World’s #2 Restaurant Geranium Removes Meat from Menu

For decades, fine dining has been meat-centric, defined by entrees that feature duck, steak, or other signature animal-based dishes. Now, consumer interest is rapidly shifting away from meat-centric dining and the worldwide fine dining scene is following suit. The Copenhagen-based restaurant Geranium – currently ranked second on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list – announced that it will drop meat from its menus starting in January 2022. The renowned restaurant joins an extensive list of upscale dining establishments in dropping meat products.

The three-Michelin starred restaurant currently offers a 22-course menu that costs 2,800 DKK ($426). The acclaimed restaurant’s menu will still offer some seafood dishes but will make a significant shift to focus on vegetable-centric fine dining cuisine. Dropping all other meat products will require leaving multiple signature dishes at Denmark’s iconic restaurant behind.

Geranium’s head chef Rasmus Kofoed stopped eating meat five years ago but maintained his meat-centric menu at his highly awarded restaurant. Finally, the chef decided that he wanted to design his restaurant’s menu to better reflect his personal diet, and the changing consumer demand in Denmark and worldwide.

“My kitchen at Geranium has long been focused on vegetables, fish, and shellfish as the star on the plate, with small quantities of meat,” Kofoed said on Instagram. “The menu is a reflection of me, of who I am and how I am evolving as a chef and as a human being. I haven’t been eating meat for the last five years at home, so to no longer use meat on the new menu was a logical decision and a natural progression for Geranium.”

Kofoed announced that following his decision to cut meat from Geranium’s menu, he immediately had 15 plant-based dishes in mind. The chef first experimented with vegetarian menus last year when he launched his pop-up Angelika inside of Geranium. The pop-up menu provided customers with exciting upscale dishes that showcased the potential of plant-based foods in fine dining.

At Geranium and Angelika, the chef also prioritizes sustainable and local sourcing, building up biodynamic and organic farms across the region. The restaurant aims to put plant-based fine dining into the spotlight, working against tradition to create new standards for plant-based cooking.

“From my perspective, change is good, we grow from it, we learn from it, we step out of our comfort zone and often we benefit from it. Thank you for being a part of the journey, I'm excited to share this new chapter with you," Kofoed said.

Geranium will be added to the growing list of Michelin-ranked restaurants to adopt plant-based cooking. The Michelin panel announced earlier this year that its judges awarded 57 vegetarian and 24 vegan restaurants with highly respected honors. Some Michelin-ranked restaurants that feature plant-forward menus include Milan’s Joia, Beijing’s King’s Joy, and New York’s Eleven Madison Park.

The fine-dining shift signifies a rapid change over recent years. France’s ONA (Origine Non-Animale) became the first all-vegan eatery to be awarded the Michelin star. The restaurant’s chef Claire Vallee opened her restaurants in 2016 to upturn conventions in fine dining. Vallee developed a seven-course menu to showcase innovative and delicious plant-based foods to promote sustainability in the upscale food scene.

"This goes to show that nothing is impossible," Vallée wrote on Instagram following the news of her Michelin star in January. "We will continue on this path because this star is mine, it is yours … it is the one that definitively brings vegetable gastronomy into the closed circle of French and global gastronomy."

Another Michelin-star chef, Dominique Crenn, is trying something completely new to promote sustainability at her restaurant Atelier Crenn. Crenn removed the meat from her menus in 2018, but earlier this year, she announced that she would be the first restaurant in the United States to offer cultivated meat, introducing a dish that features UPSIDE Foods’ innovative cell-based chicken. The San Francisco restaurant plans to serve the sustainable meat alternative in an effort to undercut conventional animal agriculture.

“When I tasted UPSIDE Chicken for the first time, I thought, this is it. This is the future of food. The look, smell, and sear—UPSIDE Chicken is just delicious,” Crenn said at the time. “People are finally waking up to the downsides of conventional meat production, which led me to remove meat from my menus several years ago.”

Here are the best foods to eat on repeat, to boost immunity and fight inflammation. And stay off the red meat.

Your body does not produce vitamin C, which means you need to get it daily to have enough to create healthy collagen (the building blocks for your skin and healing).The recommended daily amount to shoot for is 65 to 90 milligrams a day, which is the equivalent of one small glass of orange juice or eating a whole grapefruit. Almost all citrus fruits are high in vitamin C. With such a variety to choose from, it's easy to get your fill.

Want even more vitamin C, add red bell peppers to your salad or pasta sauce. One medium-sized red bell pepper contains 152 milligrams of vitamin C, or enough to fulfill your RDA. Peppers are also a great source of beta carotene, a precursor of vitamin A (retinol). How much beta carotene do you need a day: You should try to get 75 to 180 micrograms a day which is the equivalent of one medium bell pepper a day. But a red pepper has more than two and a half times your RDA for vitamin C so eat them all winter long.

Broccoli may be the most super of superfoods on the planet. It's rich in vitamins A and C as well as E. The phytochemicals in it are great for arming and strengthening your immune system.How much lutein should you eat in a day: There is no RDA for lutein, but experts say get at least 6 milligrams.

