The top restaurant Eleven Madison Park (EMP) in New York has retained its three Michelin stars after having turned plant-based. It had three stars for 11 years, but in May 2021 it became plant-based, which prompted critics to speculate if the move could make them lose the stars. However, at the end of summer 2022, a Michelin inspector tested the menu and awarded the restaurant three-star accreditation again.
Chef Daniel Humm wrote the following on the restaurant website: “The team and I took the jump to transform Eleven Madison Park into a plant-based fine dining restaurant knowing in our hearts that this is what we believed in. Getting today’s recognition from Michelin is an affirmation of that belief and we are incredibly grateful. There is no way I can thank enough the team that’s with us here now and every member who contributed throughout EMP’s nearly 25-year history… While it is always gratifying to earn accolades, this award holds added significance as it helps shine a light on the rich history of plant-based food that has long existed here and in cultures around the world. We are hopeful that this moment creates the opportunity to meaningfully impact our culture, community, and the future of our industry.”
Other fine-dining restaurants have also started to go in the same direction. Copenhagen-based three Michelin-starred Geranium owned by Danish chef Rasmus Kofoedwent went pescatarian in 2021. Alexis Gauthier, also a Michelin-star chef, turned his London brasserie, Gauthier Soho, plant-based in the summer of 2021. At the time he said to Plant-Based News, “I’m vegan myself; it would be unethical for me to profit from selling dead animals.” For us vegans, it is unethical for anyone, vegan or not, to profit from selling dead animals — which include, of course, fish.
