alain Passar, inspired by the vegetable theme, expelled meat from the menu. Not really, of course. But for the most part.
Initially, vegetables and fruits were bought from local farmers until 2002 when the restaurant acquired its own land. Now it is three full-fledged farms producing about 40 tons of products per year, fully providing the restaurant with everything necessary. By the way, only tools of the 19th century are used in the processing of the earth. What this means? - Performance is limited to one horsepower. Harnessed to a plow.
Alain Passar had a great influence on modern gastronomy. The kitchen at L Arpège worked Magnus Nilsson (Fäviken ), mark best ( Marque ), Mauro colagreco ( Mirazur ) and many others.
Despite the obvious vegetarian bias (Alena Passara even nicknamed "vegetarian chef"), the institution retains three Michelin stars, and in 2015 took 12th place in the list of the best restaurants in the world.
With vegetables he really is doing something unimaginable.