{"id":821099,"date":"2026-07-24T15:25:31","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T15:25:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/821099\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T15:25:31","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T15:25:31","slug":"tasmanian-chef-joseph-lidgerwood-faces-year-in-korean-jail-over-ant-dessert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/821099\/","title":{"rendered":"Tasmanian chef Joseph Lidgerwood faces year in Korean jail over ant dessert"},"content":{"rendered":"

A talented Tasmanian chef is facing the prospect of a year in prison after his acclaimed Seoul restaurant served diners ants that are not approved for human consumption in South Korea.<\/p>\n

Joseph Lidgerwood, who grew up in the Huon Valley and studied at Hobart College, opened the fine dining restaurant Evett in Seoul\u2019s Gangnam district in 2018 with his Korean wife, Ginny Kim.<\/p>\n

The restaurant earned its first Michelin star within a year of opening and was elevated to two stars earlier this year.<\/p>\n

But South Korean prosecutors are now seeking a one-year jail term for the owner of the two-Michelin-star restaurant.<\/p>\n

\"\"Chef Joseph Lidgerwood grew up in the Huon Valley and studied at Hobart College. Image \/ Instagram<\/p>\n

Prosecutors have sought a fine of 20 million Korean won \u2013 around $20,000 AUD \u2013 for the restaurant.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Pulse, a spokesperson for the restaurant said the proceedings concern Restaurant Evett and its owner.<\/p>\n

\"\"The ants were imported from the United States and Thailand<\/p>\n

\u201cOur chef is not a defendant in this matter,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

However Evett\u2019s website lists Lidgerwood as the \u201cowner chef\u201d of the restaurant .<\/p>\n

The case centres on a sorbet dessert topped with dried ants imported from the United States and Thailand.<\/p>\n

Investigators estimate around 49,000 ants were used in several dishes over four years.<\/p>\n

\"\"Lidgerwood opened the fine dining restaurant with his Korean wife Ginny Kim<\/p>\n

Health authorities also found the restaurant used ants that \u201ccontained up to 55 times more heavy metals than typical edible insects\u201d, according to a report in The Chosun Daily.<\/p>\n

Ants are not among the 10 insect species approved for human consumption in South Korea.<\/p>\n

The owner admitted to serving ants but argued they were used in a \u201csmall part\u201d of the restaurant\u2019s 15-course menu and that diners were told they could opt for non-ant toppings.<\/p>\n

Only around 60% of diners chose the ant topping, the restaurant said, with alternatives such as fermented vinegar and edible flowers offered instead.<\/p>\n

\"\"Restaurant Evett is located in Seoul\u2019s Gangnam district. Image \/ MICHELIN GUIDE<\/p>\n

A lawyer for the restaurant stressed it had earned its first Michelin star before serving ants and received its second after stopping.<\/p>\n

Before moving overseas, Lidgerwood completed his apprenticeship at various Tasmanian restaurants including in Franklin, the Astor Grill in Hobart and the Henry Jones Art Hotel.<\/p>\n

The court is set to deliver its verdict on September 2.<\/p>\n

\"\"The restaurant earned its first Michelin star within a year of opening in 2018. Image \/ Instagram<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A talented Tasmanian chef is facing the prospect of a year in prison after his acclaimed Seoul restaurant…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":821100,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[64,63,134],"class_list":["post-821099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=821099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/821099\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/821100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=821099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=821099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=821099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}