Daniel Humm is an author, speaker, and the transformative chef and owner of Make It Nice, the New York-based hospitality group behind the highly acclaimed Eleven Madison Park and direct-to-consumer lifestyle brand Eleven Madison Home.

A native of Switzerland, Chef Humm earned his first Michelin star at the age of 24. He is consistently listed as one of the world’s best chefs, with both he and Eleven Madison Park receiving numerous accolades: four stars from The New York Times, seven James Beard Foundation Awards (including Outstanding Chef and Outstanding Restaurant in America), a number one spot on the world’s 50 Best Restaurants list, and three Michelin stars for over 10 years in a row, since 2011. 

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chef Humm transformed Eleven Madison Park’s Michelin-starred restaurant and its back-of-house into a commissary kitchen in partnership with Rethink Food, a not-for-profit organization co-founded by Chef Humm. He and his team prepared over 1,000,000 meals over the course of the pandemic for frontline workers and underserved communities and distributed them to churches, shelters, and food banks.

In 2021, he reopened Eleven Madison Park with a completely plant-based menu and became the first and only plant-based restaurant in Michelin Guide history to receive a three-star rating in October 2022. Gwendal Poullennec, the International Director of the Michelin Guides, has called Chef Humm and Eleven Madison Park a North Star that young chefs can fix their eyes upon as they navigate their gastronomic journey.

Chef Humm uses his global platform to advocate for equitable, sustainable food systems. He wants to inspire people both within and beyond the fine-dining world and build awareness around the transformative power of food. As a leading figure in the culinary realm, he ignited a conversation about challenging the definition of luxury in the food world and how it can be more purpose-driven at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2021. He discussed the impact of our food systems on the environment at the 2023’s Global Citizen Summit, joining activists and world leaders such as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French President Macron in setting a global agenda for action on the most urgent issues facing humanity and the planet. In May 2023, he was the first chef to be invited to attend the 30th Anniversary of UNESCO World Press Freedom Day at the United Nations to put a spotlight on the critical importance of freedom of expression.

Chef Humm is the author of Eleven Madison Park: The Cookbook, I Love New York: Ingredients and Recipes, The NoMad Cookbook, and Eleven Madison Park: The Next Chapter. His latest book, titled Eat More Plants, published by Steidl, was released in October 2023.

He resides in New York and is a lifelong patron of the arts, supporting local and established artists through collaborations for Eleven Madison Park and other initiatives.

Dominique Roy’s passion for cooking began at a young age, baking bread alongside his mother in his hometown of Gatineau, Canada. After attending culinary school at 17 and pastry school at 19, Dom worked for renowned chefs in Canada and France, including Georges Blanc and Jerome Ferrer. He participated in many different cooking competitions, including representing Team Canada in the Luxembourg Culinary World Cup in 2014.

Dom always knew he wanted to work for one of the best restaurants in the world, and after staging at Maaemo in Oslo and Mirazur in France, he arrived in New York City from Montréal. He started with Eleven Madison Park in 2015, holding various positions, including Sous Chef and Culinary Research & Development. He also led the opening team of Davies & Brook in London in 2019. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Dom spearheaded the Eleven Madison Park and Rethink Foodpartnership, leading the program that provided hundreds of thousands of meals to both food-insecure residents of New York City as well as frontline workers. In 2021, he assumed the title of Chef de Cuisine, leading the reopening and building the vision for EMP’s future, and in 2023 he became a partner at Make It Nice.

Laura Cronin grew up having a love for food at an early age, working in bakeries in her hometown of Berkeley Heights, New Jersey. After graduating culinary school at Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island, she moved across the country to pursue a career on the baking team at the San Francisco Baking Institute under the tutelage of Michel Suas. A year later, Laura relocated to Paris and enrolled at the Ecole Gregoire-Ferrandi, which led to an apprenticeship with Chef Angelo Musa. In 2011, Laura moved back to the States and worked in several restaurants including Zero Zero and Perbacco, where she was named San Francisco Chronicle’s Rising Star Chef and Zagat’s 30 under 30 list. In 2017, Laura moved to New York City to join the Eleven Madison Park team as a Pastry Sous Chef leading the team through the restaurant’s reopening and working closely with Executive Pastry Chef Mark Welker, she assumed the Pastry Chef role in 2019.

Originally from New Jersey, Daniel DiStefano is the Executive Culinary Director for Make It Nice. Danny joined the team in 2009, starting as a commis and working his way up to sous chef in 2011. He has been instrumental in launching brands such as Made Nice and Eleven Madison Home. Following the pandemic, Danny returned as a Managing Partner to spearhead our at-home program and strategic partnerships, and in 2024, Danny assumed the role of Executive Culinary Director. In this role, he leads culinary operations and works closely with Chef Humm and the rest of the culinary development team on menus, partnerships, events, collaborations, and new projects. 

