Claridge’s chef walks out after beef over his vegan menu
Holder of three Michelin stars resigns after hotel decides meat-free menu is not to its customers’ taste
CLARIDGE’S three Michelin star chef has dramatically parted ways with the Mayfair hotel in a row over his desire to give the restaurant a vegan makeover.
Daniel Humm, the celebrity chef, was lobbying for a meat-free future at the helm of Davies and Brook, the fivestar hotel’s restaurant and his first outlet in London.
Talks were under way to overhaul the establishment’s menu, famed for its foie gras, roasted venison and dry-aged duck, after the 42-year-old scrapped meat from his “world-best” New York restaurant and made it fully vegan.
Claridge’s told The Daily Telegraph yesterday that its culinary offering was under review, “including the possible introduction of a fully plant-based menu”.
But the row came to a head last night and Mr Humm confirmed he was leaving the hotel after two years, insisting “the future, for me, is plant-based”.
A spokesman for Claridge’s said: “We completely respect and understand the culinary direction of a fully plant-based menu that Daniel has decided to embrace and champion and now wants to introduce in London.
“However, this is not the path we wish to follow here at Claridge’s at the moment, and therefore, regretfully, we have mutually agreed to go our separate ways.”
In May the Swiss cook transformed the menu at Eleven Madison Park, his three Michelin star restaurant in Manhattan, to scrap renowned meat dishes, such as its glazed duck, for an entirely vegan offering.
In a move that raised eyebrows in the industry, new fine-dining plates, such as cucumber with melon and smoked daikon and sunflower butter with bread rolls appeared on the menu.
Mr Humm received a scathing review from the acclaimed New York Times food critic Pete Wells – but justified his decision, saying: “the current food system is simply not sustainable, in so many ways.
“We need to inspire change.” A similar vision was being pursued at Claridge’s, prompting concern that its two centuries of culinary tradition, including foie gras torchon, butter-poached native lobster and roasted venison, would be ditched for climatefriendly vegetables with a lower carbon footprint.
Last night Mr Humm said it was “with sadness” that in December he will be leaving Davies and Brook, which has gained a Michelin star, adding: “The future, for me, is plant-based. This is our mission and what we stand by. This is not the direction that Claridge’s feels is right for them.”
He said it was a “dream come true” to join the hotel in 2019 and praised its “beautiful restaurant, with a dedicated and passionate team”.
This week Mr Humm, a leading voice in the charge to make the food industry more eco friendly, visited the Cop26 summit in Glasgow and expressed his wish to “make plant-based food delicious, magical and luxurious”.
After the vegan overhaul at his New York restaurant, Mr Wells wrote: “Almost none of the main ingredients taste quite like themselves in the 10-course, $335 menu the restaurant unwrapped this June after a 15-month pandemic hiatus.
“Some are so obviously standing in for meat or fish that you almost feel sorry for them.”