Eleven Madison Park's New At-home Meal Kit Brings the Michelin 3-star Restaurant Experience to You

Sideny Bensimon/Courtesy of Eleven Madison Home

One of the world's most sought-after dining experiences, Eleven Madison Park, can now be a part of your home meal routine. It sounds too good to be true, but after pivoting during the pandemic to deliver meal kits to its New York-based customers, as well as serve only a plant-based menu (considered to be quite a controversial move by some), Chef Daniel Humm launched Eleven Madison Home at the end of April. The $150 Weekly Box delivery ($285 for two people) arrives at your door with a full day of plant-based meals – from breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and desserts, plus some pantry favorites from EMP chefs.

Each week the delivery will be different to highlight how delicious plant-based food can be. The idea behind taking a pandemic survival strategy to a new extension of his brand stemmed from Humm asking the simple question, "what if we all committed to eating plant-based — and plant-based alone — for just one day per week" the chef told Travel + Leisure.

"Almost every night, when I greet guests in our dining room at Eleven Madison Park, I hear many comments along the lines of, 'If I could eat this way, I would be plant-based all the time.' Could we do more to bring that happiness to people outside the restaurant? Without preaching about it, could we do more to encourage people to fall in love with a plant-based lifestyle? Because it is absolutely true: it's only so often you can come dine at Eleven Madison Park, yet there are so many euphoric flavors we can easily adapt for an at-home community; so many farmers and stories we can honor."

Sideny Bensimon/Courtesy of Eleven Madison Home

And the flavors certainly do sound euphoric as the breakfast meal includes oatmeal with rhubarb compote and roasted pecan butter, a celery root salad sandwich with matbucha for lunch, and Israeli couscous with roasted carrots and mushroom kebab for dinner. Not to mention the bake-at-home snickerdoodle cookies.

But can an at-home meal kit capture a Michelin three-star restaurant experience that tempts celebrity patrons like Victoria Beckham and Gigi Hadid? Well, you may not get to do as much celebrity stalking at your dining room table but the food and the purpose behind it are on par.

Humm says The Weekly Box does allow guests the chance to enjoy different experiences that are a part of Eleven Madison Park. "This might be a certain technique or a recipe staple that has been a part of our kitchen for years. Cooking plant-based has been endlessly expansive, and shining a light on the local farmers, purveyors, flavors, artisans, and ingredients that we're working with now is something we are most looking forward to."

Sideny Bensimon/Courtesy of Eleven Madison Home

But don't worry, you don't need to be as talented a chef as Humm to prep the meals. All the breakfast, lunch, and snack foods are ready to eat and the dinner portions just require some heating and prep. This low-key strategy for customers had a clear intention behind it: plant-based eating can be simple and easy to work into your weekly diet. "Eleven Madison Home is an easy and accessible way to show how good plant-based food can be, and that this way of eating doesn't need to be a full-time commitment right from the start — begin with one day, then that could become two, or three," Humm said.

There has been some pushback against plant-based eating, especially at one of the most coveted restaurants in the world. The reaction to Eleven Madison Park announcing it was moving to a plant-based menu in the spring of 2021 was lukewarm at best. But Humm views the menu pivot as essential. "I am not a scientist, nor climate change expert, but I am a chef. I see the shift happening to our world first-hand in the quality and availability of ingredients, and how they are sourced. Something has to change. We need to rethink the norms, rewrite the rules. This way of eating is better for the planet and our health — and it is delicious. Our goal from the beginning has been to redefine what luxury and fine dining can be. There is zero sacrifice when it comes to eating plant-based," Humm said.

Sideny Bensimon/Courtesy of Eleven Madison Home

The box purchase also includes a donation to Rethink Food, a nonprofit whose mission is to create a more sustainable and equitable food system.

Eleven Madison Home is currently only available for New York-based customers but Humm says there are plans to expand further afield very soon.