The Michelin three-star restaurant’s foray into veganism is over.
Where’s the beef? It’s at Eleven Madison Park again. The duck will be back, too.
On Wednesday, chef Daniel Humm announced that after four years of being a vegan restaurant, Michelin three-star Eleven Madison Park will serve meat and seafood again. In May 2021, when the former No. 1 restaurant in the world announced it would eschew meat, Humm said he was making the bold move because the “current food system is simply not sustainable," garnering headlines around the world.
The Swiss-born chef’s change of heart—and menu—isn’t because he thinks our food system is sustainable again. He’s giving up the distinction as the world’s only Michelin three-star vegan restaurant to get more customers back in the door. “I very much believed in the all-in approach, but I didn’t realize that we would exclude people," Humm told the New York Times. “I have some anxiety that people are going to say, ‘Oh, he’s a hypocrite,’ but I know that the best way to continue to champion plant-based cooking is to let everyone participate around the table."
Eleven Madison Park’s plant-based era began when it emerged from its prolonged pandemic shutdown. EMP’s fellow N.Y.C. Michelin three-star dining destinations, like Le Bernardin, reopened much earlier in Covid’s wake, but Humm held back. When he did reopen, his plant-based decision made a drastic change to the restaurant’s mission. There were certainly hiccups along the way. An unflattering review in the New York Times was followed by reports of staff turmoil and the decision to reinstate tipping, effectively raising the prices of the restaurant. In the Times review, the newspaper’s then-food critic Pete Wells revealed the restaurant’s private dining room still offered beef at the time, which also caused some consternation. It not only contradicted the ethos of the new menu, but also foreshadowed a financial reality that led to Humm abandoning plant-based-only cooking.
Evan Sung
In explaining why he’s bringing meat back to Eleven Madison Park, Humm has cited that events in the private dining room are an important revenue stream—one that hasn’t flowed as strongly since the vegan menu was instituted. “It’s hard to get 30 people for a corporate dinner to come to a plant-based restaurant," Humm told the Times.
Responding to EMP and Humm’s Instagram post announcing the change, vegan diners have been sounding off, upset with the backtrack. “This is so disappointing… maybe it was never about animals and compassion, but fashion and headlines," wrote one commenter, while another expressed their disapproval by posting a GIF of Patrick Star from SpongeBob SquarePants booing Mr. Krabs.
The restaurant’s meat, seafood, and famed honey-lavender-glazed duck will make their return on October 14. Reservations for the new (old?) Eleven Madison Park will be available on September 1. We’re guessing the aforementioned commenters won’t be booking.
From the article by Jeremy Repanich
