Vegan, gluten-free, there’s a real trend in gastronomy. Personally, I’m more of a fan of products in all their forms, and I’m sometimes disappointed by what’s on offer for tasting, but for once I was impressed and seduced by the 100% vegan formula at the Shangri La Paris.
General Manager Stefan Bollhader, Executive Chef Christophe Moret and new Pastry Chef Michaël Bartocetti recently announced the first 100% Vegan Afternoon Tea.
A logical follow-up to the immediate success of the “100% Green Dinners” launched early last summer at La Bauhinia, the 100% Vegan Afternoon Tea is set to be the new tea-time rendez-vous.
An ethical ‘all-vegetable’ approach
Faithful to a cuisine rooted in the calendar of the seasons and nature, it was only natural that Christophe Moret and Michaël Bartocetti wanted to bring Afternoon Tea into line with the house’s cherished values: freshness, proximity, transparency and ethics. The obvious choice? Eliminate all animal proteins and fats without sacrificing the creativity and gourmandise that remain the signature of pastries at the Shangri-La Hotel, Paris. Sharing the Chef’s commitment, Michaël Bartocetti has even gone so far as to offer a 100% Vegan Afternoon Tea.
The Shangri-La Hotel, Paris’ five o’clock becomes the capital’s most vegan, natural and gourmet Afternoon Tea
At a time when everyone wants to find their way back to a healthier, more reasoned diet, the Shangri-La Hotel, Paris is logically refining its “direct from producers” approach. Michaël Bartocetti’s patisserie, like his cooking, is “product first”, and he draws his inspiration above all from seasonal produce. With the same enthusiasm, the two Chefs have made a point of altering the fruit and flavors as little as possible: by using vegetable proteins – more discreet, digestible and less allergenic – and in particular by using unrefined sugars, such as coconut flower, panela (Rapadura), maple syrup… Natural fruit and flavors have thus regained their rightful place at the heart of each delicacy. The result is surprising, as the textures imitate or sometimes replace to advantage certain non-vegan products. With the fat gone, we discover a delicacy and gustatory expressions to which we are not accustomed.
Varied creations
As a result, pastries have gained in lightness and personality: no lactose at all, less cholesterol (saturated fats such as cooked butter…), but virgin coconut oil, almond puree, a wide variety of cereals (buckwheat, sunflower seeds, Khorasan wheat….), oilseeds (walnuts, linseed…) and homemade plant milks (almond, soy…) that are easy to assimilate and subtle to use. Relying on Bernadette Combette’s expertise and sourcing, the research and testing took nearly three months to come up with a varied menu of a dozen pastries. Alternating between the simplicity of a tart or a shortbread, and the sophistication of the great classics – Mont-Blanc, Calisson – not forgetting the unavoidable English tradition – scones and shortbreads – the pastries are sure to melt your heart. A nod to childhood? Figolu® revisited!
Like a cornucopia from which everyone can draw with delight and delicacy, Afternoon Tea expands the range of pleasures…
Some signature pastries to enjoy without moderation:
Lightness and delicacy: the Calisson
A mousse of oranges picked between Perpignan and Sicily, a financial cookie with almonds and hazelnuts from Bourbonnais, almond paste from Berry and delicious almond milk… the calisson is back in the limelight!
Nothing but chocolate, 100% pure origin: the Chocolate Tart
With fair-trade couverture chocolate from the finest Peruvian beans, the all-chocolate tart releases a freshness when it first crunches, then develops a powerful and exceptional bitterness as it is eaten…
Less rich, more daring: the Mont blanc marron-cassis
Without egg white and therefore more easily digestible, this Vegan Mont blanc is a delight. With chestnuts from Lozère, blackcurrants from Hautes-Alpes and Anjou, blackcurrant juice from Corrèze, and chestnut flour from Ardèche. The chocolate shells? Fair-trade dark Venezuela and white milk chocolate made with rice flour.
100% Vegan Afternoon Tea, including a dozen pastries and savory mini-sandwiches, Monday to Friday from 3:30 to 5:30 pm, Saturday and Sunday from 4:00 to 5:30 pm: €39 per person (€70 for two people).
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