Daniel Humm and Claridge's to part ways over vegan menu disagreement

Chef Daniel Humm and Claridge’s hotel in London are to end their restaurant partnership at the end of the year following a disagreement over the direction of the venue.

 

It comes after the hotel objected to Humm’s plans to move his Michelin-starred restaurant Davies and Brook, which opened in 2019, to a fully plant-based menu.

 

Claridge’s said in a statement: “We wish to thank Daniel Humm and his extraordinary team at Davies and Brook for what they have created here at Claridge’s since they opened in 2019, gaining accolades along the way under challenging circumstances.

 

“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.

 

“Daniel has been a long standing friend of the hotel for many years and we wish him nothing but continued success as he spearheads this bold new vision.

 

“Davies and Brook will continue to operate under his direction until the end of December 2021, and we will update on future plans at Claridge’s in due course.”

 

Humm relaunched his three-Michelin-starred New York restaurant, Eleven Madison Park, as a fully vegan concept in June this year.

 

At the time he said cutting out animal products was a "risk worth taking" and that a restaurant experience should be about "more than what’s on the plate".

 

Posting on Instagram today (12 November), the chef said: “The future for me is plant-based. This is our mission and what we stand by as a company, and at this time this is not the direction that @claridgeshotel feels is right for them. It is with sadness now that we’ve mutually announced that we will go our separate ways at the end of this year.

 

“Standing behind this mission, and what we believe in, is most important and is unfortunately not something we can compromise on.

 

“I’ve never been more excited about cooking in my entire career and I’m excited for all that the future holds for us.”