Meat-free no more

In 2024, Daniel Humm released Eleven Madison Park – The Plant-Based Chapter, which celebrated the transformation of the former World’s Best Restaurant, Eleven Madison Park, into the first plant-based kitchen to earn three Michelin stars. When the restaurant returned to service in 2021 following the lifting of restaurant restrictions due to the pandemic, Humm envisioned a totally different sort of restaurant. It worked – until it didn’t. Humm recently announced that the restaurant will begin serving meat, fish and dairy again.

In a statement, Humm said that “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…Starting October 14th, we will integrate our new language into a menu that embraces choice. We will offer a plant-based menu, of course, but also select animal products for certain dishes.” While the dining room had remained busy, bookings for private events had dropped off significantly, so the restaurant was likely not able to remain viable in its plant-only configuration, although Humm didn’t say that finances played a role in the decision.

While most people find this to be a sensible direction for a restaurant to take, others disparaged the move. “Oh, so the whole ‘changing the world with plant-based cuisine’ act was only good while it brought headlines and customers?” said one chef in an Instagram post. Many comments echoed the fact that it seemed like money came before commitment to an ideal. But ideals don’t pay the rent.