With a move away from meat crucial to reducing emissions , more Michelin-starred restaurants are pivoting to plant-based and elevating vegetables
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With a move away from meat crucial to reducing emissions , more Michelin-starred restaurants are pivoting to plant-based and elevating vegetables
Eleven Madison Park , New York City
WRITTEN BY : KATE BIRCH
Last year , one of the world ’ s most critically acclaimed restaurants , three Michelinstarred Eleven Madison Park pulled off a culinary feat – becoming the first plantbased restaurant in the world with three Michelin stars .
It was during the pandemic that Chef-owner Daniel Humm made the plant-based pivot . Humm realised that the world and people had irrevocably changed , that the notion of luxury needed to be redefined , and that he simply couldn ’ t reopen in the same way .
“ The current food system is simply not sustainable , in so many ways ,” he says .
He ’ s not wrong . Climate experts are in widespread agreement that a move away from meat is necessary to avoid total climate breakdown . Animal agriculture creates at least 14.5 % of all humanmade greenhouse gas emissions , using almost 80 % of the world ’ s agricultural land to provide less than 20 % of global calories .
So , in a stark departure , one described by The New York Times as a “ bold vision of luxury dining ”, in 2021 , the Manhattan fine-dining establishment replaced its glazed duck , roast suckling pig and poached lobster with summer squash , lemongrass and marinated tofu , and cucumber with melon and smoked daikon .
“ Vegetables are the future ”
Zineb Hattab Chef , one Michelin star Kle in Zurich
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