Eleven Madison Park ditching vegan menu after it cost too much green

New York Post

2 days ago

They're finally chickening out.
Eleven Madison Park, one of the world's most acclaimed restaurants, is ditching its vegan-only menu just four years after it swore off meat.
The vegetable-focused diet was simply costing too much green — and not the right kind, according to its lauded chef.
5 Eleven Madison Park is rolling back its vegan-only menu starting in October.
Brian Zak/NY Post
'It's hard to get 30 people for a corporate dinner to come to a plant-based restaurant,' Daniel Humm told the New York Times.
'I very much believed in the all-in approach, but I didn't realize that we would exclude people. 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.'
Humm formally announced the major menu switch-up in an announcement on the restaurant's website that admitted the limited, plant-based diet excluded a wide range of guests and their cash.
While running the first restaurant in the world to earn three Michelin stars for entirely plant-based dishes 'felt like walking on water,' Humm said too many customers made it clear that they were left unsatisfied with his 'land caviar' and smoked potatoes.
5 Chef Daniel Humm admitted the veggie-based menu excluded too many customers.
Brian Zak/NY Post
'It became clear that while we had built something meaningful, we had also unintentionally kept people out. This is the opposite of what we believe hospitality to be,' Humm wrote in the statement.
'The all-or-nothing approach was necessary to develop our expertise, but that too, comes with its own limitations. As a chef I want to continue to open paths, not close them.'
Starting October 14th, Eleven Madison Park will once again offer fish and meat — as well as its famous honey-lavender-glazed duck.
The news also comes as Humm is shopping a book about working at the resturaunt, which has been known as a regular stop for celebs and power players — from David and Victoria Beckham's date night there last year to Hollywood agent Ari Emanuel throwing an alleged 'hissy fit' when he wanted his meal served more quickly than the usual multicourse dining experience which can take up to three hours.
Unsurprisingly, the announcement has ruffled the feathers of vegans, who were quick to slam the restaurant on social media.
5 'As a chef I want to continue to open paths, not close them,' Humm said in a statement.
Eleven Madison Park / Instagram
'So good to hear climate change and animal ethics have been solved and we can focus on the most important moral issue: maximizing profit,' one user wrote.
'Yesterday, you were the owner of the world's most famous vegan restaurant. An inspiration. Somewhere vegans could aspire to visit for special birthdays and special occasions. Today, you are the owner of just another restaurant. I fell for your act. I thought you cared. You didn't,' wrote another.
The dinner items had been stripped from its $365 nine-course menu back in 2021 when the award-winning restaurant reopened from Covid-19 lockdowns.
At the time, Humm said he was inspired to take an environmentally sustainable approach — Animal-based foods, especially red meat, dairy, and farmed shrimp, are generally associated with the highest greenhouse gas emissions, according to the United Nations.
5 Eleven Madison Park's vegan menu includes Tonburi with pea cream and baby lettuce.
Bloomberg via Getty Images
'The way we have sourced our food, the way we're consuming our food, the way we eat meat, it is not sustainable,' Humm said at the time.
Whether the return to meat will include sustainable approaches to animal consumption — such as only offering free-range and organic items — is unclear.
Neither Humm nor Eleven Madison Park immediately responded to The Post's request for comment.
5 Duck served with a five-color potato pinwheel could be back on the menu starting in October.
Brian Zak/NY Post
Critics were quick to slam the vegan shrine, including one hangry food critic who roasted a beet dish for tasting like 'lemon Pledge' — but patrons continued to flock to the NoMad eatery in droves.
Eleven Madison Park continued to rack up accolades and its Michelin stars — but the fish-less flood dried up this year.
Bookings for private events grew sparse, and wine sales took a nose-dive: 'For wine aficionados, grand cru goes with meat,' he told The Times.
Customers will still be able to order an all-vegan menu if they choose — but customers are warned that the fixed $365 price applies whether they're gobbling up tofu or turkey.