The world's only three Michelin-starred vegan restaurant is bringing back meat

National Post

3 days ago

Chef Daniel Humm made history when he reopened New York City's Eleven Madison Park (EMP) with an entirely meatless menu in 2021. It became the world's first three Michelin-starred vegan restaurant the following year. After making the switch as a ' creative leap and a climate imperative,' Humm announced on Wednesday that he's bringing meat back to the menu, telling The New York Times, 'I didn't realize that we would exclude people.'
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As of Oct. 14, Eleven Madison Park's menu — seven to nine courses for US$365 ($504) — will include meat and seafood options, including the restaurant's signature lavender-honey glazed duck. An all-vegan menu will still be available.
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Humm told The Times that fluctuating finances were also a factor. Sparse bookings for private events and a slump in wine sales were challenging. 'It's hard to get 30 people for a corporate dinner to come to a plant-based restaurant.'
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Honey from Passard's beehives prevents the restaurant from being vegan.
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Passard has run the fine-dining destination for nearly 40 years, and it has held three stars since 1996. Once known as a leading rotisserie, he phased out red meat at Arpège 24 years ago and has focused instead on the vegetables he grows in his gardens in the west of France.
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Like Humm, Passard told AFP he's motivated by environmental concerns. But he's driven primarily by the culinary challenge of cooking plant-based food.
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'There's light in this cuisine,' Passard said. 'There are taste sensations that I've never experienced anywhere else.'
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Humm said in a statement announcing Eleven Madison Park's return to meat that he and his team 'felt liberated and cracked open' by the post-pandemic plant-based focus, creating eggless meringues, butter-free mille-feuille, koji stocks and 'land caviar.' Coinciding with the vegan shift, they started the four-acre Magic Farms in Hoosick Falls, New York, in 2021 to supply the restaurant's vegetables.