Vegan vs meat-eater: Could mixed menus and hybrid foods bridge the divide?

Back in 2021, New York’s Eleven Madison Park shocked the culinary world by becoming the first Michelin three-star restaurant to go fully vegan. Foodies were divided: some cheered, others cried into their truffle pasta.

Fast forward to now, and the restaurant is bringing meat back – yes, oysters, lobster, and duck are returning to the menu, and chicken could be next. Cue the vegan vs omnivore debate all over again.

London-based vegan restaurant reviewer and influencer Clare Every called the move "backwards," while Michelin-star chef Alexis Gauthier slammed it on Facebook:

"Reintroducing animals to the menu is not progress," he wrote. "It’s a step back into an outdated vision of what great food must be. And it’s a loss, not just for the animals, but for the future we could be building together."

Others, however, see it as a signal that we need add nuance to the conversation that 100% vegan is the way to if you care about the planet.

A middle aisle?

Frank Holleman, founder of climate-conscious food app Fork Ranger, says he thinks these shifts signal that the world is not yet ready to embrace 100% vegan menus or foods.

"I think [Eleven Madison Park’s decision] shows how closely tied food is to our identity," he tells Impact Loop.

"There are a lot of people who are open to reducing meat, but if the whole restaurant is 100% plant-based it signals to the meat lovers that it's not for them," he continues. "It’s a shame, but the world is not there yet."

That appears to be part of motivation behind Eleven Madison Park’s head chef Daniel Humm's decision. He told the New York Times that letting everyone around the table enjoy the food – including meat eaters – was the best way to champion plant-based cooking. He also hinted the all-vegan menu may have hurt business.

Humm insists the restaurant will still serve mainly plant-based dishes – but some meat and fish items are back on the menu.

Holleman is cautiously on board.

"Animal products can have a place in a sustainable system," he says, pointing to oysters, which clean oceans, and chickens, which can eat organic waste. "But lobster and duck seem like classic high-end options without a sustainability case."

Katelijne Bekers, co-founder and CEO at Lisbon- and Hamburg-based precision fermentation startup Microharvest, thinks we need more balance in how we approach the issue.

"We need to strike a compromise and develop better alternatives that cater to everyone."

Some consumers are turning off plant-based alternatives for health reasons – many vegan sausages, burgers, and fillets are ultra-processed.

"We need to reduce meat intake, sure, but we also need to make plant-based options better and healthier," says Bekers, whose startup makes "ultra-nutritious" microprotein from bacteria.

Best of both worlds?

Eleven Madison Park’s shift reflects a bigger trend in foodtech: the rise of hybrid foods.

Companies are increasingly blending plant-based and animal-based ingredients – hybrid meat, hybrid milk, flexitarian-friendly options – to please everyone at the table while trying to keep diets sustainable. One of them is SMAQO, founded earlier this year by foodtech entrepreneur Ramkumar Nair.

Nair previously ran Sweden-based Mycorena, which made mycelium-based meats but went into administration last year after funding fell short. With SMAQO, he’s taking a different approach: direct-to-consumer products that blend mycelium with animal protein.

"We’re not trying to copy meat or go fully plant-based," Nair tells Impact Loop. "We just wanted to make something new that’s more balanced – great taste, better nutrition than either option, but lighter on the planet than a steak would be."