The superstar chef and owner of iconic New York restaurant Eleven Madison Park on why he upended his successful format to begin again
Chef Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park, New York, at Mumbai's Masque restaurant Image: Swapnil Sakhare for Forbes India
Daniel Humm speaks softly and with a drawl. He smiles a lot and chortles, too, when describing his gluttony. A few hours before we met, the chef and owner of Eleven Madison Park (EMP), the iconic New York restaurant, had, somewhat reluctantly, dropped in at Mumbai’s Swati Snacks for lunch. “I didn’t know how much I could eat, because I had a large dinner planned too,” says Humm, whose restaurant is often frequented by the swish set. “But once I was there, I had to try everything,” he giggles.
The only time you see Humm somewhat agitated is when you ask him if the plant-based menu, with which he re-launched EMP last year after the pandemic, is just another fad. Why would he replace his globally acclaimed lavender-glazed duck or butter-poached lobster with, say, beet or squash? “Because,” Humm thumps his fist on the table to emphasise every word, “our food system is collapsing.”