Prince William’s Earthshot Prize confronts major blow just days before ceremony

The Earthshot Prize, founded by Prince William, has run into considerable trouble ahead of its upcoming gala.

Saulo Jennings, a Brazilian chef and a gastronomy ambassador for the United Nations, quit his duties for the awards ceremony over being required to prepare a “vegan-only menu”.

Since the prize honours environmentalist causes and personalities, Jennings was expected to curate an entirely plant-based cuisine for the evening which is scheduled to take place in Rio de Janeiro this year. However, the chef did not agree and stated that the demand was “like asking Iron Maiden to play jazz. It was a lack of respect for local cuisine, for our culinary tradition.”

It is also crucial to highlight that the renowned culinarian had planned to include pirarucu, a fish native to the Amazon, as the key feature of his menu. While his resignation as the ceremony’s chef has resulted in substantial controversy as the local community interpreted “the reported dietary stipulation as dismissive of Amazonian culinary heritage ahead of the nation hosting the UN’s annual climate conference”, per GB News.

“I have nothing against vegans or British people, but I don’t want to abandon my culinary mission,” Jennings further told the New York Times. “My work has always been about balance, about honouring what the forest and rivers give us.”

Meanwhile, it remains to be seen how the Earthshot Prize will overcome the unexpected hurdle in time for the ceremony, which will take place on November 5. Though an anonymous source familiar with the preparations informed the American publication that Prince William played no part in the abrupt change or the menu selection.