Perth Fyre chef John Mountain warns activists like Tash Peterson after vegan ban complaint

A controversial celebrity chef has doubled down on his decision to ban vegans from his restaurant after being threatened that activists would stage a protest.

UK-born celebrity chef John Mountain responded to comments from notorious vegan activist Tash Peterson and others online suggesting they could stage a protest at his Fyre restaurant in Connolly in north Perth.

“Call the police and the ambulance, have them on standby, because if they try to pull a stunt on me, good luck,” Mr. Berg Triple M told co-hosts Xav and Michelle on Wednesday.

The controversy began after a vegan diner left a one-star review discussing his “failures as a chef,” which Mr. Mountain took personally, leading him to ban anyone identifying as vegan via Facebook.

“Unfortunately, all vegans have now been banned from Fyre for mental health reasons. We thank you for your understanding. xx,” he wrote on Tuesday.

The Google review firestorm that Fyre subsequently received left the average score at 2.8, which was significantly lower than the respectable 4.3 it had achieved before the incident.

“I’m not against vegans in any way, I think they’re all beautiful people,” Mr. Mountain told the co-hosts.

“It’s only when they act like jerks.”

Since the incident first happened yesterday, Ms Peterson, who is known to have staged protests in diners before, said the chef was guilty and insecure.

“He’s obviously quite triggered by veganism and I think it might be a defense mechanism for his own guilt,” she told 7News.

When asked for a response to her comment and what would happen to protesters entering his business, Mr Mountain said ambulances should be on standby.

“She’s clearly not a licensed psychologist, is she,” he said.

“I am the licensee of that property, I spent almost half a million of my own hard-earned money. I have no investors, nothing. I will physically pick them up and throw them away.”

Mr Mountain confirmed that threats of a physical protest had already been sent to him, to which he responded with ‘lol’ before blocking the senders on social media.

You will never please all people all the time. And to be honest, I always have one vegetarian option and I always will,” he continued.

Vegan, it’s a little different. I don’t know what you can make without butter.’

Listeners called in during the live segment, and many supported the move, with one vegan admitting it was a bit disappointing that they couldn’t dine there anymore.

“I stand behind this, no need to act like a peanut and sully someone’s business over it,” said one listener.

Less than 48 hours after the hailstorm began, the Fyre restaurant currently has a review score of 4.4 – which is better than before Mr Mountain banned vegans.

The chef says the influx of online bookings has crashed his website three times a day and has now declared business booming.

The ordeal began when Mr. Mountain received an email from the restaurant several weeks ago that finally gave him the poor review.

“She contacted me a few weeks earlier… it’s like, how do you know there’s a vegan in your restaurant?” Well, they’ve already told you that 17 times,” he shared with the hosts.

“She had said ‘what are your alternatives, what do you have, I’m VEGAN’ in all caps – because I can’t read lower case.”

After asking what her favorite food was, she told him that gnocchi and risotto were among her favorite dishes.

“I thought God, she’s traveled a lot,” he said sarcastically.

The meal she got was a $32 vegetable dish that her review described as “ok but not that filling.”

“I think it’s incredibly important these days that restaurants can accommodate everyone and that not being able to have real plant-based meals shows your shortcomings as a chef,” read the controversial review from the aggrieved restaurant.

But it was the restaurant’s comments about Mr. Mountain’s skills that motivated the chef to take the step of banning vegans from returning.

“The last straw that broke the camel’s back was that she questioned my ability as a cook. Turn around,” he said during Wednesday’s radio appearance.

Mr Mountain has lived in Australia for seven years after coming from Britain where he was a celebrity chef who shared an agent with kitchen superstar Jamie Oliver.

He has starred in cooking shows Great British Menu and Chef Race UK v US.

He has also worked with culinary pioneers Heston Blumenthal at the original famed Fat Duck restaurant in Berkshire, England, as well as brash Michelin three-star Marco Pierre White at London’s Mayfair.