Chef John Mountain, who owns renowned restaurant Fyre based in Perth, Australia, has revealed that he has “banned” vegans from his establishment.
He made the announcement on Facebook, revealing that the ban was due to “mental-health reasons”, after reportedly receiving a negative review from a customer who said the restaurant didn’t have enough plant-based options on its menu.
Mountain’s Facebook announcement explained: “Sadly all vegans are now banned from Fyre (for mental health reasons). We thank you for your understanding. Xx”.
The post’s caption included “Yep. I’m done.” alongside the hashtags #vegan, #not, #pleasegoelsewhere, #veganfreezone, and #nomorevegans.
Talking to PerthNow, the chef shared that it all started with a bad review, saying: “A young girl reached out to me and said she was coming to the restaurant… and asked if there were vegan options.
“It was my only shortfall… I said I would accommodate her, I said we had gnocchi, vegetables… and that was that.”
However, by the time the customer showed up for their booking, the Great British Menu star had forgotten all about the promise he made.
Mountain said: “Saturday came around and sadly I’d forgotten… I had a private party I had to cater for.”
The customer then went on Facebook to share their complaint. They posted: “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.”
The restaurant went on to reply to the complaint, commenting: “Thanks for your negative review… please feel free to share your sh***y 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.”
Mountain claimed that the customer’s complaint triggered a series of one-star reviews on Google, hurting the business.
“F*** vegans seriously… I’m done. At the end of the day, it’s not what I want to do, they can f*** off,” he added.
Mountain’s ban and reaction to the negative feedback have been met with mixed reactions. While some have commended the chef for his stance, others have criticised him for discriminating against vegans and being arrogant.
