When French chef Claire Vallée wanted to open her first restaurant, banks declined to lend to her because they did not believe a vegan place led by a relative novice and located in a small coastal town would ever succeed.
She has proven them spectacularly wrong. The vegan restaurant she established five years ago with €10,000 raised via crowdfunding recently became the first in France to be awarded a star by the Michelin Guide, the bible of gastronomy.
At ONA — an acronym for origine non animale — the 41-year-old self-taught chef who originally trained as an archaeologist has turned the constraints of cooking without butter, cream, meat or fish into a liberating adventure.
“I make this food because I love it, and I want to show people you can eat differently and still enjoy it,” she said in an interview. “With vegan food, you still have a fabulous hunting ground with so many varieties of grains, spices, and plants. You can really express yourself in…