Furious chef lets loose after clash with vegan protestors
Celebrity chef John Mountain has doubled down on his vow to ban vegans from his restaurant in Perth, after he was targeted by angry vegan activists for the second time.
The chef clashed with vegan protestor Tash Peterson on Saturday, after she stormed his booked-out restaurant with other activists in tow.
Peterson and other activists stood outside with a megaphone, while shouting and playing sounds of squealing pigs, moments before the altercation was caught on camera.
Speaking candidly on A Current Affair, Mountain said he planing his revenge to aggravate the protestors in retaliation.
"You're barred for life and whenever I open any other business, now I'm going to start opening steak restaurants just to piss you off," John Mountain told ACA host Leila McKinnon about the activists who tried to storm his restaurant.
When Peterson and her posse of protestors stormed his restaurant, called Fyre, on Saturday, Mountain said he'd had enough and confronted them.
"I lost my cool because now it's really disrupting my business and I could see the look on my customers' faces, my staff — they were all a little scared and a bit nervous and I just stormed out," Mountain said.
Police are investigating allegations of assault during the clash, after Peterson filed a report with attending officers.
"We're not going after this restaurant because they're banning vegans — yes that was maybe a reason that instigated it — but at the end of the day it's because this man is profiting from animal abuse and murder and he's also glamourising it," she said on Sunday.
Mountain defended his choice to retaliate against the protestors, saying he chose to stand up to the bullies to "protect my business".
"Bullies come in all different shapes and sizes and these lot just happen to be the vegans."
The chef became emotional while discussing the altercation, sharing how the war against vegans has greatly impacted his personal life.
"I lost my partner because of this, I lost a relationship, I thought I was going to marry this woman and she just couldn't handle the amount of attention," he said while choking up with emotion.
"Thanks vegans."
The clash with protestors comes just weeks after Mountain posted on social media that vegans were now banned from his restaurant due to "mental health reasons", sparking outrage among activists and the vegan community.
Image credits: A Current Affair / 9News