A renowned chef has reported that his restaurant was inundated with false one-star reviews following his decision not to modify the menu to accommodate vegan diets.
Dylan Chaseman, 37, is the proprietor of The Blue Door located on Waterloo Street in Surry Hills, Sydney. The establishment is well-known for offering a tasting menu that features whole animals and vegetables sourced from regenerative farms.
The restaurant came under fire from social media users after they noticed a disclaimer on the menu stating that it does not cater to “preferences, vegan, FODMAP, or multiple dietary” requirements.
With just two chefs in the kitchen, each responsible for preparing at least seven courses per customer, the restaurant maintains that it avoids menu alterations to preserve the dining experience and minimize food waste.
An aggrieved potential customer shared their frustration on Reddit, stating, “I was planning to attend an event at this venue until I learned they could not and would not accommodate my vegan dietary needs.”
Another social media critic remarked, “It’s quite embarrassing when a ‘chef’ is either unable or unwilling to craft an exceptional vegan dish.”
Sommelier and restaurant manager Angelica Nohra added that the restaurant has been plagued by poor reviews online following the social media storm.
Mr Chaseman posted a photo of barbecued meat on social media in response, telling the critics to ‘go f*** yourself if you think you can come at me without repercussions’.
‘It’s not because we can’t (do vegan dishes), it’s because we don’t want to… similar to your choice around eating meat,’ he wrote.
Chef Dylan Chaseman (pictured) is worried his Sydney restaurant The Blue Door will be protested after his menu was criticised by vegan social media users
Restaurant manager Angelica Nohra added that the beloved restaurant has been plagued by poor reviews online following the social media storm, which Google is investigating
The restaurant, which offers a tasting menu for $170 per customer, said they ‘do not cater to preferences, vegan, FODMAP or multiple dietaries’
Mr Chaseman, who is also head chef, told Daily Mail he is worried some people may graffiti his restaurant of four years, or protest during service.
‘You should be safe to go to work in the job you’ve chosen,’ he said.
‘Just because someone doesn’t agree with it doesn’t mean you should be persecuted on the internet for it.
‘You have a whole other bunch of radicalised people that just pile on not knowing anything about it.
‘How stupid are you? Any sort of intelligence involves a discussion and thinking about multiple sides of a conversation or an argument.’
The chef said his restaurant is open to vegan dishes for private events, adding the person complaining could have ‘picked up the phone’ before coming in.
But, for general service, Mr Chaseman said he cannot cater to just one person when he has a small team and hundreds of dishes to serve over a single night.
‘I don’t think people understand the amount of work that goes into it and the amount of thought that goes into it,’ he said.
Mr Chaseman posted a photo of barbecued meat on social media in response to critics
Mr Chaseman and his fiancée Ms Nohra opened The Blue Door in Surry Hills in 2021
The chef added it is easy to remove a meat item for a vegetarian or pescatarian dish, but it is more complicated to cater to a vegan customer’s demands given animal products are used throughout ingredients, including tart pastry or homemade bread.
‘It’s not coming up with a tiny amount of things,’ Mr Chaseman said.
‘If we’re spending, you know, eight to ten hours preparing 16 dishes for one person who is vegan, it doesn’t make sense.
‘Does someone say no to you and you just fly off the rails and abuse them?’
Mr Chaseman spent two and a half years working in some of the best Michelin-starred kitchens in Europe.
He returned to Australia during the Covid pandemic where he met Ms Nohra, who is now his fiancée, and they opened The Blue Door in 2021 together.
Dinner at the restaurant, which costs $169 per person, offers customers a minimum seven-course tasting menu using produce from NSW farmers.
‘The thing I would really like to see come from this is that people need to be held responsible. There should be repercussions for these people,’ Mr Chaseman said.
‘It shouldn’t matter that it’s the internet. You should be held to the same standard as everyone else.’
