The owner of a twice Michelin-starred restaurant in South Korea could face jail after admitting to using ants to liven up his desserts.
Prosecutors are seeking a one-year prison sentence and a £10,000 fine for the restaurateur identified only as Mr G for violating local food sanitation laws after he admitted to serving ants in a “small part” of a wider set menu - specifically as a topping for sorbets.
Mr G and his restaurant in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, which has not been publicly named, are accused of serving dried ants imported from the United States and Thailand over a period of around four years, dating back to 2021, according to the Korea Economic Daily.
The prosecution calculated that the award-winning restaurant could have served up as many as 12,200 portions of the ant sorbet over that period, which they claim would have included around 49,000 ants in total - just over four ants per helping.
The defence contested the figures, however, arguing that the restaurant only served ants to around 60 per cent of customers. The rest elected for ant-free options, they said.
“We did not give ants to customers who refused them,” a lawyer for the defence argued at the Seoul Western District Court on Monday, according to the Korea Economic Daily.
“About 60 per cent of the customers accepted them, but the prosecution calculated based on the premise that all customers did. We provided between one and five ants depending on preference,” they added.
The defence explained that the ants were offered optionally with the sherbet as part of a 15-course menu.
Fermented vinegar and edible pollen were apparently offered as alternatives.
South Korea allows its chefs to embellish meals with a narrow list of 10 approved types of edible insects - including brown-banded cockroaches and locusts - but maintains a strict ban on ants.
The defence argued that ants were being used in restaurants around the world, including the UK, they said.
The only edible insect species allowed on the market in Great Britain are yellow mealworm, house cricket, banded cricket and black soldier fly, according to the latest available Food Standards Agency guidance.
Health authorities in South Korea cautioned that the ants used by the Seoul restaurant contained up to 55 times more heavy metals than other insects, according to Chosun.
Mr G and the restaurant corporation are expected to be sentenced on 2 September.
The Michelin Guide recognises exceptional establishments with up to three stars based on ingredient quality, flavour mastery, cooking technique, chef's personality and consistency.
There are only around 500 restaurants globally that can currently boast two stars for “excellence”.
