-Daniel Humm, it is so good to see you, buddy.
You look fantastic. Congrats on all this.
-Thank you so much. Thank you so much for having me.
-You did it.
You know, I have been the biggest fan of
you and your restaurant, eleven Madison, for a long time.
And you became the best restaurant in New York,
and then it was best restaurant in the world,
and then you changed your menu completely.
Who does that? And why would you do that?
What kind of insane human being are you?
-You know, I brought a little note
that's hanging in my office, and it's right here.
And it's a note that deeply inspires me,
and it's by you that you sent me in 2017.
-Oh, my gosh. I kind of -- I remember this.
Oh, yeah. I put...
Yeah.
-So I've been trying to figure out space.
-Space. [ Cheers and applause ]
-But, dude, do you remember, I -- Wow, I remember this,
'cause I was so happy for you because you're just such
a brilliant guy, and everyone, the whole crew over there --
By the way, it is an out-of-this-world experience
to go to Eleven Madison.
And it's just so well done, top to bottom, everybody.
Of course you're going to get awarded a Michelin star.
But how long has Michelin been around?
-So, like, this award that we just received --
it was three Michelin stars for the first vegan restaurant
in history ever.
So it was really meaningful, because Michelin --
it's been around for over 100 years,
and they have sort of written the rules
of what a fine-dining restaurant is.
Every chef is sort of guided by that.
And Eleven Madison Park had three Michelin stars
for eleven years in a row, but for serving meat.
Our restaurant was famous for
honey-lavender duck and poached lobsters and caviar.
-I remember, when you changed over to vegan,
I go -- I mean, I love you, but I'm like,
"Look, buddy, I'm rooting for you,
but are people going to buy this?"
I mean, people must have thought you were crazy.
-You know, I'm not going to lie,
but there were moments that were really scary.
Like, during the pandemic, I spent a lot of time by myself
and so a lot in solitude.
And I also realized that the world is changing
and the food system is changing and the climate is changing.
And I felt like I had a responsibility
to use this platform, to use my voice of food
to speak and to use my creativity
to make that future more delicious and more beautiful.
But as we got closer to the reopening,
I was, like, at home, couldn't sleep.
I was like, "Is anyone going to come?"
You know? -Yeah.
-It was scary.
And I think, with the Michelin award,
like with anything, with a new album --
any artist, a new album, a painting, or --
It's so much about being at the right moment,
at, you know, the right time.
And I think you can be one step ahead,
but you can't be 10 steps ahead.
And so with this recognition of Michelin,
it just was really helpful to create this forward momentum
for our team and for everyone around it
that it was essential --
-You're in the history books, bud.
And, honestly, I was so happy when I saw it.
It was all over the Internet. I was like, "Oh, my gosh!"
I texted you like, "I'm freaking out right, bud.
I'm freaking out. It's is so cool."
And I think it's changing the game.
It has to.
-You know, in the beginning, it felt like
I would leave a lot behind, like,
leaving all these techniques that I've learned for years,
perfected, and the ingredients I've worked with.
But then, what I found is, like,
using plants and vegetables to cook --
it's so liberating, it's so beautiful, it's the future.
And, in a way, now I'm looking back
and I feel I was limited before,
because now we're really cooking entirely --
We started our own farm, called Magic Farm, upstate
and we're using most of our ingredients from the farm.
It's just been so beautiful.
-But even the Eleven Madison Home -- can we talk about this?
-So, we were here before and we launched Eleven Madison Home,
and, at first, it was just available for New York City,
and we just expanded to be nationwide.
It's elevenmadisonhome.com.
And we have the kitchen essentials, pantry items,
all the things we use in the kitchen
to make things more delicious and successful.
But then we also, of course, have our granola and our snacks
and peanut butter.
But we really want to make plant-based foods the future
and bring it into people's home, and I think this is
a great way to have a taste all over America.
-Even if you just start with one meal,
just do a little plant-based and just slowly --
It's all helping the world.
-you know, this is not anti-meat, but it is pro-planet.
And I think one issue I have is that we are so --
And I think it's about progress and not perfection,
and sometimes, when people don't do something 100%,
they get criticized, but change happens from slowly changing.
You can't change one day to the other.
So I think if we all can just reduce how much meat we eat,
we will have a better world and a better climate.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-I love you. I'm so happy for you, bud.
Chef Daniel Humm, everybody. Check out elevenmadisonhome.com.
Cole Swindell performs after the break. Stick around.