Eleven Madison Park, a Michelin three-star restaurant in New York City that often ranks as one of the world’s best, will serve a plant-based menu when they reopen for indoor dining on June 10th.
“I’m excited to share that we’ve made the decision to serve a plant-based menu in which we do not use any animal products,” Chef Daniel Humm announced on the restaurant’s website on Monday. “Every dish is made from vegetables, both from the earth and the sea, as well as fruits, legumes, fungi, grains, and so much more.”
Known for his lavender honey glazed duck and butter poached lobster, Humm said that it was becoming obvious to him and his team that the current animal-based food system is simply not sustainable.
They took the most delicious aspects of their dishes to create the same level of flavor and texture without meat. “It’s crucial to us that no matter the ingredients, the dish must live up to some of my favorites of the past,” he said.
“We are obsessed with making the most flavorful vegetable broths and stocks. Our days are consumed by developing fully plant-based milks, butters and creams,” Humm said about the process of transitioning to a plant-based menu.
“We are exploring fermentation, and understand that time is one of the most precious ingredients. What at first felt limiting began to feel freeing, and we are only scratching the surface,” he added.
Humm wants to reinvent fine dining: “A restaurant experience is about more than what’s on the plate. We are thrilled to share the incredible possibilities of plant-based cuisine while deepening our connection to our homes: both our city and our planet.”
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