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He may be the king of French haute cuisine, with 33 Michelin stars to his name. But that has not stopped superchef Alain Ducasse from taking the decidedly un-Gallic decision to remove meat from the menu of his famous Paris restaurant in the name of 'naturalness'. The internationally-celebrated French chef has announced that his three-star restaurant at the Plaza Athénée Hotel will reopen on Monday with dishes centred on fish, vegetables and organic cereals. He said that the decision to opt for lighter, vegetarian-style cuisine was because he believes people should conserve the planet's precious resources. 'The planet's resources are rare, we must consume more ethically and equitably,' Mr Ducasse told AFP. Dishes will include black rice cooked in the oven with shellfish, calamari and octopus; Mediterranean monkfish mixed with bulgar and quinoa with shellfish. Cream is missing from the new menu and sugar will be used as sparingly as possible, according to the chef. 'My obsession is to remove sugar,' he said, adding that desserts will also be revolutionised. 'People ask us for cream or caramel with chocolate,' he said, adding that he would not give in to such requests 'otherwise it's just globalisation. We all eat the same fat and the same sweets,' he said. Ducasse also insisted that he would use 'humbler' types of fish because they often posed more of a challenge than higher-class fare. Comparing a sardine to the more prestigious turbot, he said that cooking the former required almost 'surgical skills'. 'The humbler the product, the more attention it demands,' he said. Signature dishes on the menu in 2012: Signature dishes on the new menu - Smoked swordfish and French bacon on toast - Black rice cooked in the oven with shellfish - Frogs legs beignets with a sorrel dipping sauce - Calamari and octopus - - Guinea fowl pie - Mediterranean monkfish mixed with bulgar - Fresh Ewe's milk cheese, caramel and pepper - Quinoa with shellfish 'In this case it's 15 per cent sardine and 85 per cent work.' Most of the organic cereals and vegetables served at the restaurant, which reopens on Monday, will be grown in the gardens of the Palace of Versailles, built by France's 'Sun King' Louis XIV. The restaurant, which had a three-star Michelin rating until it closed along with the hotel for renovation in October, will offer other surprise choices. 'One mustn't be scared to serve red wine with fish,' said sommelier Laurent Roucayrol. Plaza Athénée said: 'It's a new expression of contemporary French haute cuisine.' Mr Ducasse is the head of more than twenty restaurants worldwide, including three with three Michelin stars that bear his name. Alain Ducasse was born in Orthez in 1956 and educated on his parents' farm in Castel-Sarrazin, two hours south of Bordeaux, in France. By the age of 12, he decided he wanted to be a cook, inspired by his grandmother's skill. He began an apprenticeship at the Pavillon Landais restaurant in Soustons, near Biarritz, four years later and also trained at the Bordeaux hotel school. Mr Ducasse also built up experience at Michel Guérard’s restaurant in Eugénie-les-Bains, Aquitaine, while also working for Gaston Lenôtre during the summer months. Relocating to the Côte d'Azur, Mr Ducasse became chef of the restaurant at the Hotel Juana in Juan-les-Pins where he was awarded two Michelin stars in 1985. Two years later, he was approached by the Hotel de Paris with an offer to take over the gloriously ornate Louis XV restaurant. In an act of seemingly foolish bravado, Mr Ducasse agreed to a clause in the contract by which he agreed to win three Michelin stars in four years - an almost impossible task. When Mr Ducasse moved his Parisian restaurant into the sumptuous Hôtel Plaza Athénée in 2000, the Michelin Guide graced it with its highest accolade after it had been open less than five months. But at the same time, Michelin removed a star from Le Louis XV, in spite of the fact that the chef, the menu remained unchanged. In 2006, he was awarded three stars for his restaurant at the Essex House, making him the first chef ever to simultaneously run three three-starred establishments. He is now head of more than twenty restaurants worldwide, including three with three Michelin stars that bear his name. In 2013 he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement on the World's 50 Best Restaurants List. While at the Dorchester in 2012, Ducasse was honoured with three Michelin stars.
