© BRENDAN BECKETT / BARCROFT MEDIA LTD
The restaurant at the centre of the lion burger storm has braved a bomb threat and 250 threatening phone calls to serve their first round of roaring good meat.
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Frying up 15 of the tasty burgers at his restaurant Il Vinaio last week, owner and chef Cameron Seolgie even provided ice-cold water for the dozens of protesters who gathered out side in objection to the dish.
Charging £14 a pop for the king of the jungle burgers, each one came with homemade fries and a roast corn on the cob.
© IL VINAIO / BARCROFT USA
Created to celebrate the World Cup, Cameron and his lion burger have caused controversy as animals rights protesters have questioned the origin and legality of the lion meat.
“I wanted to produce a memory of the World Cup at the restaurant,” said Cameron, whose restaurant Il Vinaio is a popular eatery in Masa, Arizona.
“So I contacted our supplier, who produced around 10 pounds of ground lion meat for us here.
“They (the supplier) are federally approved and lion meat is not illegal to eat or produce in America. That is what the Federal Department of Agriculture (FDA) told me.
© IL VINAIO / BARCROFT USA
“So when people call up and scream down the phone, I tell them that lions are not endangered, this meat is from farmed lions and is humane.
“They calm down after that.”
Cameron is philosophical about the media storm.
“We get this meat from a farm in Illinois, which our supplier assures us is completely legal,” explained Cameron.
© IL VINAIO / BARCROFT USA
“My interest grew when I saw it on the suppliers list and so it seems has my customers.
“They are all excited about the big night.
“We are sold out of lion burgers and we haven’t even made one yet.”
Words by James Nye
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