Restaurateur faces jail for black ant sorbet dessert
Restaurateur faces jail for black ant sorbet dessert
Wed, July 22, 2026 at 3:14 PM UTC
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Dried black ants were added to a sorbet as part of a 15-course menu at a restaurant in Seoul
The owner of a Michelin-starred restaurant in South Korea could be jailed for serving sorbet topped with ants.
The restaurant, in the upmarket district of Gangnam in Seoul, imported dried black ants from the US and Thailand to use as a garnish on desserts, prosecutors said.
The insects, which are said to have added a sour taste to the dishes, are banned under South Korea’s Food Sanitation Act. The owner of the two-Michelin-starred restaurant has been fined 20m won (about £10,000) and faces up to a year in prison for violating food safety laws.
They admitted serving the dishes, but argued they were a small part of its 15-course menu, as a topping for sorbets, and only 60 per cent of diners opted to try the topping.
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Waiter, waiter, there’s an ant in my sorbet... but prosecutors in Seoul did not see the funny side of a chef’s use of the insects
However, authorities found the ants had been served 12,200 times over a four-year period, generating revenue of 120m won (about £60,000). Prosecutors estimated about 49,000 ants were used.
The case was discovered after officials from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety found online reviews of dishes sprinkled with ants. The ants “contained up to 55 times more heavy metals than typical edible insects”, according to the Chosun Daily, a news site.
Under South Korean law, 10 species of insects, including grasshoppers and mealworms, are approved for human consumption. Other countries, including Australia, Denmark and the UK, permit the use of ants as ingredients. The insects are often eaten in several Asian, African and Latin American cultures.
Prosecutors heard that the restaurant’s head chef was accustomed to the practice of using ants to add acidity to dishes while working in the US and Europe, and was unaware of the differences in the South Korean health code.
Court documents did not name the restaurant or its owner. Ten restaurants in Seoul have been awarded two Michelin stars. The restaurant owner is due to be sentenced on Sept 2.
Source: “AOL Breaking”
