Earlier this week, Gordon Ramsay tweeted an unexpected statement, and we actually wondered if the celebrity chef was trolling us. In the tweet, he wrote, "Going to give this #vegan thing a try." The declaration was accompanied by a photo of a pizza sparsely covered with what appears to be tomato sauce, pesto, pine nuts, eggplant, and no cheese. Upon reading the sentence and seeing the photo, we thought there's no way this is real, but after an ellipsis, Ramsay also wrote, "Yes guys you heard that right" and finished the tweet off by signing "Gx."
Going to give this #vegan thing a try ... Yes guys you heard that right. Gx pic.twitter.com/iJZb8WMlH8
— Gordon Ramsay (@GordonRamsay) April 16, 2018
Ramsay's recent tweet came as a shock for us and many of his other fans because he has long been outspoken about his love for meat. We've seen him try to get a vegetarian to eat steak, scoff at someone looking for advice on how to cook a vegan meal, and most recently, offend PETA by appropriating and twisting its iconic acronym.
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Oh, dear, Gordon. We've heard that old line before. While you're spending time mocking the future #vegan we're betting you one day become, most chefs are exploring healthy, animal- & environment-friendly #PlantBased dishes.
— PETA (@peta) February 2, 2018
The vegan tweet gave many of his followers, including us, pause because we initially thought it meant he himself was was pulling a Kylie Jenner and "trying out this whole a vegan thing." Even if, like Kylie, the vegan diet was very much temporary, we'd still be surprised. However, a follow-up tweet, which he posted a day later, now has us thinking differently.
The second tweet announced that Ramsay had opened a pizza restaurant called Street Pizza, and according to a post on the Gordon Ramsay Restaurants website, the new pizza place has a vegan option on its menu. The vegan pizza is called the Charred Aubergine, which we assume is the pizza pictured in his shocking tweet.
Grab a pizza the action … my brand new #pizza restaurant @GRStreetPizza opens today in #London
— Gordon Ramsay (@GordonRamsay) April 17, 2018
I promise it’ll be right #UpYourStreet pic.twitter.com/mcp04wr6pq
Knowing what we know now, there's no denying that Gordon Ramsay's "Going to give this #vegan thing a try" tweet was a very savvy business move. It got people talking and drew a lot of attention to the Street Pizza opening. Even if he loves meat, we have seen the chef prepare vegan dishes before, so simply stating that his new restaurant would have a vegan option on the menu wouldn't have made as much of a splash. So, Gordon Ramsay is smart, but is he vegan? We're not so sure.
A representative for Ramsay told People that they "could not elaborate on his new vegan diet or how long he plans to keep following it," which could be interpreted several different ways. We reached out to a Ramsay representative to get further clarification and will update this story as we learn more.