At first, convinced he had misunderstood, the chef said he offered to add a vegan option to the menu. Then, he said, when he was told he could not use any of the cherished river fish species central to his dishes and to the Amazon region’s cuisine, he grew offended.
“It’s like asking Iron Maiden to play jazz,” Mr. Jennings said in an interview on Friday. “It was a lack of respect,” he added, “for local cuisine, for our culinary tradition.”

After much coaxing by the museum that will host the event, Mr. Jennings said he created a vegan menu inspired by Amazonian ingredients like cassava root, jambu leaf and Brazil nuts. But by then, negotiations over the catering of the event had broken down. And now, he is out as the caterer for the event, scheduled for Nov. 5.

Posted by shhhhh_h

7 comments

  1. I may be biased as a vegetarian myself but I don’t see how this is disrespectful. Local dishes can easily be veganized.

  2. I think this sounds more dramatic than what really happened. He cooked for Charles a few years ago (lamb and duck), they liked it and invited him for Earthshot. They requested a full vegan menu. He isn’t a vegan chef and ultimately decided to decline the invitation. They then hired a vegan chef, which probably would have been the best choice from the start.

    I don’t think it’s disrespectful – at all – to request an entire vegan menu, just slightly performative in this particular case. But to each their own. Inviting a chef specialized in fish to cook a vegan menu was a poor choice, though.

  3. I totally believe that William had no involvement in it, but this story is worth reading because it’s such a good example of ignoring complexity in favor of easy slogans. According to the Earthshot person the paper talked to, the event requires vegetarian food to show a commitment to sustainability. But that overlooks that the exact fish the chef wanted to cook went from endangered to thriving in Brazil because of the work done locally to improve sustainability. It would have been perfect for the menu as a story of how creative conservation and sustainability work can succeed—which is exactly the point of Earthshot! No wonder this chef was frustrated. It’s a small thing but something a great event planner would have noticed and understood. Even a mildly good event planner would have smoothed this over with the chef so a story like this doesn’t pop up. As usual with Will and Kate’s staff, I am surprised that they don’t have world-class professionals working for them.

  4. lol. People are so entitled. It’s his right to refuse a job but it’s also people right to eat whatever they want wherever they are.

  5. He clearly has no understanding of the context if he didn’t want to provide a vegan menu. The whole point is to focus on sustainability and the environment. The easiest way to work on these issues, is by adopting a plant based diet.

  7. I always wonder for this world at catered events if the food is that restricted. I can’t eat a lot of vegan food due to my soy and nut allergies. Du they ask all attendees for their allergies veggie it would I just be stuck with a limited amount of sides if I were to attend?

    I have changed what I can go vegan alternatives (like milk to oat milk for example) but I usually can’t eat vegan main courses.

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