Elite Traveler May-June 2015

elite traveler MAY/JUNE 2015 ISSUE 3 71

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5 The Fat Duck Bray, UK (reopening second half of 2015) Head chef: Heston Blumenthal 2014/3 6 Robuchon au Dôme Macau, China Head chef: Francky Semblat 2014/16 7 Per Se New York, US Head chef: Thomas Keller 2014/11 8 La Pergola Rome, Italy Head chef: Heinz Beck 2014/8 9 Le Bernardin New York, US Head chef: Eric Ripert 2014/5 10 Osteria Francescana Modena, Italy Head chef: Massimo Bottura 2014/10 11 Daniel New York, US Head chef: Daniel Boulud 2014/2 12 The Ledbury London, UK Head chef: Brett Graham 2014/9 13 Pierre Gagnaire Paris, France Head chef: Pierre Gagnaire 2014/17 14 D.O.M. São Paulo, Brazil Head chef: Alex Atala 2014/15 15 Mizai Kyoto, Japan Head chef: Hitoshi Ishihara 2014/33 16 The Restaurant atMeadowood St Helena, US Head chef: Christopher Kostow 2014/41

ELEVEN MADISON PARK New York, USA Head chef: Daniel Humm 2014/4

“Each and every service at the restaurant must be treated as if it is the only one that matters and in a sense you can say that this raises the expectations for us even” Daniel Humm Eleven Madison Park

10 MINUTES WITH… Daniel Humm, Eleven Madison Park Since becoming New York’s culinary wunderkind, Swiss chef Daniel Humm has been awarded many accolades, from a four-star review in The New York Times to numerous James Beard Foundation Awards. He is renowned for simple, seasonal dishes that emphasize local produce and is currently chef and co-owner of Eleven Madison Park and The NoMad in New York City alongside Will Guidara. On coming fourth in the Elite Traveler Top 100 Restaurants list It’s very humbling to receive such an honor, especially one voted for by the diners. Our team works incredibly hard and this accomplishment validates all that work and intensity. It will inspire us to push one another even harder. On a love of cooking My mother was the first to get me interested in cooking. I regularly joined her when she went shopping at local markets, prepped ingredients, and made meals for our family. I learned to appreciate the simple things like great produce and locally made products. On fine dining It was not always my intention to go into fine dining, but around the age of 12 it became my goal to cook. Working in kitchens I developed a love of the precision that fine dining required, and I continued down that path. Now, I see what we do as fine dining for sure, but fine dining has changed over the past few decades and we’re in this unique position to redefine it, employ graciousness at all levels and match that with delicious food. On local ingredients When Will and I were discussing what our focus would be, where we would draw inspiration from and what we wanted our narrative to be, we were shocked that so many restaurants in New York don’t actually honor this

place. We love the ingredients here, the access to farmers, artisans, beautiful waters, as well as the history, and we wanted our cuisine and our experience to have a sense of place. In order to do that we must look locally. Looking local also allows us to be inspired by the seasons and to build relationships with people who genuinely care about their products and the ways in which they are produced and harvested. On free time Chefs work long hours, we are on our feet constantly and we also enjoy a good meal, sometimes multiple in one evening, so physical activity for me is important, whether it’s a bike ride, hike, run, or yoga – to provide balance. On the future We’re always working to improve our food, our service, and our experience. We have already planned 2015, but we’re also starting to document how Eleven Madison has changed, how the menu has shifted, and we’re hoping to turn that story into a book one day. On his standout dish If I had to choose just one, it would be the celery root on our menu now. We are preparing it in an inflated pig’s bladder, the earliest method of sous vide cooking, and we pair the celery root with black truffle purée. On chefs to watch Chris Kostow of Meadowood (number 16) is doing some amazing things out west. His restaurant, his cookbook and style of cooking continue to impress me – also watching his path since our days at Campton Place is very special. I’m also excited to see two of our former sous chefs finding incredible success at their own restaurants: Bryce Shuman at Betony in New York City and Lee Wolen at Boka in Chicago. Both of them are amazing chefs, but also some of the best people I’ve worked with and I’m extremely proud of everything they’ve accomplished. AM

From top Muscovy duck with lavender honey, turnips and figs from the Eleven Madison Park menu; Daniel Humm