The only three-Michelin-starred vegan restaurant reintroduces meat to the menu

The prestigious New York establishment Eleven Madison Park, renowned worldwide for its exceptional cuisine based entirely on vegetables and plants, has decided to revisit its menu and once again offer animal products.

“The plant-based menu is a bold take on gastronomy and elevates the concept to new heights. The freshly baked, delicately crispy vegan bread, served with faux butter, is a magical creation. A tonburi dumpling, mimicking caviar, presented with horseradish cream and accompanied by a radish tostada with a dash of pumpkin seed butter is simply dazzling.”

The Michelin Guide bestows this praise on Eleven Madison Park , the "temple of modern elegance" presided over with "passionate dedication and masterful precision" by Swiss chef Daniel Humm. The exceptional and innovative vegan cuisine has raised the establishment to the rank of three stars. A singularity on a global scale, on the verge of disappearing.

After four years of offering a vegan menu, in a spirit of environmental protection that earned the chef both unbridled praise and scathing criticism, the Manhattan restaurant will reintroduce animal proteins to the menu next October. Because the hospitality at Eleven Madison Park has ultimately suffered, as has its financial situation, Chef Humm told the New York Times .

The all-plant approach proved too exclusive, in the sense that some customers felt left out. A phenomenon the chef admits he underestimated, but in response, he realized that the best way to champion vegan haute cuisine is to bring everyone together around the table and allow everyone to express their choices.

Last year, the kitchen team struggled to maintain the level of creativity, as well as the work and staffing levels required for the job. As a telling example, Chef Humm points to the challenges of event management, acknowledging the challenge of attracting a private corporate event to a vegan menu. Not to mention the issue of wine pairing, "great vintages being associated with meat for fans," he admits to the NYT.

The revamped menu will still offer seven to nine courses for $365, and will remain largely prepared without animal products. Diners will have a few opportunities during the meal to choose meat (aged duck), shellfish, or seafood (oysters, lobster) in place of vegetables.

Customers who wish to do so will still be able to access a fully vegan meal because Daniel Humm does not deny the transformation carried out in 2021 when the restaurant reopened, having remained closed for 15 months due to Covid.