Vegan trolls hit back at UK chef John Mountain after he banned plant-eaters from Perth restaurant
- John Mountain is from Preston, Lancashire and owns the Fyre restaurant in Perth
- He caused an uproar after banning vegans from restaurants following complaint
- Now vegan trolls have hit back by calling up eatery and making fake bookings
A British celebrity chef has been hit by vegan trolls after he made the controversial decision to ban them from his restaurant.
John Mountain owns the Fyre restaurant in Perth, Australia.
But he has caused an international uproar after reacting to a negative review of his restaurant by saying: ‘F*** vegans… they can f*** off.’
The 55-year-old chef, who is originally from Preston, Lancashire, has since imposed a ban on all vegan customers, claiming to do so ‘for mental health reasons’.
Writing on Facebook, Mr Mountain said: ‘Sadly all vegans are now banned from Fyre (for mental health reasons). We thank you for your understanding.’
The post also included a caption saying, ‘Yep. I’m done’, as well as the hashtags: vegan, #not, #pleasegoelsewhere, #veganfreezone, and #nomorevegans.
Since then, there has been a coordinated counterattack as vegan trolls bombarded the restaurant with fake bookings.
The Fyre website reads: ‘Due to the frequency of non-genuine vegan bookings, we have been forced to request a $30 per person booking fee.
‘This fee is wholly deductible from your bill after dining at Fyre.’
It comes only hours after the chef boasted that bookings had ‘gone through the roof’ since he announced his ban.
Speaking to Australian news site The Project, Mr Mountrain said: ‘I usually do half a dozen people in this beautiful restaurant.
‘I have 35 booked for dinner tonight.
‘This has been the best marketing that’s ever happened to me.’
Controversial Perth vegan activist, Tash Peterson told 7News: ‘One incident where this chef is clearly upset by a valid complaint, and then to discriminate an entire group of people, I don’t see it as any different to banning Muslims or women, it’s a blatant form of discrimination.
‘I think he’s triggered by veganism and I think it’s a defence mechanism against his own guilt.’
The original complaint happened on a night when Mr Mountain wasn’t working and had forgotten to tell his Sous-chef about a special order.
A woman was given a $32 (£16.88) bowl of vegetables and she made a complaint to the restaurant in a direct message.
She said: ‘My only option was the vegetable dish. It was okay but not that filling and I was shocked to see it was $32.
‘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.
‘I hope to see some improvements in your menu as I have lived in Connolly for quite some time and have seen many restaurants come and go from that building and none of them last.
‘If you don’t get with the times, I don’t hold out faith that your restaurant will be the one that does.’
Mr Mountain hit back: ‘Thanks for your negative review… please feel free to share your s**tty experience and I look forward to not seeing you again.
‘How very childish. You and all your vegan mates can all go and enjoy your dishes in another venue. You are now banned.’
Although the chef said her complaint was justified, he claimed the woman took it too far.
He said: ‘Look, I said I would accommodate her, and I didn’t.
‘But, she made the complaint personal.’
According to Perth Now, another chef said she suffered her own ‘devastating’ online backlash in the past.
According to head chef and owner of Two Dogs Laughing Cafe Elizabeth Peasley, vegan customers have the ‘potential to destroy a business’.
She added: ‘When they get their friends to jump in and post negative reviews online and that hurts when you work 100-hour weeks as a chef and put your heart and soul into what you do.’
The Mail Online has contacted Fyre for comment.