Animal Rebellion protestors occupy Restaurant Gordon Ramsay

Fourteen members of Animal Rebellion entered Restaurant Gordon Ramsay on Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea, at about 6pm and sat at tables reserved for guests. 

The individuals could be seen holding mock menus outlining 'the environmental and social cost' of the food on Gordon Ramsay’s menu, followed by the group’s core demands stylised as a starter, main, and dessert.

As of 7pm police were attending the scene, and at 8pm the restaurant closed for business and the protestors say they left peacefully through the front door.

A spokesperson for Restaurant Gordon Ramsay called the protest 'incredibly inappropriate and deeply disrespectful'.

“Everyone is entitled to their opinions and beliefs,” she said.

“However, to force your way into a restaurant, disturbing hard-working staff going about their jobs and ruining the evening of guests who have waited months for their reservations is incredibly inappropriate and deeply disrespectful.”

Lucia Alexander, a 39-year-old auxiliary nurse from the East of England, was one of those to join the protest. She said: “This restaurant is the perfect example of the inequality we face in the UK right now. Whilst 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. This is THE answer to the cost-of-living and climate crises.”