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Staff Criticize Eleven Madison Park’s Vegan Transition — Reveal Only a “Skeletal” Workforce Remains

In a startling disclosure, former staffers of the acclaimed New York City fine-dining venue Eleven Madison Park say the restaurant’s pivot to an entirely plant-based menu has been accompanied by acute workforce collapse. According to reporting by Eater, of the roughly 45 kitchen employees hired to staff the new vegan-only service upon the restaurant’s June 2021 relaunch, “less than a handful” remain. (Eater NY)

Insiders describe the menu overhaul — championed by chef-owner Daniel Humm as a forward-looking “plant-based” direction — as causing severe strain: long hours, low pay, understaffing and high turnover all contributed to the so-called skeletal staffing. (Eater NY)

One damaging thread in the narrative: employees reported that the vegan staff-meal policy left workers starving after 14-hour days. A former kitchen worker told Business Insider that having to subsist on vegetable-based meals during shifts forced him to visit a doctor — and yet he was denied even the option of chicken. (Business Insider)

Wage issues loom large as well. Bloomberg uncovered that the restaurant quietly cancelled a planned 33 % wage increase for kitchen staff — raising hourly pay from roughly US$15 to a proposed US$20 — after a negative review of the vegan concept by the New York Times. (Bloomberg)

Despite the bold sustainability messaging underpinning the vegan shift, Humm later admitted that the all-vegan format had “unintentionally alienated” diners and limited the team’s creativity and retention. (The Washington Post)

With so few of the original team remaining and multiple reports of operational dysfunction, many former staff say the famous restaurant now operates at a fraction of its previous workforce strength. Whether the transition will stabilize or continue to pose labour risks remains to be seen.