NYC's Eleven Madison Park Went Vegan. Then, Things Fell Apart.

NYC's Eleven Madison Park Went Vegan. Then, Things Fell Apart.: It%27s%20been%20one%20year%20since%20Eleven%20Madison%20Park%27s%20vegan%20relaunch.%20And%20while%20the%20reopening%20prompted%20a%2050%2C000-person%20waiting%20list%2C%20the%20online-reservation%20site%20Tock%20now%20shows%20open%20tables%20almost%20every%20night.%20It%20would%20be%20easy%20to%20blame%20waning%20interest%20on%20the%20pivot%20to%20veganism%20%u2014%20not%20everyone%20is%20willing%20to%20shell%20out%20hundreds%20of%20dollars%20for%20a%20dinner%20without%20the%20caviar%20and%20foie%20gras%20luxuries%20that%20typically%20appear%20on%20high-roller%20menus.%20But%20seven%20current%20and%20former%20employees%20who%20worked%20at%20EMP%20since%20the%20relaunch%20said%20the%20restaurant%20faced%20bigger%20problems.%20The%20past%20year%20has%20been%20packed%20with%20pressure%2C%20chaos%2C%20and%20understaffing.%20Some%20described%20Humm%20as%20more%20focused%20on%20his%20image%20as%20a%20celebrity%20thought%20leader%20than%20on%20acting%20as%20a%20chef.%20That%20would%20be%20far%20less%20of%20a%20problem%20if%20Humm%20weren%27t%20essentially%20rebuilding%20from%20scratch.%20After%20he%20and%20Guidara%20split%2C%20most%20of%20the%20key%20players%20left%20for%20other%20ventures.%20New%20hires%20burned%20out%20quickly%20and%20fled%20en%20masse.%20The%20restaurant%20where%20it%20was%20once%20nearly%20impossible%20to%20get%20hired%20has%20been%20trying%20to%20recruit%20workers%20on%20Instagram%2C%20where%20it%20recently%20listed%2016%20open%20positions.%0A%0A%22There%20were%20suddenly%20sous-chefs%20who%20were%20walking%20out%20of%20the%20restaurant.%20There%20were%20cooks%20who%20were%20walking%20out%20of%20the%20restaurant%2C%22%20a%20line%20cook%20who%20quit%20in%20late%202021%20told%20Insider.%20%22It%20was%20just%2C%20to%20put%20it%20very%20simply%2C%20a%20shit%20show.%22%0A%0A%28Some%20of%20the%2011%20former%20Eleven%20Madison%20Park%20employees%20interviewed%20for%20this%20article%20requested%20to%20remain%20anonymous%20for%20fear%20of%20professional%20repercussions%2C%20but%20their%20identities%20are%20known%20to%20Insider.%29%0A%0AA%20representative%20for%20Eleven%20Madison%20Park%20said%20in%20an%20email%20that%20Humm%20was%20%22extremely%20proud%20of%20the%20team%27s%20tireless%20work.%22%0A%0A%22When%20Daniel%20reopened%20Eleven%20Madison%20Park%20post-pandemic%2C%20he%20told%20the%20New%20York%20Times%20that%20%27we%20couldn%27t%20go%20back%20to%20doing%20what%20we%20did%20before%2C%27%22%20the%20person%20wrote.%20%22Neither%20the%20restaurant%20nor%20he%20plan%20to%20retreat%20from%20these%20necessary%20changes%20due%20to%20some%20mostly%20anonymous%20and%20flat-out%20erroneous%20critiques%20from%20former%20employees%2C%20competitors%20and%20other%20agenda-driven%20sources.%22