Chef Daniel Humm

The Vegan Star

The Swiss chef and restaurateur made it big in the US with three Michelin stars to his name and several other accolades. Eleven Madison Park is NYC’s fine dine of repute thanks to him

Interviewed by Lyle Michael

What you see is what you get with Chef Daniel Humm. No time for games. With three Michelin stars under his belt, James Beard awards and the No 1 spot on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants List, the Swiss-born chef and owner of the award-winning Eleven Madison Park, NYC, knows just what he wants, what the world needs and how to go about serving it.

On his third sojourn to our bountiful lands, he continues to remain fascinated by the possibilities for a plant-based regime and menu inclusions at EMP and Eleven Madison Home – his plant-based kitchen and pantry supply store. It’s been two and a half years since EMP went plant-based and it continues to hold fort as the first restaurant of its kind to boast three Michelin stars. It is what Chef Daniel loves to do most. Cook! And vegan food. “Eleven Madison Park is selling an experience; it is like going to a theatre. It can only be achieved with vegan food for we are able to offer a whole colour palette with such ingredients,” shares Chef. “I am a student of French cuisine and when I started I, too, wanted Michelin stars and to cook like my mentors. But now I feel the food system is broken. It should be more about sustainable cooking. That’s the new way forward.” Plant-based is endless, he reiterates, and you make the choice for what’s on your plate.

Cooking and serving multi-course meals is a conversation between customer and chef, as Daniel avers. “Earlier it was about creating something from your craftsmanship. Over time, it emerged to gaining creativity from your food. You must take your guests on a journey as they expect the best from you.” And plant-based cooking does not take place overnight; it is a systematic and well-thought out process. It is also a huge risk and a massive shift. Chef Daniel’s experience with the erstwhile Davies and Brook at Claridge’s London is proof enough. The disagreement over his request to rechristen D&B entirely vegan did not go down well with the powers that be leading to its closure, approximately two years after its opening. EMP continues to roar ahead, under Daniel’s aegis, as part of his hospitality group Make It Nice.

That’s what food has the power to do, doesn’t it? Make the world a nicer place! During the COVID-19 pandemic, Daniel and his team were sending out 3000 meals a day to be served throughout underserved neighbourhoods like Bronx and Brooklyn. All this as part of Rethink Food – a NYC-based non-profit aimed at creating a sustainable food system that works in practicality – of which Daniel is a co-founder.

“In 2017, EMP was awarded Best Restaurant in the World. That was when we reached the summit and it was clear there had to be a higher purpose. The responsibility to create magic lies with me,” says Chef Daniel. Cooking IS magic, a responsibility owed not just to the diner but the environment more so. Which is why on his travels through the regions of India: Kashmir, Rishikesh, Rajasthan, Chandigarh, Poona, Delhi, Bombay, Daniel found the ingredients he needed to carry out his sustainable menus. These menus, as he tells us, stemmed from collaborations with like-minded individuals like AditiDugar of Masque, where one idea flows to the next and a system of sustainable cooking is created. It’s a nod to nature’s best when you can employ her resources in serving up dishes like tomato broth and carrot tartare – the vegetarian alternative to the steak tartare which all NYC restaurants have sans faute on their menu. He’s taken up the responsibility, is vegan himself, of course, and is putting it into words with cookbooks, five in total, with the latest one a journal of how plant-based cooking came together.

Fascinating, how it all came together for the chef who left Switzerland at a young age to move to San Fran in 2003 and take Taj’s Campton Place to the heights as its Exec Chef. Who moved coasts to work at EMP in 2006 and take it over in 2011. Who carries his influences from then till now with memories of those lush tomatoes he picked during some colourful summers of yore in Provence and Italy.