In 2018 the Michelin Guide awarded Claire Vallée’s restaurant ONA with the one fork, a symbol for a restaurant of comfort and quality. Again in 2021, she received the first Michelin star awarded to a vegan restaurant.
This beauty in her early forties is becoming the face of the vegan movement. She is beaming the light on vegan cuisine and slowly making it more mainstream than ever before.
The chef and founder of this 30-seat establishment created in Arès, in Gironde, near the Arcachon basin, has become a bit of a sensation as she engages in multiple interviews even drawing the attention of the New York Times and Japanese newspapers.
Her restaurant is also undergoing a huge transformation. The kitchens and dining room are redesigned using recycled materials, thus revealing Claire Vallée’s connection with nature and her desire to preserve it.
Claire Vallée’s story, like her cuisine, is a bit out of the ordinary. She holds a doctorate in archaeology. After her studies, she took a summer job at a restaurant in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, and ended up staying for eight years. She trained as a pastry chef. Following some time in Thailand, she became a vegetarian, and on her return to France was reluctant to work with meat or fish.
In 2016 she opened a vegan restaurant in Arès, near Bordeaux, in southwestern France, and called it ONA, which stands for “Non-animal origin”, not of animal origin.
Aside from the food, Vallée extends veganism to the drinks and the decor of the restaurant, which uses renewable electricity and composts its wastes.
In France, where only 2.2% of the population does not eat meat, Claire Vallée knew that she needed to work harder than everyone else and give visitors vegan or not a reason to come back to ONA.
For many, ONA is an initiation into the vegetative world, where you will experience new sensations and flavors. Wild plants, fragrant herbs, seaweeds, and spices, as well as cereals, fruits, vegetables, and mushrooms, all offer a diverse range of flavors, textures, and aromas.
An experience in ONA is best expressed by Claire Vallée’s own words. “I have built my culinary universe around a story… My story! The seasons, nature, my travels, and memories are all my ‘madeleines de Proust’ from which I draw inspiration and creativity. My reflection of the world of plants is my invitation to you to an experience full of ‘gourmandise’ and amazement.”
So if you are in Arès, in addition to visiting the beautiful Arcachon Ville d’Eté (Arcachon’s ‘summer town’) and the Parc Mauresque, make an appointment with ONA. You probably wouldn’t become a vegan but you would enjoy the experience.