In 2021, when Eleven Madison Park opened its doors again following the COVID lockdown, chef-owner Daniel Humm decided it was time to take the next step in “dining and culinary innovation” and turn its eight-to-10 course menu entirely vegan. While some milk and honey would still be offered with tea, gone was its iconic honey-lavender-glazed duck and any other sign of animal products. The decision came as a result of Humm’s concern about health and sustainability.
“The way we have sourced our food, the way we’re consuming our food, the way we eat meat, it is not sustainable,” he told NPR at the time.
Vegans traveled far and wide to enjoy the restaurant, the first in the world to receive three Michelin stars for its plant-based menu. And now, they’re enraged.
Because in the four and a half years of being entirely vegan (which was met with some very mixed reviews), Humm realized excluding meat and seafood from its fine dining experience wasn’t sustainable.
“It’s hard to get 30 people for a corporate dinner to come to a plant-based restaurant,” Humm told the New York Times. And wine sales tanked, too.
“For wine aficionados, grand cru goes with meat,” he said.
Indeed, it turns out the decision was both financial and an attempt to be more inclusive.
“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.”
The revamped menu, which begins Oct. 14, will still offer seven to nine courses for $365, and will largely be prepared without animal products. Diners will have a few opportunities along the way to opt for meat or seafood instead of vegetables. That might mean an oyster for a first course, a small serving of lobster or the dry-aged duck lacquered with lavender honey that has long been singled out by critics as a standout. Mr. Humm is also thinking of adding a chicken dish. Diners who want an all-vegan meal can still have one. (NYT)
For now, some vegans are seething.
"Devastating that someone with so much influence in the food space traded their integrity and animals’ lives for money," said one Instagram user commenting on the story. "Another hero for our collective future, the planet, and animals has fallen from grace. Heartbreaking."
"I feel gutted," said another.
"No amount of money can justify reversing your values and killing animals who think, feel, and want to live," raged PETA. "You’re betraying animals and kind consumers. Every animal is someone."
Others celebrated the news.
Eleven Madison Park just ended their vegan experiment. The city rejoices. Meat’s back on the menu, and all is right with the world again. https://t.co/7vrkyzd1SK
— J.C. Parets (@JC_ParetsX) August 14, 2025
