Chef Fired for Claiming to Secretly Feed Meat to Vegans

Alex Lambert—head chef at Littleover Lodge Hotel in Derby, England—made international headlines last week when he was fired from his job for claiming on Instagram that it was his “personal favorite” pastime to sneak meat into the dishes for vegan restaurant patrons. In a since-deleted exchange about plant-based diets, Lambert wrote, “Well you should find a better way to spend your time, my personal favorite is feeding vegans animal products and them not knowing.” The Littleover Lodge Hotel received an array of comments and one-star ratings across social media sites, calling for the termination of Lambert from his position. The hotel first responded via Facebook, saying it had suspended the chef while espousing his qualifications. However, less than a day later, management announced that though it had “found no evidence suggesting that any of these practices have taken place within this hotel,” Lambert’s employment was terminated. “I am proud that the vegan community has spoken up and forced Littleover to make Mr. Lambert accountable for his dangerous, illegal, and highly immoral actions,” one commenter said. Lambert later claimed that his inflammatory remark was “a stupid comment said out of anger” aimed at the person he was debating online. The Littleover Lodge Hotel has since reached out to its social media followers asking for help in developing new vegan meal options.