Latest news with #Humm
Mint
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Mint
The Big Restaurant That Failed Veganism
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- To atone before god, the book of Leviticus prescribes choosing two goats, one of which is slain as sacrifice and the other set loose to bear the sins of the people of Israel into the wilderness. That did not mean the animal was home free. Tradition states that the 'scapegoat' was pursued and dashed to pieces as it was driven off a cliff. Such is the origin of our modern-day, secular practice of placing blame on others for the mistakes we've committed ourselves. There is an actual goat involved in a preeminent restaurant's decision to put meat back on its menu after four years of veganism. In an interview with the New York Times, chef Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park in Manhattan relates that he had an epiphany during a trip to Greece earlier this year. He and some colleagues traveled into the mountains to watch a shepherd slaughter a goat. 'It's very moving and there's such respect,' he said. 'If you had seen the whole cycle, of course you would never waste a bite of this.' He spent the next several months thinking about that... Apart from having a goat to blame, Humm has other reasons for returning to meat (which is to be served only upon request and in relatively small portions with the new menu that launches in October). Among those related to the New York Times, he was no longer comfortable with carnivores feeling excluded from EMP; inspiration for fresh vegan dishes had grown sparser; and, finally, he told the newspaper: 'It's hard to get 30 people for a corporate dinner to come to a plant-based restaurant.' And so EMP's famous honey-lavender-glazed duck will be resurrected, even as the chef clings to the principles of the restaurant's vegan period. Humm told the newspaper that he expected to be excoriated for his decision to revive the omnivore roots of the 27-year old restaurant. And he was prophetic. I'm doing it right now. The most biting (and hilarious) parody of Humm's official statement is on restaurateur Eli Sussman's Instagram account (@thesussmans): 'We will still offer a plant based menu in a purely performative manner to pander to media and vegans… What I've learned is that to champion plant based cooking, I need to accept that the best plant based cooking involves meat.' The killer line: 'We need food to survive and for $395 a person I need to make sure you feel like it's sort of worth it.' First, let me say that I am not a vegan. But I do not believe that plant-based cuisine leaves little room for fresh inspiration. A visionary chef can create food that even carnivores can enjoy. That's the case with Plates here in London, the soul-stirring project of Kirk Haworth that's just over a year old. He works with a kind of molecular magic but with the comfort level dialed way up. So much so that you think he's cheating by sneaking in real ricotta (its cashew-based) and ice cream (oat milk). And a course of sourdough laminated with whipped coconut and olive oil can only be disliked by people who think bread must be, well, bready. All of his creations can be categorized as plant-based or vegan — but he doesn't use the words. That's because he's come up with a cuisine of his own — a culinary philosophy that's the result of preparing food to help him heal from a yearslong bout with Lyme disease. The offerings at Plates may not be the most Instagram-friendly, but the flavors and vibrant intellect that inspired them are oh so satisfying. With its quiet pyrotechnics, Haworth's Plates speaks from the heart. EMP's food can be gorgeous. Nevertheless, the scuttlebutt among restaurant folks is that a lot of its inspiration is rather liberally borrowed. Big-time kitchens have a lot in common with the Big Tech companies that re-engineer chips or software to replicate a function already patented by rivals but different enough to claim a patent of its own. One of the more remarked upon dishes at the vegan EMP was a painstakingly prepared beet that was baked in an elaborate clay pot that was then cracked open at tableside. In 2021, Peter Wells, who was then the New York Times restaurant critic, sniffed that the result smelled of lemon-scented wood polish. He noted that a much more successful (and edible) version had been produced by the Icelandic chef Gunnar Karl Gislason at his restaurant Agern, in Grand Central Station, just 18-blocks north of EMP. Agern had closed the year before EMP became plant-based. Humm has a chameleon habit of changing his restaurant's colors every few years or so, as if responding to trends. In 2012, EMP took on a New York City theme, including waiters emulating three-card monte sharks and a carnival atmosphere, with a four-hour tasting menu. (Tickets by Albert Adria in Barcelona, which had a comparable circus-like approach, opened the previous year.) Seven years later, Humm switched from city slicker to minimalism (with a simplicity echoing some of the dishes in Rene Redzepi's resurgent Noma, which had reopened in Copenhagen the year before). In 2021, he turned EMP vegan, as some critics noted, just as plant-based cuisine was becoming a social trend. This year, as beef and even tallow make a comeback, meat is returning to his restaurant. EMP started off serving French brasserie food before Humm took over the kitchen in 2005. Despite all this