When some time ago South Korean Food Safety inspectors started looking at online reviews of restaurants, they found something unpleasant: ants. Hundreds, thousands of ants. To the astonishment of the officials, in the comments of one of the most prestigious establishments in Seoul, nothing more nor less than a sorbet sprinkled with insects was shown, a dressing with which the chef intended to give an acidic touch to the dessert. The recipe worked well enough that it has been served since 2021.
There was only one problem: it was illegal.
What has happened? That a South Korean chef’s creativity in the kitchen is about to cost him dearly. Very expensive. The local press has revealed that the Seoul Western District Prosecutor’s Office has requested a severe sentence for the owner of a restaurant in the capital for violating the Food Safety Law.
The most curious thing is what he is accused of. The establishment in question has not neglected its hygiene or served food or drink in poor condition. No. Their mistake (supposedly) was including ants as part of their ingredients.
Ants in the kitchen? Exact. While browsing online reviews, officials from the country’s Food and Pharmaceutical Health Department came across strange mentions about a restaurant in Seoul: in addition to mentioning its meats, fish, wines and desserts, customers alluded to a sorbet covered with insects. To be more precise, what the chef used were dried black ants imported directly from the United States and Thailand.
The most curious thing is that it was not new. According to the local pressthe restaurant began buying them in 2021, so the dessert had been on the menu for years.
And what is the problem? Taste and scruples aside, the main problem is that South Korean law is very strict about what can and cannot be used in hospitality. And black ants fall into that last category, the banned one.
It is not that the country’s legislation prohibits the sale of insects for human consumption, but its list is very restricted and perfectly limited: it is limited to a dozen species, including grasshoppers, mealworms, crickets, bumblebee pulp or silkworm pupae.
No ants.
What if you want to try new things? If a chef wants to be original and try new ingredients they can try it, but they must first request specific authorization from the authorities. The Food Safety Agency He also insists in that she is very clear about it, so she does not tolerate excuses.
“Anyone can easily check on the department’s website, among other places, which raw materials can be used in food. Therefore, operators in particular must first check whether a raw material is suitable for use in food before purchasing or using it.”
Were many sold? It seems so. According to authorities’ calculations, the restaurant served a total of 49,000 ants in 12,200 sherbet glasses. From the local they clarify this information and remember several issues. First, there was no bad faith. The chef used the recipe in the US and Europe to give acidity to his sorbets, but when he transferred it to South Korea he did not notice the change in legislation.
Secondly, the business remembers that the ingredient was well identified on the menu, which offered several alternatives. It was the diners themselves who chose whether to order it or not. They estimate that in these years it has done 60%.
And now what? Seoul authorities have released the news, but without detailing the name of the restaurant or the identity of its owner and chef. In fact, it is not even known if they are two different people or if the cook is also the owner of the business. What has emerged is that the establishment is located in the area of gangnamin the Korean capital, and is distinguished with two Michelin stars, which a priori identifies it as a restaurant of “excellent cuisine”.
The creativity of your chef, however, can be costly. Yonhap agency points out that the Seoul Western District Prosecutor’s Office has asked the court for a one-year prison sentence for the restaurant owner, in addition to a fine of 20 million won, about 12,000 euros. The figure has been calculated based on the estimated benefits, which the authorities place at 120 million won.
Isn’t that a bit excessive? It may seem like too harsh a punishment, but The Chosun Daily assures that the health authorities have not only “hunted” the establishment by ignoring food legislation. Their analyzes would have concluded that the ants used to sprinkle the sorbet “contained up to 55 times more heavy metals than usual edible insects.”
Images | Marco Neri (Unsplash), Louis Hansel (Unsplash) and Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of South Korea
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