A two-Michelin-starred restaurant in South Korea has been fined after serving diners a dessert topped with ants, which are not approved as a food ingredient under the country’s law.
Evett, the two-Michelin-starred restaurant in Seoul’s affluent Gangnam district, was fined 10m won (£5,402), while its chief executive was ordered to pay 15m won (£8,103), according to The Korea Herald.
The prosecution had originally sought a one-year prison sentence for the CEO and a 20m won (£10,804) fine for the company.
The prosecution alleged that Evett imported dried ants from the US and Thailand from April 2021 and served three to five of them “to add a sour taste” on a sorbet made with sikhye, a traditional Korean sweet rice drink. Prosecutors estimated that the dessert was served to 12,274 customers over nearly four years, using 49,096 ants and generating about 120m won (£64,727) in revenue.
The ants were not approved for use as food in South Korea, where the Food Sanitation Act permits only 10 species of insects as food ingredients. The approved species include grasshoppers, mealworms, and boiled or steamed silkworm pupae, which are sold as a popular street food item known as beondegi.
Restaurants that want to use an insect outside that list must obtain temporary approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, which Evett had not done.
The ministry began investigating the restaurant after seeing references to its ant dishes in blog posts and on social media. An inspection of the kitchen in July 2025 found containers of ants being stored in the restaurant’s refrigerator, according to South Korean broadcaster SBS.
Staff told inspectors that the ants had not been cooked but were frozen before being used as toppings.
Prosecutors subsequently brought the case against the company, arguing that Evett had used the ants over a prolonged period and had promoted the dishes to customers. Testing also found heavy metals in the ants at levels above those permitted under South Korean food safety standards, according to court records.
Judge Lee Se-chang, who handed down the sentence at the Seoul Western District Court on Wednesday, said, according to The Asia Business Daily: “Considering the legislative intent of the Food Sanitation Act – which is to prevent harm caused by food and to protect and promote public health – the defendant’s guilt is by no means light.”
The court took into account that Kim and the company had admitted the offence and had no previous criminal record. The judge also said they appeared not to have realised that ants were prohibited as a food ingredient in South Korea, where they are eaten in other countries.
The number of ants actually served was also found to be lower than the amount listed by prosecutors, while Evett had stopped using ants after receiving a corrective order from the authorities.
The restaurant’s lawyers also said that only around 60 per cent of the customers who were offered the garnish chose to have it. Fermented vinegar and edible pollen were offered as alternatives.
The Independent has reached out to Evett for comment.
Australian chef Joseph Lidgerwood founded Evett in 2019 after becoming fascinated by Korean food and ingredients. The restaurant earned its first Michelin star in 2020 and a second in 2025, the same year Lidgerwood appeared on Netflix’s Culinary Class Wars.
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