EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Claridge's feels queasy as star chef suggests turning restaurant's menu vegan 

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    When guests book a stay at Claridge’s, they look forward to dining on lobster en croute, caviar and foie gras in art-deco splendour at the top Mayfair establishment known as an ‘annexe to Buckingham Palace’ because of its long- standing connections with royalty.

    Soon, however, its loyal regulars from around the world could be forced to tuck into nut roasts and lentil stews.

    I can disclose that the five-star hotel is involved in very tense talks with its star chef, Daniel Humm, because he wants to turn the restaurant’s menu entirely vegan.

    ‘It’s a hotel nightmare,’ an insider tells me. ‘Bosses are terrified that Humm will leave if his demands are not met, which would mean they would be without him during the Christmas season, their busiest time of year.

    ‘But if they turn the restaurant vegan, they will upset thousands of regular guests.’

    RICHARD EDEN: I can disclose that the five-star hotel is involved in very tense talks with its star chef, Daniel Humm (pictured), because he wants to turn the restaurant's menu entirely vegan

    RICHARD EDEN: I can disclose that the five-star hotel is involved in very tense talks with its star chef, Daniel Humm (pictured), because he wants to turn the restaurant’s menu entirely vegan

    Humm recently made headlines around the world by turning the £250-a-head menu at his three-Michelin-starred New York restaurant, Eleven Madison Park, totally plant-based.

    There, diners can enjoy dishes including cucumber with melon and smoked daikon; fried pepper with Swiss chard; and courgette with lemongrass and tofu.

    Meanwhile, the four-course menu at his Claridge’s restaurant, Davies And Brook, costs £125 a head and includes such mouth-watering options as caviar with sweet potato bonito and English muffin; roasted venison with beetroot; and, of course, foie gras with black truffle.

    A Claridge’s spokesman confirms that it’s in talks with Humm over his request, telling me: ‘We are constantly reviewing the offerings at Davies And Brook, including the possible introduction of a fully plant-based menu.’

    Meanwhile, the four-course menu at his Claridge's restaurant, Davies And Brook, costs £125 a head and includes such mouth-watering options as caviar with sweet potato bonito and English muffin; roasted venison with beetroot; and, of course, foie gras with black truffle

    Meanwhile, the four-course menu at his Claridge’s restaurant, Davies And Brook, costs £125 a head and includes such mouth-watering options as caviar with sweet potato bonito and English muffin; roasted venison with beetroot; and, of course, foie gras with black truffle

    However, my sources claim this diplomatic response merely hints at tensions behind the scenes.

    This week, Humm, 45, made an appearance at the Cop26 eco summit in Glasgow, where he pointedly declared his mission in life was ‘to make plant-based food delicious, magical and luxurious’.

    He added: ‘It’s better for our planet and our health.’

    While such a dramatic switch might please a trendy young crowd, Claridge’s will be aware of the maxim: ‘Go woke, go broke.’

    Helena sews her own poppies…

    City superwoman Dame Helena Morrissey came up with a stylish way to avoid piercing her dress with a poppy brooch on Armistice Day yesterday.

    The businesswoman and mother-of-nine, 55, wore a sleeveless cream frock decorated with the symbolic red flower instead.

    City superwoman Dame Helena Morrissey came up with a stylish way to avoid piercing her dress with a poppy brooch on Armistice Day yesterday

    City superwoman Dame Helena Morrissey came up with a stylish way to avoid piercing her dress with a poppy brooch on Armistice Day yesterday

    'I love the finished result — it's also perfect for Remembrance Sunday,' says Helena, who completed the look with £710 Saint Laurent flower-corsage patent-leather sandals (above)

    ‘I love the finished result — it’s also perfect for Remembrance Sunday,’ says Helena, who completed the look with £710 Saint Laurent flower-corsage patent-leather sandals (above)

    Helena helped create the outfit with its designer, Lisa Redman, and together they drew each poppy on paper before hand-stitching them in silk threads.