snark, when I lived in New York, I'd sit in Eleven Madison Park if given the opportunity, even if it was at the bar and I had to pay enormous sums for a bejeweled snack and a glass of champagne. Had I not learned my lesson from the hundreds of dollars spent on a meal that immediately after had me looking for a hot dog cart in midtown because I was famished? What was the appeal? The space. With the opulent exception of the Villard in the New York Palace hotel, Eleven Madison Park is an immensity where you can let your make-it-here-make-it-anywhere fantasies fly. The interior was magnetic before Humm took over the kitchen and remains exhilarating even after a 2017 renovation. It is a perennial reminder of New York's perpetual gilded age, a pampering dreamscape kept up by an impeccable front-of-the-house staff and a kitchen of perhaps 50 detail-obsessed culinary artisans. All it needs is honest food. More From Bloomberg Opinion: This column reflects the personal views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Howard Chua-Eoan is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion covering culture and business. He previously served as Bloomberg Opinion's international editor and is a former news director at Time magazine. More stories like this are available on
The Province
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Province
The world's only three Michelin-starred vegan restaurant is bringing back meat
After four vegan years, chef Daniel Humm announced he's bringing meat back to the menu at Eleven Madison Park The three-Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park was named No. 1 in The World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2017. Photo byChef 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.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors 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. '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 told The Times. According to the comments on a post announcing the menu update, his fears were warranted. 'Oh, so the whole 'changing the world with plant-based cuisine' act was only good while it brought headlines and customers?' one Instagram user commented. Another said, 'Claiming inclusivity is the reason when you're charging $400 (per person) is absolutely wild 😂' Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 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.' Eleven Madison Park's announcement coincides with another acclaimed chef deepening his commitment to plant-based food. Once known as a leading rotisserie, chef Alain Passard's Paris restaurant Arpège became the first three-Michelin-starred establishment in France to switch to an entirely plant-based menu on July 21. Alain Passard phased out red meat at his Paris restaurant Arpège 24 years ago to focus on vegetables he grows in his gardens. Photo by Bertrand Guay/AFP via Getty Images Honey from Passard's beehives prevents the restaurant from being vegan. 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. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 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. 'There's light in this cuisine,' Passard said. 'There are taste sensations that I've never experienced anywhere else.' 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. While Eleven Madison Park retained its Michelin stars, Humm's vegan dishes received mixed reviews. 'Some are so obviously standing in for meat or fish that you almost feel sorry for them,' Pete Wells, former restaurant critic for The Times, wrote in 2021. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Over four vegan years, Humm said they've been paying attention to guests' feedback. '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,' he wrote. 'As I approach my 20th anniversary at EMP, I've decided it's time for change again.' Read More Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our cookbook and recipe newsletter, Cook This, here. Vancouver Whitecaps News Local News Vancouver Whitecaps Homes
Atlantic
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Atlantic
Turns Out Meat Is Still the Ultimate Luxury
A few years ago, during the coronavirus pandemic, Daniel Humm had an epiphany. Human reliance on animal products was cooking the planet, and, as a chef, reducing his reliance on them could be part of a solution. When his New York City restaurant, Eleven Madison Park—which had once been named the world's best restaurant —reopened, it would be free of animal products, making it the first three-Michelin-star dining room to bear that distinction. Humm seemed reinvigorated by the change, and very, very eager to talk about it. 'From a creative place,' he told his friend Gabriela Hearst in Interview magazine at the time, 'the world does not need another dry-aged ribeye or butter-poached lobster.' He went on The Tonight Show and Morning Joe; he released an illustrated journal featuring observations such as 'our cooking should not conform to society,' as well as his own hand-drawn portraits of lentils, broccoli, and a popsicle, rendered in a rustic, neo-Expressionist-by-way-of-nursery-school style. He talked about going plant-based as both an ethical and an artistic imperative. 'It became very clear to me that our idea of what luxury is had to change,' Humm said at the time. 