"Couching hard-nosed business calculations in a moral epiphany feels apt for Humm, now more celebrity food guru than elite restaurateur, who spends his time whining about the fragile "global food system" and "social inequalities" in between sherpa-guided meditations in the wilderness. There's an implicit dig in the framing - how could I expect that my clientele just wouldn't be as socially conscious as I am? - but Humm was about the only one surprised."
"First and foremost: the finances. "It's hard to get 30 people for a corporate dinner to come to a plant-based restaurant," Humm told the Times, noting the negative feedback from diners over the years. Still, he framed the move in moral terms, explaining how he didn't "realize that [the vegan menu] would exclude people." To this, I can only muster an eye roll."
"EMP went vegan in 2021 as urban elites rushed to out-do each other in the embrace of social causes. Critics and diners alike were skeptical, the Times notes (the paper gave a lukewarm review of the "plant kingdom's uncanny valley" at the time). Yet Humm still clung to veganism over what he called the "anxiety" of being labeled a "hypocrite.""
Eleven Madison Park is reinstating select meat dishes after adopting a plant-based menu during the pandemic. Financial considerations drove the reversal, with difficulty securing large corporate bookings and years of negative diner feedback cited. The change was framed in moral terms, with acknowledgement that the previous plant-based menu could exclude people. The restaurant's vegan pivot in 2021 aligned with urban elites embracing social causes, but critics and diners expressed skepticism and described some dishes as an uncanny valley of the plant kingdom. The chef maintained veganism for a time out of anxiety about being labeled a hypocrite. Elite institutions can enact such stunts temporarily.
Read at The Spectator World
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