Daniel Humm
“On March 16, everything collapsed in New York”: This is how the Aargau celebrity chef wants to return to the top of the world
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Daniel Humm has opened restaurants in London, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and New York and is one of the best chefs in the world. But the corona crisis also played a bad role for the Aargau celebrity chef. In an exclusive interview with Gault & Millau magazine, he explains the ideas with which he wants to get back to the top.
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The corona crisis hit Daniel Humm hard financially – but he looks to the future positively.
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Daniel Humm from Schinznach-Dorf has been stirring up the restaurant scene in the USA for almost 20 years. With his New York restaurant “Eleven Madison Park”, the Aargauer made it to number 1 in the world rankings of the 50 best restaurants in 2017. In the summer of 2019, Humm also expanded to Europe and opened his newest restaurant in the 5-star luxury hotel Claridge’s in London. Davies & Brook ».
It seemed as if nothing could stop the gastro high-flyer from Aargau – until Corona came. In one Exclusive interview with the magazine «Gault & Millau» Humm described how he experienced the crisis. “I was at a high point in my career,” explained the restaurateur. The reviews of his restaurants were excellent, and the places in his restaurants were booked out for weeks. He had a great team and great financial success.
Always ready to lose it all
But then the pandemic struck. “Everything collapsed on the night of March 16, 2020,” recalls Humm. At first he thought the lockdown might be a matter of a few weeks. But he was wrong. In New York, Humm had to fire almost all of his employees. “The American social system leaves you no other choice,” says the celebrity chef. In the meantime, around 70 percent of his former employees have left the city or changed industries.
Parting with his teammates hit the Aargauer hard: “Many of these people have worked very closely with me for a long time. I was very proud of her. That this team will never exist again – I shouldn’t think too long about that, it’s too devastating. “
Daniel Humm with his kitchen brigade in his restaurant Eleven Madison Park, the best address in New York: “80 percent of success is hard work.”
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The corona crisis also hit Daniel Humm hard financially. His company was on the verge of bankruptcy several times, as he explained in an interview. To avert this, he had to sell works of art and a property in Los Angeles. “I don’t see that as a loss,” explains Humm. He was always ready to lose everything. He sees the crisis as a hard break, but also as a gift: “At a high point, I have another chance to start over.”
“Incredible struggle for survival”
When the “Eleven Madison Park” had to close due to corona, Humm even got involved and cooked with a small team for those in need. This in cooperation with the organization Rethink, which the Aargauer co-founded. “The organization motivates restaurants to produce meals at a reasonable price,” explains Humm and adds: “With the help of partners and thanks to donations, we buy this food and distribute it to the people who need it. In the Eleven Madison Park alone, we produce 5,000 meals a day. ”
Despite the uncertain outlook for his restaurants, Humm looks to the future with optimism. “We are planning to reopen the Eleven Madison Park in June 2021,” says the restaurateur. At the moment the situation is too uncertain, and since most of his team is no longer available, he had to build a completely new crew. “But I can’t do that if the next shutdown is imminent. The costs of resuming operations are extremely high, we can only afford that once. “
Since the lockdown in March, Humm has had to fight an incredible fight for survival, as he explains in an interview. “I always hoped that I could continue doing what I like to do.” The Aargau resident cannot imagine doing something completely different. After all, the restaurant industry in the USA is on the ground, half of all restaurants may never be able to open again. Humm is convinced: “With the Eleven Madison Park and our projects, we can give gastronomy new strength by giving it culinary, but also social impulses.” (luk)
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