'We couldn't go back to doing what we did before.' He would make a small but decisive correction to a food system that was 'simply not sustainable.' Four years later, vegan luxury dining is apparently the thing that wasn't sustainable. Yesterday, Humm announced that, after creating 'a new culinary language,' building 'something meaningful,' and igniting 'a debate that transcended food,' he will go back to speaking his previous culinary language. Eleven Madison Park will continue to offer a plant-based menu, but will also serve 'select animal products for certain dishes.' These select animal products, he said, will include 'fish' and 'meat.' And 'honey-lavender-glazed duck.' And oysters, and lobster. Also, chicken, maybe. In an interview with The New York Times, Humm said he was moved to return animals to the menu for reasons of inclusion. 'I very much believed in the all-in approach, but I didn't realize that we would exclude people,' he said. '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.' Elsewhere in the piece, he was somewhat more direct: Diners had become less interested in what Humm was offering. Sales of wine—which tends to come with a heavy markup and is thus a highly important part of many restaurants' business—were down, because people seemed to be less inclined to uncork a $1,500 bottle of Côte-Rôtie when a big bloody steak wasn't also involved. Bookings for EMP's private events were also flagging, Humm said: 'It's hard to get 30 people for a corporate dinner to come to a plant-based restaurant.' Well, yeah. The thing is, people really, really like meat. All the time, but especially when they're paying up to $365 a head for dinner before tax, tip, and beverages. Between 2014 and 2024, annual per capita meat consumption rose—even as various publications heralded the end of beef, even as the consequences of climate change became even more unignorable, even before the secretary of health started telling people to eat tallow. Sales of plant-based meat have been declining since 2021, according to the Good Food Institute, a nonprofit devoted to alternative proteins. In June, the CEO of Impossible Foods, which sells high-tech meat substitutes, told The Wall Street Journal that his company was considering taking an approach similar to Humm's, developing a half-beef burger. Though plenty of animal-free restaurants seem to be doing perfectly well, in fine dining they may be the exception rather than the rule. Of the United States' 263 Michelin-starred restaurants, just four are exclusively vegetarian or vegan. Americans just cannot seem to quit meat, no matter how good the alternative tastes. But then again, part of Humm's problem might have been that his alternative didn't taste very good. When Pete Wells, then the New York Times ' restaurant critic, went to EMP in 2021, he found food that he described as 'acrid' and 'distorted,' including an extraordinarily fussy-sounding beet dish that 'tastes like Lemon Pledge and smells like a burning joint.' The people who are willing to shell out hundreds of dollars for food tend to pay attention to reviews, and they tend to want to feel like they're getting what they've paid for. What happens in fine-dining restaurants does, eventually, trickle down to the rest of the food industry, but the problem with appointing yourself as an agent for the revolution is that then you really need people to buy what you are selling. And you can only be one of the world's most influential restaurants if you are making enough money to stay open. The idea of a place such as Eleven Madison Park being on the vanguard of social change was funny even before it was revealed to be temporary. A nice meal is fundamentally a luxury good—one where no expense is spared, customers are always comfortable, the linens get washed every day, and the appeal is a sense of perfection. It is the opposite of sacrifice, which is what responding to climate change will require from all of us. Humm is right, of course—meat really is unsustainable. So is hubris.
New York Post
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Eleven Madison Park abandoning veganism shows what New Yorkers really want: Steak
The truth about what New Yorkers really want to eat bit Eleven Madison Park on its precious, plant-based butt this week, with the announcement that chef/owner Daniel Humm's menu would no longer be exclusively vegan. But what took them so long to come to their snooty senses? For 15 years, Humm ran the kitchen at EMP to global acclaim, earning three Michelin stars and a spot atop the World's 50 Best Restaurant list in 2017. Then, in 2021, he abruptly switched to a vegan menu. It laid a big, fat egg — an item forbidden on vegan menus — with Big Apple critics, who ridiculed its three-hour, nine-course prix-fixe meal starting at $350 a head. 4 This week, chef Daniel Humm announced that Eleven Madison Park would no longer be exclusively vegan. Brian Zak/NY Post They particularly piled on a beet that was laboriously tweaked and tortured into a stand-in for duck — 'cooked 18-ways [and tasting] like pretty much any other beet' (Adam Platt on and 'tastes like Lemon Pledge and smells like a burning joint' (Pete Wells in the New York Times.) I could have warned Humm against throwing out his beloved EMP dishes such as lacquered duck in favor of a rigidly purist, vegan menu that seemed more about striking a blow at 'animal exploitation' than about making customers happy. I didn't go back to EMP after it swallowed the vegan Kool-Aid. Root vegetables and laboratory-tweaked seeds without meat, fish or dairy products are neither my — nor most people's — cup of tea. I order steak only occasionally, even in steakhouses. But to the chagrin of 'save the earth' types who put animal consumption on par with war crimes, beef in many shapes and styles is the runaway favorite dish of New York's dining millions. They want steak. More than Italian, more than Japanese, more than tacos. Just count the seats! 