France is the gastronomic capital of the world. But how well has Paris adapted to accommodate an ever-growing number of vegan diners?
The Earful Tower podcast episode
On this week’s podcast episode is “the goddess of vegan Paris”: Amanda Bankert, the Le Cordon Bleu−trained American pâtissière from Boneshaker Paris. Amanda explained how Paris is evolving to have more vegan restaurants, and also how she secretly transformed her traditional donut shop to be entirely plant-based. Listen below or wherever you get podcasts.
But first, what does it mean to be vegan?
Eating vegan means eating only plant-based foods. That means no animal or animal bi-products, so no meat, fish, milk, cheese, eggs, or honey. Which would make dining out in France difficult right? Wrong! As Amanda pointed our on the podcast, although French cuisine is generally meat and dairy heavy, there are exceptions – the mighty baguette and Berthillon’s sorbet are entirely vegan. Moreover, in the last five years there has been a huge uptick in vegan recipes and restaurants in Paris.
How has vegan dining changed in Paris?
Back in the the early 2000s, if you wanted to eat vegan in a traditional brasserie you would have been served a plate of undressed salad leaves. In the 2010s, vegan spots started to open up but they were as difficult to find as the city’s speakeasy bars. That is now rapidly changing. In the past five years more locations have opened up, with higher and higher quality.
Amanda pointed out that “we are no longer in the days of lentil mush, you can get really delicious, elevated cuisine that just all happens to be made from plants”.
Where to go in Paris for vegan food?
Whats more, chefs specialised in vegan dining are passionate about food and flavour, so “you’re not sacrificing any of the savoir faire, luxury or decadence – you’re just not using any animals.”
She says the neo-brasseries are “the cool new places to eat”, they’re extraordinarily open to creating vegan stuff if it’s not already on the menu.
Spots mentioned in the episode include: Miznon for its Israeli-French falafels, Faubourg Daimant for its high-level vegan dining, and 3 Michelin star Arpege from famed chef Alain Passard.
Here at The Earful Tower, we can also recommend: the 1 star Michelin restaurant F.I.E.F for their 4 course vegan tasting menu, Abricot newly open cocktail bar serving vegan bar snacks and Aujord’hui Demain a delicious vegan brunch spot.
What’s the story with Boneshaker Paris?
Boneshaker Paris opened its doors in 2015 and recently opened a bigger store just down the road. Amanda surreptitiously switched to serving vegan treats in recent years, as she was aware that “people had pre-conceived notions that vegan food was not going to be as good as ‘the real thing'”. And no one even noticed until she brought out her new book and revealed it all.
Address: 77 rue d’Aboukir 75002.
Learn more from Amanda Bankert in her cookbook Voilà Vegan
Voilà Vegan is Amanda Bankert’s debut cookbook and it features over 85 “decadent, secretly plant-based desserts”. Her recipes include cakes, cookies, candies and drinks that have fooled and enthralled her patrons. The book is aimed at both vegans who want to learn how to elevate their baking, but also at people who wouldn’t necessarily bake vegan – so they can see just how easy it is.
Get yourself a copy of the book here.
Interested to hear more from Amanda Bankert? Watch the live walk we did with her along the Coulée Verte talking about her history as a classically trained pastry chef and how she became the pioneer in vegan baking she is today. Watch here:
And that’s it! Do you like this channel? Become a Patreon member of The Earful Tower here to support this show and get extras. Want to do a walking tour of Paris? Book directly here.
More dining options in Paris? Here is Where to eat in Paris: A great restaurant in every arrondissement, Ten historical Paris restaurants to tell your friends about and Tour d’Argent: The iconic Paris restaurant in 7 intriguing figures.