Skip to main content

Eleven Madison Park Transforms Michelin-Starred Kitchen to Feed New Yorkers in Need During COVID-19

When the three Michelin-starred fine dining restaurant, previously ranked the best in the world at the World’s 50 Best in 2017, announced that after closing due to the pandemic, it would be reopening its kitchen and dining room to become a commissary kitchen during the public health crisis, people took notice. A restaurant that was once serving 100 refined meals a night, has now scaled up its operations to make approximately 2,000 meals a day for New Yorkers in need, thanks to some funding and coordination from long-time partner, American Express.

Eleven Madison Park
Rethink Food

Daniel Humm, chef and owner at Eleven Madison Park, has partnered with NYC-based non-profit Rethink Food to make the initiative possible. Rethink is known for its efforts to eliminate food waste in New York City by obtaining surplus food from grocery stores and restaurants, and using those resources to feed underprivileged communities. With many restaurants closing due to the current circumstances, Rethink has received an additional 19,000 lbs from first-time food donors, and has expanded its operations by setting up a Restaurant Response Program to assist with food need and access during times of crisis. The program gives up to $40,000 to no more than 30 restaurants to reopen their doors as food distribution centers (the Eleven Madison Park team is separate from this program).

Eleven Madison Park
Rethink Food

Former Eleven Madison Park employees have been hired by Rethink Food to produce meals across three of the establishment’s kitchens that prepare meals simultaneously. “Chef Daniel Humm is there every day overseeing the operation,” Matt Jozwiak, executive director and founder of Rethink Food NYC, says. “Our team starts at 7 a.m. to get deliveries, and the first shift begins at 7:30 a.m. to begin packaging food. A later shift begins at 8:30 a.m. for cooking[T]he cooks work in teams of three and are spread out. The amount of people in Eleven Madison Park never exceeds 13. Everybody is typically out by 5 p.m. after the meals are packed for distribution.”

Eleven Madison Park
Make It Nice

The meals are picked up by partner CityMeals on Wheels and are delivered across New York’s five boroughs including hospitals like New York Presbyterian, as well as community centers. “The most important thing any of us can do is find ways to support the healthcare workers on the frontlines of this battle and those struggling to survive it,” says Humm. “We’re grateful that this partnership will allow the Eleven Madison Park team to contribute in such a significant way.” While a kitchen like Eleven Madison Park’s is no stranger to cleanliness, the highest priority of all involved is to produce safe meals while protecting the staff and people served. The team have their temperatures taken upon arrival, and follow other rigorous safety codes including wearing masks and gloves.

Eleven Madison Park
Rethink Food

“Our mission of delivering food to New Yorkers in need has never been more important, and finding a way to continue serving those that have always relied on us, as well as helping hospitals provide meals in this all-hands-on-deck moment, is so important,” says Matt Jozwiak. “This innovative program also helps the very restaurants we’re using to prepare the meals and we hope this partnership serves as a model that can be replicated nationwide, which we’re already working to do … post COVID-19, I hope we can work out a sustainable system in place so that restaurants play a larger role in the fight against hunger.”

Recommended Videos

“This is obviously an extraordinarily difficult moment for New York, and this program has given our team the chance to not only help people, but to do what they love: cook,” says Humm. In a world where so many freedoms have been taken away due to this pandemic, it’s the local initiatives such as these that give hope.

Tyler Zielinski
Tyler is a New York-based freelance cocktail and spirits journalist, competitive bartender, and bar consultant. He is an…
Topics
Belizean rum is where it’s at and these cocktails prove it
A couple of classics, with rum front and center
Copalli Rum trio.

We're living in the rum renaissance. The spirit is no longer just a quiet backseat mixer, it's a star in its own right, playing a major role in classic cocktail recipes across the board. Perhaps best, it's wildly place-specific, showcasing the flavors of the very place its raised, whether that's Belize, Hawaii, the West Indies, or somewhere else.

Turns out, you can swap that bourbon or gin for rum in a lot of cases within the wide world of cocktails. You just need the right rum, like Copalli. The Belizean maker features white and aged rums, as well as a decidedly delicious and unique cacao rum. Whiel you can sip these offerings on their own, we suggest them in the following mixed sippers.
Old Fashioned

Read more
The best view of Washington’s Blue Mountains is at a barely year-old estate
Echolands is worth the scenic stop on your next visit to the Walla Walla Valley
A glass of wine in front of the Blue Mountains of Washington

My thoughts on the best view in Washington wine? It opened its doors in April 2024 in the Walla Walla Valley’s Mill Creek subregion. That’s when Echolands Winery unveiled a new panoramic tasting room, with the iconic Blue Mountains rising behind a medley of grapes and golden wheat.

Founders Doug Frost (holding the distinction of Master Sommelier and Master of Wine) and conservation-focused investor Brad Bergman started Echolands in 2018 and opened their downtown tasting room in 2022, nestled just a block from Walla Walla’s Main Street.

Read more
Love s’mores and coffee? This Joel McHale-approved treat combines both
The s'mores and coffee combination you didn't know you needed
Joel McHale

Just in time for s'mores season, Seattle's Best Coffee is taking coffee beyond the brew with Coffee Roast Mallows, a limited-edition variety pack created in partnership with XO Marshmallow. Inspired by the smooth taste of Seattle's Best Coffee, this cozy treat is approved by Seattle-native Joel McHale, an actor, comedian, and coffee aficionado.
Launched today, the coffee-inspired marshmallow variety pack features four toasty flavors along with a bag of Seattle's Best Coffee Campfire S'mores Flavored ground coffee. Dan Gaul, co-founder of The Manual, interviewed McHale to get the scoop on this latest release. Here's what he shared.
Why McHale loves Coffee Roast Mallows

Known for his sharp wit and passion for coffee, McHale brings the perfect blend of humor and hometown pride to “toast” as the hilarious face of Seattle's Best Coffee's new “May Smoother Coffee Bring Smoother Days” campaign. "These limited edition [coffee marshallows] are flavored and inspired by their coffee roasts—like the light roast, the dark roast, the medium, and then s’mores," says McHale. "Now, you can have this sweet treat with your coffee, or just put them in the cup like I do and eat them that way."
Growing up in the Northwest in Seattle, s'mores hold a special place in McHale's heart, reminding him of camping memories from his childhood. "You know, [our family didn’t have much money. I’m the youngest of five, so it’s not like we had a ton of money to go somewhere else. So, camping was our vacation in the summer," he shares. For him, this nostalgic coffee and s'mores duo evokes campfire feelings, taking him back to the good ol' days.
Though McHale is also a huge fan of iced coffee, he loves adding marshmallows to hot coffee for a cozy campfire feeling. Unaffected by coffee's caffeine, McHale says it doesn’t make his heart race.
What's inside each box

Read more