Plates - UK's Plant-Based Michelin Star Blows Up the ‘Vegan Is Over’ Myth

Plates London earned its Michelin star back in July, but the real story has only just surfaced: 95% of its diners aren’t vegan. That single number torpedoes the tired “plant-based is over” narrative and shows what’s really happening on the ground. Flexitarians, omnivores, and curious carnivores are willingly booking a fully plant-based tasting menu because it tastes brilliant, not because they’re signalling ethics or identity.

Chef Kirk Haworth hasn’t built a vegan temple. He’s built a flavour studio — cashew creams, fermented roots, layered textures, whole-plant depth, all delivered without the labels or moralising that used to define the category. It’s simply Michelin-level cooking that happens to be plant-based. Diners come for the experience, not the ideology.

And that’s the shift: plant-based cuisine has quietly slipped out of its “lifestyle choice” box and into mainstream dining behaviour. When a Michelin-starred plant-based restaurant is almost entirely filled with non-vegan guests, the myth collapses. The future menu isn’t vegan — it’s delicious, and the labels don’t matter anymore.

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