Australian Restaurant Bans Vegans In Response To Negative Review
Celebrity chef John Mountain has primarily been known for his appearances on food shows like the "Great British Menu" and "Chef Race U.K. vs. U.S.," but more recently he's become most recognizable as the chef who has banned vegans from his Connolly, Australia restaurant, Fyre.
On June 19, Mountain posted to his Facebook page: "Sadly all Vegans are banned from FYRE (for mental health reasons) We thank you for understanding. Xx." The post, which garnered thousands of comments, came on the heels of a conflict between Mountain and a vegan patron who was disappointed by her meal at Fyre.
The patron, who has remained unnamed, had reached out to Mountain prior to her visit to the restaurant, requesting a vegan meal when she was scheduled to dine at the restaurant. He agreed but subsequently forgot to inform his staff. Because he was busy catering a private event on the day of her reservation, the kitchen prepared a vegan meal for her on the fly, but she was dissatisfied with it and communicated that to the chef in an email before eventually posting a 1-star review online.
What happened?
The patron's primary complaint was that the food that was prepared for her wasn't filling, and that it was overpriced at $32, which equates to $21.61 in USD. "I think it's incredibly important nowadays that restaurants can accommodate everyone and to not be able to have actual plant-based meals shows your shortcomings as a chef," the patron said in her review (via Daily Mail).
In response to the review, and Mountain's subsequent banning, social media mayhem ensued with arguments in the Facebook post's comments as well as a slew of reviews from both supporters and detractors. While Mountain admits that he's at fault for not relaying the message to his staff, he says that the patron herself took the situation too far, resulting in his decision to ban vegans altogether.
In an interview with CNN, Mountain said, "Go find another kebab shop somewhere else that's happy to give you that plastic rubbish that you enjoy to eat so much." The ban has also sparked a call to protest by vegan activist Tash Peterson, who says the ban is a form of discrimination. Meanwhile, Mountain says his business is up since the conflict, with over 5 times more tables booked on a particular weeknight than usual. In the same interview with CNN, Mountain said, "I'm done with vegans. I'm absolutely done, done, done with vegans."