4 The restaurant introduced an all-vegan menu, with dishes like pea 'caviar', in 2021. Bloomberg via Getty Images It's as hard to book tables at Daniel Boulud's great new American steakhouse La Tete D'Or, which opened in November, as it was at EMP in its animal product-serving prime. La Tete was preceded by a stampede of giant, successful new steakhouses: Delmonico's, Brooklyn Chophouse Times Square, Beefbar, Mastro's, Hawksmoor, Bourbon Steak and Le Relais de Venise. Then there's the just-opened Mexican-style Cuerno and Korean-inspired Gui. In recent years, we've also gotten a second Brazilian-style Fogo de Chao at the World Trade Center, a third Capital Grille, a second Rocco's, a second Del Frisco's and a third Empire Steak. A new outpost of Cote is coming soon in Midtown. Meanwhile, vegan places such as Modern Love, Seasoned Vegan and Blossom have been folding, as my colleague Jennifer Gould reported, with owners hilariously blaming their flops on 'congestion pricing.' 4 Dishes like Humm's famous duck breast were taken off the menu. Brian Zak/NY Post The truth wasn't lost on real estate king David W. Levinson, who in early 2015 tapped Humm with much hoopla to run a traditional high-end restaurant at his then-rising 425 Park Avenue. When Humm made EMP vegan in 2021 and announced plans to do the same at 425 Park, which had just opened and was seeking office tenants, Levinson went with another chef. 'We didn't want a vegan restaurant at 425 Park Avenue,' Levinson told me in 2022. 'I want [Humm] to succeed, but it was a no-brainer not to have a vegan restaurant.' Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Four Twenty Five opened in the high-rise in late 2023 and had been consistently full ever since. After the early hysterical vegan buzz subsided, EMP could no longer count on booking lucrative private parties, which are most restaurants' cash cows. Even for many regular customers, EMP was a one-time, try-anything affair. Not enough diners wanted to blow a second fortune on an interminable meal without any animal-derived products, not even cheese, butter, honey or gelatin. I had fine vegan dishes at the original Cafe Boulud and at long-gone Del Posto and Brushstroke, but as part of longer tasting menus — not as the entire menu, which EMP forced on us. 4 Humm said he hopes that adding animal products back to the menu will bring more people into the restaurant. Bloomberg via Getty Images Starting on Oct. 14, 2025, EMP's web site says, 'In addition to our plant-based menu, we will offer select animal proteins for certain dishes — including fish, shellfish, and poultry.' Wowee! But —wait for it — there's pointedly no mention of beef. Humm said he didn't intend for his original menu to 'unintentionally keep people out.' I hope his new menu options draw a wider clientele. Otherwise, EMP might soon be RIP.
Vancouver Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Vancouver Sun
The world's only three Michelin-starred vegan restaurant is bringing back meat
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.' 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. Discover the best of B.C.'s recipes, restaurants and wine. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of West Coast Table will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. '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 told The Times. According to the comments on a post announcing the menu update, his fears were warranted. 'Oh, so the whole 'changing the world with plant-based cuisine' act was only good while it brought headlines and customers?' one Instagram user commented. Another said, 'Claiming inclusivity is the reason when you're charging $400 (per person) is absolutely wild 😂' 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.' Eleven Madison Park's announcement coincides with another acclaimed chef deepening his commitment to plant-based food. Once known as a leading rotisserie, chef Alain Passard's Paris restaurant Arpège became the first three-Michelin-starred establishment in France to switch to an entirely plant-based menu on July 21. Honey from Passard's beehives prevents the restaurant from being vegan. 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. 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. 'There's light in this cuisine,' Passard said. 'There are taste sensations that I've never experienced anywhere else.' 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. While Eleven Madison Park retained its Michelin stars, Humm's vegan dishes received mixed reviews. 'Some are so obviously standing in for meat or fish that you almost feel sorry for them,' Pete Wells, former restaurant critic for The Times, wrote in 2021 . Over four vegan years, Humm said they've been paying attention to guests' feedback. '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,' he wrote. 'As I approach my 20th anniversary at EMP, I've decided it's time for change again.' Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our cookbook and recipe newsletter, Cook This, here .
