Dessert with lemongrass ant is featured in Florianópolis restaurant

Bombocado 6 Stars is one of the options served at DANKO, located on Passeio Primavera

Can you imagine eating an ant for dessert? The curious delicacy is featured at Bombocado 6 Stars, one of the options served at the DANKO restaurant, in Florianópolis. The traditional sweet in Brazil has gained a different version on the restaurant's menu. In addition to cassava cocada, pineapple compote, salted caramel and chestnut chips, two lemongrass ants complement the dessert.

Presented in a dinnerware, produced exclusively for DANKO, by the ceramist Lica Takahashi, Bombocado 6 Stars surprises both in its appearance and in its taste. According to Carlos Lopes, one of the partners at the restaurant located on Passeio Primavera, one of the most frequently asked questions by customers is about the taste of ant.

“The image of the dessert on the menu already attracts a lot of attention and when people read that ants are served with the dessert, the main question is about their taste. And I can anticipate that they have a citrus flavor, which is very reminiscent of the taste of lemongrass ”, he explains.

Lopes says that during gastronomic research and meetings to plan the menu with the chef and nutritionist André Nutrichef, who signs the menu at DANKO, the proposal came up to include an insect on the menu.

“We didn't just want something unusual or unusual that would grab attention, but something nutritious and healthy. We even thought of something more daring, like a grasshopper, but the lemongrass ant combined perfectly and brought a combination of flavor and delicacy to Bombocado 6 Stars ”, he highlights.

The partner also points out that during the opening period, in October 2022, DANKO was one of the only restaurants in Santa Catarina to have ant on the menu permanently.

André points out that the restaurant's dishes are inspired by Brazilian cuisine, so much so that the flavors of pineapple, coconut and manioc had a perfect combination with the freshness of the lemongrass that comes from the ant.

“Coconut and cassava are ingredients easily found in indigenous territories and the inspiration for the recipe came together with the Portuguese touch of our culture, especially through the use of sugar and eggs in the Bombocado recipe”, explains André.

Where are the ants from?

The ones used in DANKO's cuisine come from an ant farm in Pará. Lopes explains that they are created by a company with authorized records and sanitary procedures and are frozen before being sent to Santa Catarina.

A curiosity is that due to the weight being very small, the delicacies are sold by numerical quantity by the supplier. And in the dessert served at DANKO it is possible to try two ants.

“We know that the consumption of insects is not common in Western countries, but Brazilian cuisine, like DANKO's, seeks to dare, so much so that ants are very successful here”, he adds.

In addition to this dessert option, the restaurant offers other options, such as Chico Balanceado na Paleta.