Whitebook: Daniel Humm

the wisdom of living no.06

DON’T PLAY WHAT’S THERE, PLAY WHAT’S NOT THERE DANIEL HUMM

“I wish this place was a little bit more Miles Davis,” was how New York Observer restaurant critic Moira Hodgson ended her review of Eleven Madison Park. As fearless as the modern American cuisine Daniel Humm serves in number four of the World’s Best 50 restaurants, the executive chef did not back down from the challenge put forth by the review. Launching into studious research on the jazz giant and inspired by overwhelming waves of awe, Humm and his team dug up 11 words most often used to describe Davis. Today, these – which include “Endless Reinvention.” “Forward-Moving.” “Collaborative.”

– hang proudly in the Eleven Madison Park kitchen, as integral to their award-winning fare as the local ingredients they use devotedly.

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SWISS PRECISION

NEW YORK CITY SOUL

Such are the quirks of the Swiss-born Humm, who began cooking at age 11, spending more time in the kitchen than any other room under his roof. He honed his French culinary craft at Gasthaus zum Gupf in Rehetobel, Switzerland where he earned his first Michelin star at 25 before venturing west to San Francisco’s Campton Place, where he garnered four stars from the San Francisco Chronicle. In 2006, he journeyed to Eleven Madison Park in New York City and quickly elevated the restaurant to a three-star accolade, earning the prestigious Grand Chef Relais & Châteaux. His energy and determination can hardly be contained, overflowing outs of the kitchen to where he moonlights as a six-time marathoner, competitive mountain bike racer and snowboarder. All this while working six days a week serving both lunch and dinner guests at his famed restaurant.

For Humm, New York City is irreplaceable. His move was originally instigated by a desire to prove his talents in a metropolis distinguished for its celebrity chefs, but his adoration for the Big Apple has taken root and grown into a much more organic one.

Humm describes the city as unique: a melting pot where immigrants from all over the world have brought with them their cuisines and their ingredients. Not only does he prize traditional New York City dishes such as black-and-white cookies and iconic drinks such as the Bloody Mary and egg creams, he also delights in the city as bountiful farmland bearing wonderful fruits, vegetables, seafood, game, and fowl right on the outskirts of Manhattan.

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Quite the contrary, Eleven Madison Park is not an institution of gastronomy weighed down by the pretension that is typically associated with James Beard decorations and stars both Michelin and culinary. Humm’s preservation of tradition allows it to be anything but, earnestly living and breathing a credo that “We want to invite people to our home.” Consider the 97-page house manual that all wait staff must know by heart before even stepping foot in front of a diner, an emblem of Humm’s adamant principles on the importance of hospitality, that human touch that is one of the many things the Swiss have flawlessly honed. His front-of-house is run impeccably, with an uncanny knack to soothe all potential high-strung situations and diners without skipping a beat. Stepping through the doors of Eleven Madison Park leaves all stresses and convolutions of the day disappear, the mise-en-scéne a metaphoric welcome mat that puts everyone at ease. Home, finally.

Although a wave of restaurants showing off fashionable avant-garde cooking techniques seems to be taking over every street corner in New York, Humm humbly keeps it simple. His tasting menu features just 16 words, each representing one of its 16 dishes: four meats, four vegetables, four fish, and four desserts. Those who know Humm’s intense focus on ingredients and drive to concentrate on re-creating perfection completely trust that this menu of few words will translate into an experience deserving of Eleven Park Madison’s distinctions, and perhaps beyond. Many are quick to label Humm as an artist, a label he eschews, preferring to be known as a craftsman. A chef’s duty is to preserve technique, one that is only achieved by skill and repetition – repeating a lot of the same thing on a daily basis. Sounds just like training for and completing a marathon – or a chef who’s committed to his craft for the long run.

Text = Nicole Chan

★ Daniel Humm ★

Daniel Humm, 38, is one of America’s most prestigious chefs. At just the age of 25, Humm won his first Michelin Star at the Gasthaus zum Gupf Hotel in the Swiss Alps. In 2003, he made a four-star entrance into the U.S. dining scene as executive chef of Campton Place in San Francisco, saluted by the city’s Chronicle newspaper. Three years later, Humm arrived in one of the world’ s greatest culinary cities to showcase his talents at Eleven Madison Park in New York City. By 2012, the restaurant had leapt from one to three Michelin stars and is today ranked fourth in the World’s 50 Best restaurants listing.

UNWAVERING COMMITMENT

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