Another Omnivore Restaurant Goes Vegan!
You may remember the great news of La Blue Casa, a Mexican restaurant located in Arlington, Texas, making the decision to become completely vegan after the owners watched Cowspiracy.
Well, it seems to have happened again, this time with a well-known pizzeria located in Sydney, Australia! Gigi, a popular and highly-ranked pizzeria, made the announcement that their new and revamped menu will be steering clear of all animal products. The announcement was made during an inaugural event with free pizzas offered, where the new 100% plant-based menu was unveiled.
Gigi is one of the only 14 pizzerias located in Australia that is certified by the Associazone Verace Pizza Napoletana, which is a non-profit Italian organization that aims to protect the idea of real Neapolitan pizza. Coupled with their strong following who loved Gigi’s formerly available meat and cheese-based pizzas, this was a very bold move for the restaurant.
Marco Matino, Gigi’s co-owner, stated his reason for the big change:
“The change came about from being aware of how much produce we go through plus all the information I’ve collected about animal agriculture on many different levels.”
As can be expected, the loyal fans of this pizzeria of course were not all completely supportive of the announced changes. Matino stated:
“We have a lot of customers who are passionate about their mozzarellas and salami, so it’s understandable that not everyone is positive about the change, but there’s been a lot of support too. A lot of people have argued that it’s not traditional to take mozzarella off pizza, but actually, the most traditional pizza you can order doesn’t have any meat or cheese on it.”
Their website states the decision not only goes in line with Gigi’s ethics, but also stays “true to the traditional Neapolitan Pizza by using fresh, quality local produce, combined with key ingredients imported from Italy, as specified by the AVPN, to create a perfect authentic Neapolitan pizza.”
The new vegan menu includes pizzas such as the “Cavolo”, which uses a cauliflower puree, artichokes, pine nuts, capers, currants, garlic and parsley, as well as the “Melanzane”, which features two types of tomato, grilled eggplant, basil salsa and olive oil.
A spokesperson of the restaurant confirmed that “the decision was not one made overnight”, and that “it was a change for all the right reasons, so we have absolutely no doubt over the new direction.”
With such an impressive menu and a wide selection of vegan pizzas, we have no doubts either!
Photo Credit: Jessica Matino
