Steakhouse starts selling vegan filet mignon - and it costs more than the meat version

Florida steakhouse is reportedly first in US to sell vegan steak

A steakhouse has unveiled its new vegan-friendly menu item: a filet mignon worth $69.

Charley’s Steak House, a fine-dining steakhouse restaurant based in Florida, recently introduced its wood-fired plant-based steak filet. According to Fast Company, the steakhouse is the first in the US to sell a vegan steak.

While the filet looks and feels like real beef, it is actually made using fermented soy and wheat, beet juice, coconut oil, fortified iron, and B1. The six-ounce vegan steak was made possible by the food startup, Chunk Foods.

On the Charley’s Steak House menu, the item is labelled as the “F U Filet Mignon - Freaking Unbelievable Plant-Based by Chunk,” right next to its hefty price tag of $69.

Seth Miller, the chief operating officer of Charley’s parent company, Talk of the Town, told Insider: “It’s not an inexpensive product. To deliver the quality that we want, it’s going to be an added expense to our guests.”

One of the biggest challenges to creating the plant-based steak, according to Fast Company, was “mimicking the texture, colour, and taste of traditional meat”. However, plant-based food companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods have successfully managed to dominate the vegan food industry with their ground beef substitutes.

Now, both companies have also joined in on the vegan steak craze. In October, Beyond Meat introduced its vegan steak tips, with 21 grams of protein per serving starting at $7.99. That same month, Impossible Foods announced it was launching a plant-based version of filet mignon.

Despite the growing demand for vegan-friendly menu options, one celebrity chef has “banned” vegans from his restaurant for “mental health reasons”. In June, celebrity chef John Mountain revealed on the Facebook page for his restaurant, Fyre, that the establishment would no longer be catering to vegan diners after he received a negative review from a customer criticising the lack of plant-based options.

“Sadly all vegans are now banned from Fyre (for mental health reasons),” the post on the restaurant’s Facebook read. “We thank you for your understanding. Xx.” The post also included the caption: “Yep. I’m done,” and the hashtags #vegan, #not, #pleasegoelsewhere, #veganfreezone, and #nomorevegans.

(Chunk Foods)

The restaurant reportedly addressed the customer’s complaint in a response of its own, in which it noted that it tried to “accommodate everyone” before encouraging them to “feel free to share your sh**ty experience”.

“Thanks for your negative review… please feel free to share your sh***y experience and I look forward to not seeing you again. How very childish. You and all your vegan mates can all go and enjoy your dishes in another venue, you are now banned,” the restaurant replied.

Meanwhile, a vegan family sparked backlash after they sent a letter to their neighbours asking them to close their windows when cooking meat. In a handwritten letter, a family member complained that the smell of meat wafting from their neighbour’s home was making the plant-based family “sick and upset”.

“Hello neighbour, could you please shut your side window when cooking please? My family are vegan (we eat only plant based foods) and the smell of the meat you cook makes us feel sick and upset,” the letter read.

However, many people criticised the vegan family’s “entitled” request for their neighbours to shut their windows when cooking meat. “I would fire up the smoker and do a 12-hour brisket, with a sausage sizzle for lunch thrown in,” one person said. “Entitled much?”

“Jesus, what is the world coming to when you can’t cook a steak in your own kitchen,” another commented.

“None of their business what you cook,” said someone else. “Complain about what they cook and see how that goes.”

The Independent has contacted Charley’s Steak House and Chunk Foods for comment.