Chef Daniel Humm’s Eleven Madison Park is pioneering the use of algae oil in fine dining, spotlighting sustainability, health, and culinary innovation as the future of luxury cuisine.
Chef Daniel Humm has never been content to follow convention. The visionary behind New York’s legendary Eleven Madison Park — the only plant-based restaurant in the world to earn three Michelin stars — has once again shifted the boundaries of haute cuisine. Humm is now replacing traditional seed oils in his kitchens at Eleven Madison Park and Clemente Bar with algae oil, a climate-forward ingredient developed in partnership with Algae Cooking Club. The move is more than a chef’s curiosity; it is the latest statement in Humm’s ongoing campaign to reimagine fine dining as a catalyst for environmental change.
The food industry is among the world’s most resource-intensive sectors, accounting for more than one-quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to a 2021 analysis published in Nature Food. Vegetable oil crops — including palm, soybean, and sunflower — are major contributors to deforestation and biodiversity loss. The World Wildlife Fund reports that palm oil alone is found in nearly half of all packaged supermarket products and is a driver of deforestation in tropical regions.
While the environmental case for moving away from conventional seed oils is clear, these ingredients have also faced increasing scrutiny in wellness circles. Seed oils, including canola, soybean, and sunflower, are often singled out for their high levels of omega-6 fatty acids and the chemical processes involved in their extraction, with some critics linking them to chronic health conditions. However, leading health organizations and peer-reviewed studies have yet to establish a definitive connection between moderate seed oil consumption and negative health outcomes.
Still, as chefs rethink their most essential ingredients, oil is emerging as an overlooked source of impact. In 2022, Michelin’s International Director Gwendal Poullennec called Eleven Madison Park “a North Star that young chefs can fix their eyes upon as they navigate their gastronomic journey.” For Humm, sustainability is not a trend, but the new definition of luxury.
“Cooking oil is an area that’s been overlooked for a long time, despite being such a staple in every kitchen. Farming for traditional vegetable oil crops is a leading cause of deforestation, so when we were introduced to a sustainable alternative that excelled in the kitchen, it seemed like a natural transition,” Humm told Ethos via email. “Sustainability doesn’t mean forgoing creativity, but expanding on it. Algae oil is just another opportunity for us to push those boundaries.”
Algae oil may be the industry’s most promising new ingredient. According to Algae Cooking Club, algae oil requires 87 percent less land than canola oil and 90 percent less than soybean oil. It also uses around 90 percent less water than palm and sunflower oil, and can be cultivated without irrigation, on non-arable land that would otherwise go unused. Algae’s ability to grow rapidly, without fertilizers or pesticides, positions it as a rare, resource-light crop in a food system strained by climate extremes.
The flavor and performance of algae oil also captured Humm’s attention. “On top of the environmental advantages, I love working with this oil in the kitchen. It’s very neutral, so you can use it in just about any dish without overpowering subtle flavors. It also has a very high smoke point, so you can cook with it at amazingly high heat. We started experimenting with it last year in some courses that involved searing, and we also developed a few different infusions. It just worked so well that we decided to use it throughout the menu,” said Humm.
Algae oil’s high smoke point also gives chefs new creative range. “For many dishes, this requires a very neutral cooking oil that doesn’t interfere with other flavors. The beauty of algae oil is its high smoke point — over 500 degrees Fahrenheit — which means we can use it to create all kinds of different flavors and crispy textures without adding any ‘burnt’ or ‘off’ taste. That kind of performance is rare,” Humm explained.
Humm says that when he and his team began this process, they experimented with the algae oil and tested it in the kitchen, finding that not only was it a more sustainable alternative to canola oil, “it also performed better,” he says. “We are very lucky to be able to access and try out unconventional ingredients like this, and even luckier to be able to share this knowledge with our guests.”
Humm’s move is already resonating with peers and industry watchers. With restaurants and foodservice accounting for a sizable share of global oil demand, even incremental shifts can add up. The United States Department of Agriculture reports that Americans consume more than 11 million metric tons of vegetable oils annually, making oil one of the most ubiquitous — if least considered — ingredients in professional kitchens.
Humm believes chefs have a role to play in reshaping food systems. “Having a platform like Eleven Madison Park, I realized have a responsibility to advocate for more sustainable approaches to cooking,” he says. And with oil such a universal ingredient, a change like this has the potential to really make an impact, “especially if we can encourage others to think this way too.” The chef says the more fine dining restaurants that can make sustainable ingredient swaps like this, “the more accessible these ingredients will eventually become to the mainstream.”
“As a chef, I feel like it’s my responsibility to use my voice to shed light on ingredients like this.”
-Chef Daniel Humm
The timing is prescient. After making headlines by reopening Eleven Madison Park with a fully plant-based menu in 2021 — a move that made it the first and only plant-based restaurant in the Michelin Guide’s history to receive three stars — Humm has continued to push the conversation forward, joining world leaders and activists on global stages from the United Nations Climate Change Conference to the Global Citizen Summit. Last September, he was appointed UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Food Education.
Humm has made redefining luxury a central pillar of his culinary philosophy. “I believe true luxury lies in thoughtfulness, not excess. It’s about using the absolute best ingredients and preparing them with intention,” he says. “As a chef, I feel like it’s my responsibility to use my voice to shed light on ingredients like this from both a cooking and a sustainability perspective. Making big changes always comes with risks, but we have to take risks to move forward.”
And while the menu is fully centered around plants, the chef says nutritional benefits are an added value, not the primary driver. “My creative process is driven first and foremost by deliciousness,” Humm says. “Just like with plant-based cooking as a whole, I see the nutritional benefits of this oil as a bonus, rather than a driving factor. But it’s all connected. The ingredients with the highest nutritional value are often inherently more delicious — like organic vegetables, for example. Ingredients that are grown and produced with care are almost always the best tasting.”
As more chefs experiment with resource-light, future-forward ingredients, Humm hopes the industry follows suit — on its own terms. “While I don’t think that everybody has to follow our lead exactly, I do hope that making shifts like this, and speaking about them publicly, inspires others to be more thoughtful about the ingredients they use and to make small changes where they can,” the chef says.
“When talking about big picture issues like climate change, people often feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to start, but this shows that something like switching out a single ingredient can have a big impact. It’s all about progress, not perfection.”
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