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Le Chef's annual list of the top 100 chefs in the world has been released and while, as always, it's a contentious one – there are only two chefs from Latin America included, and only two women for a start – there is no doubting the pedigree of the chef at number one, also the recipient of a World's 50 Best Restuarants Lifetime Achievement Award.
Alain Passard has been the standard bearer for fine vegetable cuisine at L’Arpège, his three Michelin star restaurant in Paris, since experiencing something of an epiphany around the turn of the millenium, realising vegetable cuisine allowed him to truly tap into the seasonality of food in a way that meat and fish couldn't.
Since then L’Arpège has been consistently pushing the limits of what can be done with a simple selection of vegetables – handled with the deftest of skill of course – and turning out stunning plate after stunning plate.
That's not to say meat is completely off the menu, it just rarely has a starring role.
You can see a selection of these dishes below and further down, watch an exclusive interview with the man they call "The maestro of vegetable cuisine."
All images: @alain_passard/Instagram
Salad of blackberry and fresh corn
Spoons of 1 May
"Bouillabaisse Bretonne"
"Sushi(s) belle saison"
Strawberry carpaccio with rose petals
Beet with stuffed lettuce
Spring aperitif
Sea urchin from Galicia, with red carrot and sorrel
Bouquet of spring radish
Beet fondant with acacia flowers
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