Restaurant that banned vegans introduces booking fee after being trolled

A celebrity chef who banned vegans from his restaurants has been forced to implement a booking fee after being trolled online.

It all started when John Mountain, owner of Fyre in Australia, announced the new policy on Facebook following a customer complaint.

"Sadly all vegans are now banned from Fyre (for mental health reasons). We thank you for your understanding," he wrote.

In a direct message, the customer reportedly wrote: "My only option was the vegetable dish… it was okay but not that filling… and I was shocked to see it was $32 (£17).

"If you don’t get with the times, I don’t hold out faith that your restaurant will be the one that does. 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."

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The chef didn't take the feedback lightly, telling 7News: "F**k vegans - I’m done with them."

"I once wrote and sold a book called Pig which had pork recipes. People know what they’re getting from me."

Now, the chef claims he's been bombarded with fake bookings from vegans, prompting him to introduce a $30 (£16) booking fee.

On his website, he wrote: "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."

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