On the evening of November 5, 2025, the Museum of Tomorrow in Rio de Janeiro was bathed in green. Lights pulsed, reflecting on the waters of Guanabara Bay as global leaders, activists, and artists arrived to celebrate The Earthshot Prize , conceived by Prince William. But it wasn't just the winners of the five sustainability categories who stole the show: what was served at the table became world news.

For the first time, an event of this scale featured a 100% plant-based menu, created by Rio de Janeiro chef Tati Lund, a leading figure in conscious gastronomy and owner of Org Bistrô. The decision was a symbolic and political gesture... proving that eating without animal-derived ingredients is indeed a viable, sophisticated choice, deeply aligned with the purpose of protecting the planet.

The taste of revolution

The dinner, served to hundreds of guests, featured a succession of colors, aromas, and textures that defied stereotypes. Instead of meats and seafood, there was pumpkin cream with toasted seeds, black-eyed pea salad with key lime, cassava gnocchi with wild mushroom sauce, and mini cocoa brownies with Brazil nuts and vegan salted caramel.

Tati herself summarized the experience on her social media:

"It was 10 creative, plant-based steps! Lots of color, fruits, vegetables, and nuts! All organic, straight from nature."

Each dish seemed to echo a message that it is possible to preserve Brazilian biodiversity while simultaneously reinventing its traditions. "Veganism is not about denying culture, but about expanding it," Tati often says. On the menu, she transformed familiar ingredients like cassava, pumpkin, coconut, and nuts into edible poetry.

A chef who cooks with purpose.

Tati Lund is no newcomer to making waves in the culinary world. A nutrition graduate from UFRJ and known for her environmental activism, she has been running Org Bistrô for over a decade, a renowned restaurant in Rio that combines flavor, ethics, and aesthetics. Her style blends haute cuisine technique with a caring approach to local ingredients.

At Earthshot , she translated the spirit of the event into flavor. Each dish was designed to reduce emissions, avoid waste, and celebrate organic producers. The creamy texture of the pumpkin, the aroma of fresh herbs, and the crunchy touch of the seeds seemed to carry a silent declaration that sustainability can be delicious.

The debate that spiced up the event.

However, not everything was agreed upon. Before the ceremony, chef Saulo Jennings from Pará declined the invitation to lead the dinner after learning that the menu would be 100% vegan. For him, excluding Amazonian fish would be "erasing the soul of the region." This gesture sparked discussions about food colonialism and the cultural limits of a globally sustainable menu.

Critics argued that the decision ignored local traditions; defenders pointed out that Earthshot needed to be consistent with its environmental message. The controversy revealed a contemporary tension... how to reconcile cultural diversity and planetary responsibility?

Perhaps the answer lies in chefs like Tati Lund, who seek reconciliation, not exclusion. Her menu has shown that it's possible to be radical in ethics, yet generous in flavor.

More than a dinner, a manifesto.

The Earthshot Prize 2025 was not just a ceremony; it was a living metaphor for what we want to nurture in the future. When the guests tasted that golden cassava gnocchi, they were tasting more than a dish; they were experiencing a worldview.

Tati Lund's menu did what good art does: it provoked, moved, and inspired. It showed that veganism is not about absence, but abundance; not about restriction, but reinvention.

Amidst controversy, praise, and tropical aromas, the Earthshot dinner in Rio became a historic milestone. For the first time, a global celebration of environmental impact dared to place plant-based food at the center of the conversation and proved that ethics and pleasure can share the same plate.

Perhaps the future of Brazilian gastronomy lies not only in copper pots or inherited recipes, but in the courage to reinvent them. And, if veganism is any indication, that future will be served on plates with leaves, fruits, nuts, roots, and poetry.