Will the Future of Fine Dining be as “green” as never before?

Let’s confess before we begin: healthy eating is one of the most required (not popular, as this word might have a negative connotation for those which is not necessary) trends of the gastronomy of today, and whole the restaurant business as well as the food and beverage markets have already converted into the way of satisfying the needs of those who want to eat healthily. Healthy in this article means green - only vegan and vegetarian produce.

Many things have been done, but never before the Covid-era, we have seen so much rebound from the Fine Dining sphere to this necessity. Why is it so? First of all, because now, as never ever before, chefs have got all the world's attention on them and felt their influence and affect, so that every decision they take and everything they introduce in their restaurants should be well-measured and correct, corresponding to the time’s requests. As well, one affirmation says that demand creates supply and there is nothing to add here. More and more clients today expect restaurants to extend their menus for the plant-based option, or to propose the alternative menu itself, as a consequence, chefs start to reflect. However, the most influential side of this case is the world around us, which dictates the “trends”.

The world itself needs more care and responsible consumption from us. Studies, many documentaries, and scientific works prove that the meat industry is the most polluting one, as well as, the most unhealthy one, while fish-catching becomes even more dangerous, violating the Convention on Human Rights. So, what is the way out? What to eat? 

The answer is clear - plant-based.

Let’s look at some examples of the already successful restaurants or some pop-up projects who prove that green, vegan cuisine is the one that depicts the future of the whole Fine Dining world, as chefs themselves say that.

First example - the experience of Danish chef Rasmus Kofoed, who opened the plant-based pop-up restaurant in Copenhagen during the months of the global pandemic. The idea was to remember his grandmother - a convinced vegan and her recipes, proposing them to Rasmus’ clients. The waiting list was impressive.

Another example - a vegetable menu by Russian chefs Ivan and Sergey Berezutsky. Their menu includes 15 dishes made of only plant-based natural ingredients mostly coming from their own farm. But they do not stop with the dishes - to this menu, they also studied a line of vegetable wines, made of the same vegetables, mushrooms, and plants, which are used in the menu. Never before Russian customers were as much interested in plant-based cuisine.

The new entry of this year - veggie space by Swiss chef Andreas Caminada wants to propose to the clients a new perspective on the Fine Dining: only what was picked up from the garden on the same exact day of dinner clients have, will be cooked for them. No fixed menu, no expectations, just fresh and ecologically produced combined with the mastery of the chef. And therefore Caminada introduces a new dimension of eating healthy.

The same ideas are also shared by Paul Ivic (Tian). For many years already his place in Vienna has been a pioneer of vegetarian and sometimes plant-based cuisine in Austria. “When I just started to cook my vegetarian cuisine here in Vienna, it was so complicated to attract the clients and prove to them that vegetarian cuisine could be captivating, evocative, and tasty but today I am happy. Because they start to understand that vegetables can be as tasty as all the rest of the food”.

Last but not least: The breakthrough of the year - Daniel Humm and his New York’s place which has converted its cuisine into 100% plant-based produce. To all questions, the Swiss chef replies that it’s high time to think not only about human nutrition but also - about the planet’s health and resources. Plant-based, as the chef thinks, is the perfect compromise for staying in balance with the world around us and with ourselves.

The conclusion comes by itself: plant-based is not anymore a phrase we use to describe “those people who eat veggies and green salads all days long because it’s trendy” but it’s the new reality of today’s world which Fine Dining world responsibility brings forward setting an example how healthy and sustainable eating can also be Fine.