Garlic isn't just a great flavor-enhancer, it's essential for your health. Garlic’s immune-boosting properties are tied to its sulfur-containing compounds, such as allicin. Allicin is thought to improve your immune cells' ability to fight off colds and flu, and viruses of all kinds. (Smelling more garlic on the subway? It could be smart coronavirus management.) Garlic also has anti-microbial and anti-viral properties thought to fight off infections. How much should you eat in a day: The optimal amount of garlic to eat is more than most of us can fathom: Two to three cloves a day. While that may not be doable, realistically, some people take garlic supplements to get 300-mg dried garlic in a powdered tablet.

Ginger is another ingredient that has super properties when it comes to fighting off illness. It has been shown to decrease inflammation, which can help if you get swollen glands or a sore throat or any inflammatory ailment. Gingerol, the main bioactive compound in ginger, is a relative of capsaicin, and is responsible for much of its medicinal properties. It has powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits.How much should you eat a day: Most recommendations land on 3–4 grams of ginger extract a day, or up to four cups of ginger tea, but no more than 1 gram a day if you are pregnant. Some studies have linked high dosages to an increased risk of miscarriage.

Spinach is not only packed with vitamin C but also antioxidants and beta carotene, both of which give your immune system the healthy boost it needs to fight off invaders. Don't overcook your spinach, since the more it's cooked the less active the antioxidants will be. If you eat it raw or lightly steamed you'll keep more of the nutrients intact.How much should you eat a day: Aim for 1 cup fresh spinach or 1/2 cup cooked per day, but this is the right moment to try the raw or slightly wilted approach. Order warm or wilted spinach salad when you go out, or make it yourself with olive oil, pine nuts, and vegan parm.

Vitamin E in almonds will help ward off colds and flu and is key to your immune system humming along. It’s a fat-soluble molecule, meaning it requires the presence of fat to be absorbed, so nuts are the perfect package for E to make it into your system.How much should you eat in a day: A half-cup serving, or 46 whole, shelled almonds, provides almost 100 percent of your RDA of vitamin E. Almonds are great for you but they don't come with a "free" pass, since 1/4 cup is a serving and has 162 calories, so double that for your RDA and you're eating about 325 calories. Throw them into smoothies instead.

This highly pigmented spice is known for its anti-inflammatory qualities. How it helps immunity? It decreases exercise-induced muscle damage. Tumeric bolsters the immune system by stimulating antibody formation and people with auto-immune diseases are told by their doctors to take 500 mg of curcumin daily to reduce inflammation and stave off soreness.How much should you eat in a day: Try adding extra Tumeric to your diet during periods of stress or during flu season. Or take 500-2,000 mg of curcumin to help fight inflammation and power up your immune system.

Green tea has high levels of EGCG, (epigallocatechin gallate) a hard-working antioxidant that is known to boost immune function. Green tea is steamed so the EGCG is still active when you drink it.Green tea also contains L-theanine, an anti-oxidant which appears to help in the production of T-cells in your body, the killer  L-theanine may aid in the production of germ-fighting compounds in your T-cells.How much green tea should you drink in a day: The optimal amount is three to five cups in a day, but most people won't get to that level. Any amount is better than nothing. Swap out a usual beverage daily for green tea could improve your health.

Papaya delivers over twice your recommended daily amount of vitamin C in one fruit. It also contains an enzyme called papain that has anti-inflammatory effects -- and inflammation is one factor in most illnesses, so avoiding it can help your body fight off bacterial infections like sinusitis.Papayas contain potassium, vitamin B, and folate, which is a powerful cell rebuilder. Exactly how folic acid works to build immunity is linked to its role in protein synthesis, and researchers think that any mechanism in which cells proliferate can be affected (which is why it's critical for pregnant women). People who are folate-deficient have compromised immune systems.How much folate should you eat a day: Whether you are pregnant or not, folate (vitamin B9) is a great vitamin to keep your cells healthy and strong. The recommendation is 400 micrograms a day, or get it from legumes, spinach, papayas, and avocados.

Kiwis are full of folate, vitamin K, vitamin C, and potassium. These vitamins in combination work in the body to build healthy cells, fight infection and keep your immune system humming along. Vitamin K deficiency is rare but when people don't have enough they suffer from weak bones and compromised immune systems. The inflammation system in the body is also dependent on vitamin K, especially your killer T cells that mobilize and fight cancer and other diseases.How much should you eat in a day: Vitamin K is one of the unsung heroes of the body. Women should get 90 micrograms a day, and men should have 120 micrograms.

Sunflower seeds are especially healthy since they provide phosphorus, magnesium and vitamin B-6 as well as vitamin E. Your immune system needs vitamin E to function at full throttle. You can also get vitamin E from avocados and spinach and broccoli.How much should you eat in a day: Anywhere from 1 ounce (30 grams) per day to a healthy handful is considered healthy, but because they are high in sodium you might want to refrain from eating the entire bag. The raw seeds have 204 calories per quarter cup.

The nutrients in miso -- which is a soybean paste that has been fermented with salt and a koji starter -- boosts immune system function by delivering healthy probiotics to the gut, making your microbiome healthier. How does Miso benefit your immune system?  It is a "sirt" food, which are foods that contain high levels of ‘sirtuins’ or proteins that regulate cells and activate metabolism. A diet high in sirts is believed to lead to weight loss, increased wellness and longevity.How much should you eat in a day? Researchers believe that consuming one bowl of miso soup per day, as is the tradition in Japan, lowers the risks of breast cancer. Other than its high sodium content there is no reason to stay away from miso with all its varied health benefits. We say cheers to that.