Gordon Ramsay urged to axe octopus from his restaurant menus to dodge Halloween ‘curse’

Gordon Ramsay is being urged to remove octopus from his restaurant menus.

The acclaimed chef, who recently admitted he ‘loves’ vegan food, has been sent a letter from animal rights charity PETA.

Octopus ‘curse’

It argues that serving octopus risks provoking an ‘ancient curse’ which is ‘said to affect all those who kill, cook, or eat octopuses’ at Halloween.

In a satirical video, PETA warns of the ‘octocurse’ – which sees people bleeding blue blood and having their head swell to an abnormally large size, as well as people developing huge eyes and the ability to squirt ink.

Joking aside, the charity writes: “Octopuses are hyper-intelligent animals capable of complex thought processes: they can navigate mazes, use tools, and learn how to do such things as unscrew lids simply by watching. 

“They are masters of disguise, they decorate their homes as we do, and they have excellent memories. They are also extremely sensitive to pain. 

“In fact, because octopuses’ brains are distributed throughout their bodies… The terror and pain they experience at being sliced up alive or speared to death, common methods of killing these animals, is almost unimaginable.”

Gordon Ramsay’s vegan venture

The hot-headed chef has not always been a huge fan of plant-based food. In fact, he once joked he was ‘allergic’ to vegans – and used to regularly post anti-veggie rhetoric on his social media.

However, the star slowly seems to be changing his mind. In 2018, he started adding more animal-free options to his restaurant menus, saying he ‘could see a more creative demand for it’.

Years later, Ramsay partnered with vegan milk brand Silk, and admitted: “It took my kids getting on me, but now I really enjoy cooking more plant-based recipes at home and in my restaurants.”

Want to make sure you avoid the curse yourself? Check out our collection of tasty not terrifying vegan Halloween recipes

Featured image: Ethan Miller via Getty Images