After years of creativity, gourmandise, crossbreeding, seasonality, locavorism and sustainability on the festival menu, it was time to take things to the next level and get back to simplicity. So last year we tested a new model, 100% vegetarian, the next logical step for the festival.

This switch to vegetarianism is a pragmatic and essential decision at a time when meat consumption continues to increase in worrying volumes. For example, chicken consumption in France rose by 40% between 2000 and 2022*, half of which is imported. In view of today’s strained animal resources, we felt it unreasonable to continue to provide meat, even in part, for 100,000 people.

The all-vegetarian edition of 2023 was a resounding success. The gamble may have seemed complicated, but it was a convincing success: over 106,000 vegetarian dishes were devoured, and stocks were sold out to the last crumb!

For the past 13 years, we’ve been researching and testing different tableware solutions, while doing our utmost to reduce and recycle waste as much as possible. While compostable crockery is still an effective solution when carefully sourced and used for small and medium-sized events, last year we decided to test a still-perfectable system of reusable crockery (returnable, washable, reusable), and it was approved! Reusable means less waste and fewer resources.