Gordon Ramsay’s Chelsea restaurant occupied by Animal Rebellion activists demanding ‘plant-based future’

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Animal Rebellion activists descended on Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in Chelsea, which serves dinners starting at £155 per person, to protest food inequality

Gordon Ramsay’s three-star Michelin restaurant in London’s Chelsea was occupied by climate crisis activists on Saturday evening who descended to protest at the “perfect inequality” of high-end dining venues. A group of Animal Rebellion supporters entered Restaurant Gordon Ramsay on Royal Hospital Road at around 6pm where they could be seen holding “mock menus” outling the environmental and social cost of the food served in the restaurant.

The mock menus also contained the group’s core demands for a “plant-based future” stylised as a starter, main and dessert. The restaurant serves dinners starting at a price of £155 per person, with dishes including veal and steak which are among the foods with the largest carbon and land-use footprints.

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Lucia Alexander, a 39-year-old auxiliary nurse, was involved in the demonstration. In a statement, she called for the UK to transition to a plant-based food system which the group claims is “the answer” to the cost of living and climate crises.

“This restaurant is the perfect example of the inequality we face in the UK right now,” said Ms Alexander. “While Gordon Ramsay serves food costing a minimum of £155 per person, more than two million people are relying on food banks in this cost-of-living crisis.

“Instead of restaurants making colossal profits at the expense of animals, workers, and our climate, we need to feed everyone by supporting farmers and fishing communities in a transition to a plant-based food system. A plant-based food system requires 75% less farmland to grow food, allowing us to feed millions of additional people without the reliance on exploitative and inefficient animal farming industries.”

The group said 14 activists took part in the protest. They added: “At 8pm the restaurant closed for businesses and the protesters left peacefully through the front door.”

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The Metropolitan police said officers were called to the restaurant “to reports of a group of protesters refusing to leave the premises”. A spokesperson said: “The restaurant was closed and the protesters left. There were no arrests.”

A group of 14 climate crisis activists from Animal Rebellion occupied the restaurant in London’s Chelsea on Saturday evening, wheret they held mock menus outlining demands for a ‘plant-based future’.A group of 14 climate crisis activists from Animal Rebellion occupied the restaurant in London’s Chelsea on Saturday evening, wheret they held mock menus outlining demands for a ‘plant-based future’.
A group of 14 climate crisis activists from Animal Rebellion occupied the restaurant in London’s Chelsea on Saturday evening, wheret they held mock menus outlining demands for a ‘plant-based future’. | Animal Rebellion

On Thursday, a high-end seafood restaurant in Weymouth saw similar disruption when Animal Rebellion supporter and marine biologist Emma Smart pleaded for a five minute audience with David Attenborough who was dining at the establishment. She was filmed being removed by police and staff.

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