Preston-born chef John Mountain ‘bans’ vegans from Australian restaurant ‘for mental health reasons’

Chef John Mountain revealed on the Facebook page for his restaurant Fyre that the eatery would no longer be catering to vegan diners.

The decision to ban vegans from the Perth, Australia, restaurant was due to “mental health reasons”, according to Mountain.

“Sadly all vegans are now banned from Fyre (for mental health reasons),” the post on the restaurant’s Facebook reads.

“We thank you for your understanding. Xx.”

The decision allegedly stemmed from a bad review posted by a vegan customer.

Mountain told PerthNow that a customer had reached out to him to ask if there were any vegan options at the restaurant, and that he’d promised he would accommodate her.

“It was my only shortfall… I said I would accommodate her, I said we had gnocchi, vegetables… and that was that,” he said.

However, according to Mountain, who previously starred on the BBC show Great British Menu, he’d forgotten about the woman’s request when she came to dine on Saturday.

“Saturday came around and sadly I’d forgotten… I had a private party I had to cater for,” he told the outlet, adding that his sous chef had reportedly reprimanded him for “not telling them about the vegan customer”.

According to the Preston-born chef, the woman wrote a complaint to the restaurant on Facebook the following day, in which she’d criticised the $32 vegetable dish that had been her “only option”.

The woman’s message reportedly read: “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 reportedly addressed the woman’s complaint in a response of its own, in which it noted that it tried to “accommodate everyone”.

The chef claimed that, as a result of the woman’s complaint, his restaurant was flooded with negative one-star reviews on Google, which he said “really hurts the business”.

The ban sparked an intense debate among customers, with some praising Mountain and Fyre and others condemning the decision.

One comment read: “Bravo! Good on you mate, great stance. It’s nowhere near where I live but I will definitely come to your restaurant now.”

Another person wrote: “It’s your restaurant, good for you. Can’t wait to come and try your dishes, you sound like a top chef.”

Someone else said: “You can’t call yourself a chef if you can’t even cook veggies. Owner is very arrogant and can’t take criticism.”

Another added: “Discriminating and refusing vegans into his venue, all for a complaint for not following an agreed vegan option. How disgusting.”

Vegan activist Tash Peterson said the ban was a form of “discrimination”.

“One incident where this chef is clearly upset by a valid complaint, and then to discriminate an entire group of people ... it is a blatant form of discrimination,” she told 7NEWS.