11 madison park manual#

Meanwhile, life has changed for the men, too. The seating was more intimate, the entrance more dramatic and a large painting by Rita Ackermann, a friend of Mr. It reopened in October with a modern, crisper look. That year, the restaurant closed for four months so the architect Brad Cloepfil could redesign it. Humm’s granola for breakfast the next day. And, as had long been the custom, each would leave with a jar of Mr. The pair eventually pulled back on the shtick, created a new menu and doubled down on a brand of service so personal that waiters were encouraged to glean information from customers so last-minute surprises tailored to each diner’s interest would appear at the table before the meal was done. Pete Wells, The Times’s current restaurant critic, called it “the most ridiculous meal I’ve ever had.” Then, in 2012, a year after they bought the place, they blew up the elegant, restrained menu and turned dining there into a tribute to old New York, with card tricks, a tabletop clambake and a cheese course in a handmade picnic basket. But in 2009, Frank Bruni, the New York Times restaurant critic at the time, awarded the restaurant four stars and its trajectory was set. In the early years, they had a difficult time gaining traction, and sometimes only served 10 tables a night. The wunderkinds weren’t always on the mark.

11 madison park manual#

His training manual for staff was 97 pages long.

Meyer, was as focused in the dining room. Guidara, who learned the trade at the hands of Mr. Humm, who learned to cook in his native Switzerland and left a prime post as a four-star chef at Campton Place in San Francisco to work for Mr. The menu was controlled and ambitious, and it reflected the precision and personality of Mr. The men took on the challenge of turning Eleven Madison Park into something spectacular with a drive and enthusiasm that made even jaded New York chefs take notice. Meyer opened the restaurant as a French-influenced bistro in 1998 in the lobby of the old Metropolitan Life Building. “We’re not going to lie to you and say things are hunky dory,” Mr. They and others close to them say they have clashed as both they and the company have grown. Humm said he will continue with his plan to open the restaurant Davies and Brook in the Claridge’s hotel in London this fall.) They have written four books together, too.īut after 13 years, the partnership grew rocky. They also own Made Nice, a casual restaurant near the hotel that serves charred avocado and kale salads and roasted chicken with fries intended to become a mini chain. Humm created a company called Make It Nice that spawned a family of six other bars and restaurants, including the NoMad in the NoMad hotel in Manhattan, as well as NoMad restaurants in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Their emphasis on hyper-personalized service and precise cooking propelled the restaurant to the top of nearly every critic’s list and brought a cascade of awards.

They became as tight as brothers - best friends, as they often referred to themselves in interviews. The men were young and ambitious, determined to make their mark inside the marble walls of a revered piece of New York culinary real estate in the Flatiron district. Humm from San Francisco to conjure up dishes that could match the majestic dining room at Eleven Madison Park, and promoted Mr. The men’s relationship started in 2006, when Mr.