Josh Harnden was born in Seattle, Washington, where he was raised with a plant-based diet, which fueled his passion for food and the culinary arts from a young age. Immersed in the restaurant industry for over two decades, he worked his way through the Seattle culinary scene—including at the renowned Canlis—before moving to New York in 2011 to help open and manage Chef Daniel Humm’s restaurant at NoMad Hotel.

After helping NoMad earn its first Michelin star, Josh was asked to join the team at Eleven Madison Park, where he has held a number of different management positions, including leading research and development. In this role, he helped to launch a range of pop-ups and openings for Make It Nice, as well as developing recipes for the NoMad and Eleven Madison Park cookbooks, including this one. He is now a partner and the Creative Culinary Director for Make It Nice.

Andrew Chandler was essentially born into restaurants, spending much of his childhood watching his mother command the dining rooms of some of the best restaurants in his home state of Wisconsin. He followed in her footsteps, taking on his first jobs bussing tables and washing dishes as a teenager. After high school, he graduated from University of Wisconsin-Platteville with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. He went on to spend several years working with children with special needs, while simultaneously working full time in some of the best restaurants in Milwaukee, including Riversite and Braise. Eventually it became clear that his true calling was working in the dining room, and in 2012 he moved across the country to start as a Kitchen Server at Eleven Madison Park. Andrew has worked through nearly every position in the restaurant, making the transition to management in 2016. Within Make it Nice he has led the team through the pop-up EMP Summer House, the subsequent reopening of Eleven Madison Park, and the opening of Davies and Brook in London.

Originally from Kent, WA, Trisha Manning discovered her love for hospitality while working as a barista during her time attending the University of Washington, where she majored in Theatre and minored in Communications. After graduating, she managed a café in Seattle for a year, gaining valuable experience in team building and how to harvest the guest experience.

Trisha then moved to Los Angeles, transitioning from cafes to restaurants. She spent a couple of years in management before entering the fine dining world, working for renowned chefs Gordon Ramsay and José Andrés. During this time, she developed a passion for delivering exceptional guest experiences with impeccable service standards and deepened her understanding of culinary and beverage intricacies.

In 2012, Trisha relocated to NYC with her husband. She took a break from fine dining to manage Hudson Clearwater in the West Village for six years. Following this, she helped open 232 Bleecker, which has since closed. After the pandemic, Trisha transitioned to private events, first working at Restaurant Daniel and then joining Eleven Madison Park in 2022 as the Director of Private Events.

Trisha feels privileged to be part of the exceptional team at Eleven Madison Park and Make it Nice, where she leverages her 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry in her role as Director of Hospitality.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, our General Manager, Andrew Kuhl, has always loved spending time in the kitchen, and he has fond memories of cooking with his parents as a child.

An actor from a very young age, he was originally on track to work in the arts, having graduated from Penn State University with a BFA in Musical Theatre. After spending a few years working at Cipriani at the 55 Wall Street location, Andrew joined us at Eleven Madison Park in 2012 — a move that inspired him to pursue hospitality as a full-time career.

He began with us as a kitchen server, and he has worked his way through a number of positions in the company — including as the Special Events Captain at the NoMad Hotel and as our Assistant General Manager at Eleven Madison Park. In 2022, he stepped into the role of General Manager, and he has been leading our dining room team with passion, care, and a true dedication to the art of hospitality ever since.

Born into a French and Italian restaurateur family, Gabriel Di Bella spent his younger years helping in the family restaurant where his passion for hospitality, food and wine started.

He soon joined the wine school of Tain-l’Hermitage in the heart of the Rhône Valley. After graduating, Gabriel joined the wine team at Alain Ducasse in Monaco until 2015 and then decided to return to London. He joined the team at Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley, where he made his way up to Head Sommelier.

Up until June 2019, he held the position of Group Assistant Head Sommelier for Caprice Holdings & The Birley Clubs where he helped develop the wine program across the company. In June 2019 Gabriel joined the opening team of Davies and Brook as the Wine Director, a position that he held up until the closing in December 2021.

Sebastian Tollius has been perfecting his craft in the hospitality industry for almost 15 years. Before joining us at Eleven Madison Park in 2019, he worked in some of the best bars and hotels around the world, including in Switzerland, Thailand, and Spain.

Bringing a range of innovative concepts and a culinary approach, Sebastian expertly led our Beverage team through our 2021 re-opening and plant-based transition, and he has transformed our cocktail program through new plant-based techniques and ingredients.

He and his team now work closely with our chefs in the kitchen to create a brand-new cocktail menu each season that complements and highlights ingredients from the tasting menu – constantly pushing boundaries when it comes to both technique and flavor.