It’s not just cultural pride that has fueled a disregard for plant-forward cooking in France.
Broccoli is no replacement for beef, but as the Paris Olympics draw closer, the country best known for dishes like steak tartare, boeuf bourguignon and blanquette de veau, is preparing for a vegetarian makeover. The trigger: The Olympics planning committee’s goal to cut emissions by 50 per cent, which means that food with a heavy carbon footprint — like beef and veal — will be reduced to 40 per cent of the menu in the restaurant that will serve the over 15,000 athletes arriving in July.
Charles Guilloy, the chef in charge, has spoken in interviews of his desire to break the “false stereotype… that French gastronomy is meat, meat and only meat”. While it is true that among the classic French dishes are some vegetarian ones — for example, ratatouille or soupe à l’oignon — vegetables, in general, are something of an after-thought. On this matter, France, with the highest per capita consumption of beef and veal in Europe, has fallen behind. Others like Scandinavian countries have been quicker to embrace a less meat-dependent diet. This applies as much to home cooking as it does to fine dining. Currently, there is only one Michelin-starred vegetarian restaurant in all of France and the one vegan restaurant that was awarded a star, closed down a year after winning the honour.
It’s not just cultural pride that has fueled a disregard for plant-forward cooking in France. For the last few years, the meat industry has warily watched the plant-based food industry grow and even gone to court to keep these products from using meat-based descriptions like “sausage”. Guilloy and Tony Estangoet, head of the organising committee for the Games, have both spoken of the responsibility to “educate” the people about planet-friendly eating habits. But this may take more than one sporting event, even if it is the biggest in the world.
