Meat and greet!
Eleven Madison Park chef Daniel Humm is shopping a book behind the scenes, sources tell Page Six, at the same time he revealed in an interview on Wednesday that his high-end vegan restaurant will put meat back on the menu.
A source told Page Six that Humm is currently shopping the tome to publishers via his agents.
The move comes at the same time that Humm told the New York Times that his famous eatery will ditch its all vegan menu after the eatery went exclusively plant-based in 2021.
He also announced on social media that the menu will again include meat dishes such as, “our honey-lavender-glazed duck.”
The move back to meat, however, proved polarizing online with comments on Instagram ranging from “It’s sad to see you betrayed animals,” and, “So good to hear climate change and animal ethics have been solved and we can focus on the most important moral issue: maximizing profit” to, “calm down folks! It’s just a restaurant,” and, “Congratulations right step in the right direction.”
Humm told the Times of the meat move: “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.”
According to the report, business was down at NYC’s Eleven Madison Park since it went vegan. “Bookings for private events, an essential stream of income, have been particularly sparse,” reported the outlet, with Humm commenting, “It’s hard to get 30 people for a corporate dinner to come to a plant-based restaurant.”
Wine sales were down too, said Humm, since oenophiles want meat with their upscale selections.
The place has offered a 10-course vegan tasting menu, which costs $365 per person, and the new menu, starting Oct. 14, will still offer seven to nine courses for the same price.
Humm has previously released high-end cookbooks, and he has collaborated on an upcoming children’s book, “Daniel’s Dream,” out next year. Details are sparse on the new tome, but it could mark his first foodie memoir.
Eleven Madison Park has been known as a regular stop for celebs and power players — from David and Victoria Beckham’s date night there last year to Hollywood agent Ari Emanuel throwing an alleged “hissy fit” when he wanted his meal served more quickly than the usual multicourse dining experience which can take up to three hours.
Humm, 48, has lived a colorful life outside the kitchen: He recently married “Succession” star and NYC socialite Annabelle Dexter-Jones in front of friends and family like Dexter-Jones’ stepbrother Mark Ronson and his wife, Grace Gummer, as well as Questlove, artist Francesco Clemente and scribe Fran Lebowitz.
Humm also dated Oscar nominee Demi Moore in 2022.
We’ve reached out to Humm for comment.
During the pandemic, Eleven Madison Park closed for more than a year, and Humm told the Times that he fought off bankruptcy and worked with his nonprofit Rethink Food to serve a million free meals.
The post Eleven Madison Park chef Daniel Humm shopping book to publishers — as his $365-per-meal vegan restaurant offers meat again appeared first on Page Six.