    ‘I love the finished result — it’s also perfect for Remembrance Sunday,’ says Helena, who completed the look with £710 Saint Laurent flower-corsage patent-leather sandals (above).

    Lingerie tycoon Michelle Mone, nicknamed ‘Baroness Bra’ after being elevated to the Lords, has called time on her public-speaking career. 

    The Glaswegian, 50, is to ‘focus on her family and new ventures’, and says: ‘Public speaking still scares me, but I will miss the feeling of accomplishment and pride.’ 

    The Affair star Dominic West’s wife, Catherine FitzGerald, willingly took over the reins of Glin Castle after her father, Desmond, the last Knight of Glin, died in 2011 with no son to inherit his title.

    But landscape designer Catherine, 50, is reluctant to force her children to inherit her 15-bedroom ancestral home in County Limerick, Ireland.

    ‘The idea that someone is tied to it from birth doesn’t feel right somehow,’ she tells the Duchess podcast. ‘You must let people be free to go and do things and, if they want to come back and take it on, it perhaps means they can take it on in a creative way.’

    Catherine stood by West, 52, after he was seen canoodling last year in Rome with Lily James, 32, his co-star in The Pursuit Of Love.

    Away match for Stanbury and soccer’s Sergio

    When Prince Andrew’s confidante Caroline Stanbury started going out with a Spanish former footballer 18 years her junior, few thought it would last, particularly as she’d just split from the father of her three children.

    Yesterday, however, the Ladies of London star, 45, proved them wrong by tying the knot with Sergio Carrallo (inset) on a beach in Mauritius. The couple live in Dubai, where they will have a big wedding party next month, but chose to exchange vows on 11/11 — a date which some believe symbolises soulmates.

    When Prince Andrew's confidante Caroline Stanbury (pictured) started going out with a Spanish former footballer 18 years her junior, few thought it would last, particularly as she'd just split from the father of her three children

    When Prince Andrew’s confidante Caroline Stanbury (pictured) started going out with a Spanish former footballer 18 years her junior, few thought it would last, particularly as she’d just split from the father of her three children

    The Ladies of London star, 45, proved them wrong by tying the knot with Sergio Carrallo (pictured) on a beach in Mauritius

    The Ladies of London star, 45, proved them wrong by tying the knot with Sergio Carrallo (pictured) on a beach in Mauritius

    ‘It shows people that this is for real,’ declares Caroline, who wore a white spaghetti-strap dress. ‘When I met Sergio, he was 24 and lost in life — he’d finished a big career and didn’t know what was next. Finding the right partner changes everything. And I’m the luckiest girl in the world.’

    Her daughter, Grace, had the honour of being the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s bridesmaid, but Rose van Cutsem’s nephew has embarrassed his illustrious family. 

    I hear that Frederick Astor, 19, was sentenced to an 18-month community order at Oxford Magistrates’ Court this week for spitting on a police officer after a drug-fuelled binge at the Cotswolds estate of his father, Thomas. 

    The grandson of David Astor, founding chairman of Classic FM, Frederick also hurled verbal abuse at three police officers called to Merriscourt House in Oxfordshire.

    After Cats, Andrew dines out with a dog

    A dog is not only a man’s best friend, he can make a great companion for afternoon tea as well.

    Andrew Lloyd Webber treated Mojito, his black Havanese, to a £49 Regency-style afternoon tea at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, on which he spent £60 million restoring it to its former glory

    Andrew Lloyd Webber treated Mojito, his black Havanese, to a £49 Regency-style afternoon tea at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, on which he spent £60 million restoring it to its former glory

    That’s certainly what Andrew Lloyd Webber thinks. The West End composer treated Mojito, his black Havanese, to a £49 Regency-style afternoon tea at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, on which he spent £60 million restoring it to its former glory.

    Mojito had a seat of his own — and particularly enjoyed the sausage rolls. Woof woof. 

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