l‘Arpège is the tiny Lalique-panneled restaurant owned by the legendary Alain Passard. In 2001 Monsieur Passard declared that he would be be focussing on a more vegetable driven menu, but more importantly a seasonal, home-grown menu. This statement seems to have lost something in translation, because in 2012 it seems perfectly reasonable, indeed appropriate. But in Paris a decade ago, turning your back on a very protein-heavy menu, seems to have caused considerable ripples. Alain had held three Michelin stars since 1996, but maintained those stars after swapping over to his new style - clearly the inspectors felt that the standards were maintained.
