Fyre restaurant vegan ban feud boils over as John Mountain takes swipe at Tash Peterson
A celebrity chef who banned vegans from his restaurant has made a brutal dig at an activist after she crashed his establishment.
John Mountain posted an Instagram profile picture of himself rocking a baby pig with Tash Peterson’s face on it.
The image came to light after the pair clashed at Mr Mountain’s restaurant Fyre in Perth, where Ms Peterson led protesters to his venue on Friday evening.
Mr. Mountain completed his profile with the caption, “Once a cook, always a cook.”
Ms Peterson was not amused by the social media dig when she posted her reaction to Instagram on Saturday night.
Celebrity chef John Mountain has provocatively posted an Instagram photo of him cradling a pig with the face of vegan activist Tash Peterson
John Mountain (pictured center left) takes on Tash Peterson (pictured center right) at the Friday night protest
Mr Mountain announced in June that he would no longer be serving vegans for “mental health reasons”.
“Once an animal abuser, always an animal abuser?” she wrote.
“Even those who now mock the abuse and killing of animals will become vegan one day, so will you Johnnie.
“Not only does he make fun of murder by cradling a murderer’s body, he thinks it’s hilarious to put my face on that murder victim.”
Mr Mountain announced in June that he would no longer serve vegans for “mental health reasons” after an altercation with a restaurant.
Ms Peterson and a dozen other protesters stormed into Fyre on Friday evening with a loudspeaker to protest the ban on vegans in the restaurant.
After a heated confrontation, the activists were physically pushed out of the restaurant, where staff dragged them outside.
Mr Mountain later told Seven News that he will be pressing charges against the activists.
To underline that he’s not backing down, Mr. Mountain posted to his Instagram a quote from famed meat-loving chef and food provocateur Anthony Bourdain.
“Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter faction, the vegans … are the enemy of all that is good and decent in the human mind,” reads a New Yorker essay Bourdain wrote in 1999.
‘To live without veal or chicken broth, fish cheeks, sausages, cheese or offal is betrayal.’
Ms Peterson and a dozen other protesters stormed into Fyre on Friday evening with a loudspeaker to protest the ban on vegans in the restaurant
Mrs. Peterson was amused by Mountain’s edited image of a baby pig with her face on it
Perth restaurateur Mountain doesn’t hold back his feud with vegans and also posted this incendiary quote on his Instagram account
“I love you, Anthony Bourdain, your loss is felt worldwide in every corner of every kitchen,” Mr. Mountain wrote of the author and TV personality who committed suicide in 2018.
There were many negative reactions from self-described vegans to the change of Instagram profile picture and posted quote.
“Wow what a soulless person you must be, Johnny,” one wrote.
“Glad to be on the side of justice and the right side of history, unlike you Johnnie,” another commented.
“Veganism wins bald man,” claimed another commenter.
On Friday, Ms. Peterson and a dozen other activists played recordings of pigs screaming as they were slaughtered before being confronted by Mr. Mountain and other staff.
Mrs. Peter claims she was left with cuts and bruises after the altercation with Mr. Mountain.
Video shows her yelling at Mr. Mountain, “You got blood on your hands!” Mrs. Peterson yells at the chef, who gestures rudely at her in return.
“People eat the flesh of animals that have been mistreated and killed,” Ms Peterson told Channel Seven after being evicted from the property in Perth’s northern suburbs.
“I want to take down companies if they profit from the animal holocaust.”
Mr Mountain said the ban on vegans, which he announced in a Facebook post just over a week ago and which made headlines worldwide, is not hurting his business, but that the restaurant has boomed.
“The ridiculous thing about them wanting to shut me down is that it backfires,” he said.
Mountain pulls one of the vegan protesters out of his Fyre restaurant on Friday night
“We now have to slaughter more animals to feed our customers, because that’s what they want.
“We have tripled our turnover. So thank you very much vegans, I love you!’
Not content to leave it at that, he issued a cheeky mock invitation to all of his herbivorous opponents.
“Come on down, maybe you can have a bacon butty (sandwich) with me,” he said.
Despite his defiant front, Mr Mountain admitted on Tuesday that the controversy had taken its toll when his girlfriend split.
“This week has been a pretty rough week… it’s been rough in my personal life, it even ended my relationship, so that’s really sad,” Mr. Mountain told the Youth Jam podcast.
“My partner couldn’t handle it, she kept collapsing and I thought ‘well that’s the last thing I need, I’ve got enough vegans on my back’.”
He confirmed that the ban started with a vegan customer who gave him a negative review the day before yesterday.
Mr Mountatin said the vegan woman had emailed him before visiting Fyre to check if they had options that suited her diet.
On Friday, Mountain and his staff clashed with a dozen vegan activists led by Tash Peterson (pictured center)
Mr. Mountain claims he reassured the woman who served Fyre vegetable sides and gnocchi that could be made vegan-friendly.
However, he forgot her request in the chaos of Saturday night when the restaurant hosted a private party.
The woman sent a private message the following Sunday in which Mr. Mountain said he was personally offended.
The celebrity chef, best known for starring in the BBC’s Great British Menu over a decade ago, followed the exchange with a candid Facebook post.
“Unfortunately, all vegans are now banned from FYRE (for mental health reasons),” it read.
‘We thank you for your understanding. Xx.’