Chef Daniel Humm to reintroduce meat to vegan restaurant Eleven Madison Park

Chef Daniel Humm has announced plans to add “select animal products” to his three-Michelin-starred vegan restaurant, Eleven Madison Park in New York, starting from October.

The fine dining restaurant transitioned into a fully plant-based tasting menu in 2021 after partnering with Magic Farms.  

At the time, the chef said that cutting out animal products was a “risk worth taking” and that a restaurant experience should be about “more than what’s on the plate”.

However, in a post on Instagram today (13 August), Humm said: “Change is fundamental to who we are and how we grow. As I approach my 20th anniversary at EMP, I’ve decided it’s time for change again.

“Starting October 14th, we will integrate our new culinary language into a menu that embraces choice. We will offer a plant-based menu, of course, but also select animal products for certain dishes – fish, meat, and yes, our honey-lavender-glazed duck.

He added: “Eating together is the essence of who we are, and I’ve learned that to truly champion plant-based cooking, I need to create an environment where everyone feels welcome around the table.”

The move has been met with some criticism from animal liberation organisations such as PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). 

In 2021, Humm ended his restaurant partnership at Claridge’s hotel in London following a disagreement over the culinary direction of the venue.

The hotel objected to Humm’s plans to move his Michelin-starred restaurant Davies and Brook, which opened in 2019, to a fully plant-based menu.

At the time, Claridge’s said in a statement: “We completely respect and understand the culinary direction of a fully plant-based menu that Daniel has decided to embrace and champion and now wants to introduce in London. However, this is not the path we wish to follow here at Claridge’s at the moment, and therefore, regretfully, we have mutually agreed to go our separate ways.”

Eleven Madison Park was opened in 1998 by restaurateur Danny Meyer and Humm joined the business in 2006. In 2011, Humm and general manager Will Guidara purchased the restaurant from Meyer.