In 2023, the New York City Mayor’s Office of Food Policy declared November 11 (11/11) to be Eleven Madison Park Day. This year, we’re marking the occasion with a trip down memory lane and by celebrating the people who have made the past 28 years so special: our community.
Words by Olivia White
EMP Proclamation Day, 2023
Image by Ye Fan
A lot has changed since we opened our doors for the first time in 1998.
That year, “Armageddon” was the highest-grossing movie at the global box office, season one of “Sex and the City” had just debuted, and the radio waves were dominated by songs like Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” and the Backstreet Boys’ “Everybody.” Today, the title of highest grossing movie has been swapped out for “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” “Sex and the City” has been off-air for 22 years and on streaming services for at least a decade, and the radio has been replaced with apps like Spotify and Apple Music.
Here at Eleven Madison Park, a lot has changed for us too. We serve a tasting menu in place of our original à la carte offerings and our dining room has been fully renovated, no longer resembling the yellow wood-paneled room envisioned in the late ‘90s. (The very same dining room used to film a Season 2 episode of the aforementioned HBO series.)
Eleven Madison Park Dining Room — Before and After Renovation
Left Image by Peter Dressel, Right Image by Evan Sung
While things have undeniably undergone a major transformation, others have remained exactly the same. Since November 1998, we have had the privilege of welcoming millions of guests into our restaurant, and the joy we feel creating a memorable experience for each and every single one is something that will never wear off. These moments are priceless to us, but it’s not just what happens at our restaurant that reminds us why we love what we do. It’s also what happens outside our four walls when we’re with our community.
We believe food is a powerful vehicle for connection, and these opportunities to connect extend far beyond the tables of Eleven Madison Park. They span 26.2 miles across five boroughs. They enter into classrooms, commissary kitchens, migrant shelters, and more. They help us create meaningful change to foster a more empowered community, and providing these opportunities is a point of utmost pride for our team.
Chef Daniel Humm and Matt Jozwiak
Strengthening Communities, One Meal at a Time
At the center of our community engagement is Rethink Food, the non-profit organization co-founded by Chef Daniel Humm and former EMP Cook Matt Jozwiak in 2017. With a mission to create a more sustainable and equitable food system, Rethink Food seeks to eliminate food insecurity by providing meals made from restaurants’ excess food to members of our community in need, completely free of charge. We are beyond proud to serve as one of the very first restaurants to donate food to the non-profit, which has since expanded to include over 200 restaurants.
Jozwiak and Chef Humm’s shared vision that the hospitality industry can have profound change on our food system didn’t end with these weekly excess food pickups, though. When the Covid-19 pandemic forced restaurants to close their doors, we launched the Neighborhood Meals Program, a still-active initiative that grants funding directly to local restaurants and food businesses to create fresh and nutritious meals for community based organizations. Around that same time, Eleven Madison Park was named Rethink Food’s first Rethink Certified restaurant.
To continue feeding our neighbors in need, we transformed our restaurant into a commissary kitchen, where we worked to prepare meals for daily distribution around the city. During this time, we prepared approximately 3,000 meals a day, and by the time we reopened our doors in June 2021, we had distributed a total of over 1 million meals to our fellow community members.
Rethink Gala 2025
Image by Jovani Demetrie
Once we were safely able to gather in groups, it was imperative that our work continue in new forms. This has included the continuation of our weekly excess food pickups; regular volunteer shifts at Rethink Food’s Sustainable Community Kitchen in the Greenwich Village; and the annual Rethink Food Gala, which we host every spring and most recently raised over $1.3 million. Other fundraising opportunities include the New York City Marathon, which our team runs yearly as a part of Team Rethink. This November, our eight marathoners didn’t just complete the 26.2 mile course, they also raised over $28,000, the greatest sum our team has raised since it was formed in 2024.
This funding goes directly to supporting Rethink’s mission, which has provided more than 36 million meals to local communities, directed over $164 million in funding to local restaurants and food businesses, and repurposed more than 3 million pounds of donated food since its founding nine years ago.
Our work has also expanded to include other non-profit community organizations, such as the Volunteers of America (VoA). Each week, we work with the VoA to distribute hot meals to the residents of The Paul Hotel in New York City, which was converted to an emergency migrant shelter in 2023 and currently houses dozens of families seeking asylum.
Operation Backpack with Volunteers of America, Eleven Madison Park, and Rethink Food
Images by Jovani Demetrie
This prosperous relationship with the VoA has allowed us to distribute more than just food, too. Ahead of the 2026 school year, we helped launch “Operation Backpack” at The Paul Hotel, which saw free backpacks, school supplies, and copies of Chef Humm’s book “Daniel’s Dream” given out to every child free of cost.
Dare to Dream
Written by Chef Humm and Roda Ahmed based on real events from Chef Humm’s childhood, “Daniel’s Dream” has been an incredible way for us to connect with our next generation of leaders, giving us the opportunity to teach them that there are no rules for dreams. As a child, Chef Humm was often told by his teachers that he was “too much” or that his dreams were “too big,” once getting in trouble for coloring outside the lines during a school project that tasked him with drawing his dream house. But his mother knew otherwise. Rather than punishing her son, she encouraged him to shoot for the stars, covering the walls of their home with paper for a young Daniel to draw wherever he saw fit. In turn, she taught him that he could do whatever he set his mind to.
It was a lesson he took with him his whole life, and it’s what pushed him to become a Chef in the first place. Later, it’s what pushed him to transform Eleven Madison Park into the three-Michelin-star restaurant it is today. Now, Chef Humm is passionate about sharing this same message with kids across the world to empower them to pursue their own dreams.
To embody this message, Chef Humm launched “Daniel’s Dream Day,” a whole day dedicated to spreading the message of dreaming big. Held twice since the book published in January 2026, Daniel’s Dream Day invites local public school children into the dining room at Eleven Madison Park for a book reading, culinary-inspired activities, and a nutritious lunch prepared by Rethink Food.
Daniel’s Dream Day October 2026
Image by Jovani Demetrie
In addition to hearing the story of “Daniel’s Dream” directly from Chef Humm, the kids also take part in the very same exercise that’s featured in the book, drawing their own dream houses right there on the table. Through this exercise, he hopes to teach them that just like the real Daniel in “Daniel’s Dream,” they too can achieve even their wildest dreams.
On this Eleven Madison Park Day, we’re taking time to remember these lessons. Sometimes, it’s not the dream that’s too big, it’s the paper that’s too small. And with hard work, determination, and the help of your fellow community members, even the loftiest goals are well within reach.