Michelin Chef Facing Jail Time After Serving Customers Ants

South Korean prosecutors are seeking a one-year jail sentence for the owner of a two-Michelin-star restaurant in Seoul, who violated the Food Sanitation Act by reportedly serving his customers ants as a dessert topping.

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Prosecutors are also seeking to fine the company that owns the restaurant 20 million Korean won, which is equal to $13,510 dollars, according to the BBC.

According to the Guardian, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety launched an investigation into the restaurant after seeing social media and blog posts about the ants on people’s food. The restaurant had reportedly been serving the ants on sorbet as a garnish.

South Korea has only approved 10 insects for human consumption under the Food Sanitation Act, including grasshoppers, stiff silkworms, and male bee pupae. The list does not include ants. (RELATED: YouTuber Launches Weeks-Long Quest To Kill Bug Some Suspect Is Genetically Engineered Bioweapon)

To serve insects not approved for human consumption, a restaurant must obtain temporary approval, which the restaurant did not acquire prior to serving the ants, according to the Guardian. If a restaurant does not obtain approval, it could result in a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of 50 million Korean won, which is around $33,860.

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South Korean prosecutors estimated that the restaurant had served around 40,996 ants from April 2021 to January 2025, according to The Chosun Daily, but the restaurant disputed this, saying that only about 60 percent of customers actually accepted the ants as a garnish. The restaurant said that they used ants in only a small number of dishes on their 15-course menu, and the owner pointed out that Australia, the UK and Denmark use ants as ingredients, according to the BBC.

Health officials found 55 times as much heavy metal in the ants used at the restaurant as in normal edible insects, according to The Chosun Daily.

The court documents did not name the restaurant or its owner, according to the BBC; however, there are only ten two-star Michelin restaurants in South Korea.

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