AQUA Cultured Foods, a Chicago-based food tech company creating fish-free seafood through fermentation, has officially landed restaurant menus.
Chef Marcos Campos Sanchez, Owner of Bonhomme Hospitality, has replaced conventional tuna with AQUA Tuna at his Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant, Mama Delia, in Chicago.
“I think they did an amazing job creating something that looks exactly like something we are already familiar with,” said Chef Campos. “Some people looking at it will not know the difference.”
AQUA Tuna is vegan, allergen-free, pregnancy-safe, and packed with fiber. Along with AQUA Scallops, the fermentation-derived products are free of microplastics, mercury, and everything in between. Plus, it offers a six-week shelf life refrigerated—in stark contrast to the three or four-day window for conventional seafood.
Across their dozen restaurants, Campos and his culinary team face inconsistencies with the supply and quality of conventional raw tuna—making it difficult to keep the menu consistent for guests from week to week. Given supply constraints, prices inevitably change—impacting restaurants’ already razor-thin margins and risking a positive customer experience.
Enter AQUA. From its West Town pilot facility, the AQUA team uses biomass fermentation—a similar process to making beer or wine—to produce whole-cut products made of cellulose. Through a proprietary process, AQUA cuts, colors, and flavors cellulose to mimic the taste and texture of raw tuna and scallops. The tuna’s color, specifically, is beet-derived.
“I think it’s an incredible achievement to recreate something that looks like just tuna,” said Chef Campos. “As humans, we eat with our eyes. As soon as you see the color, you understand what you’re eating, feel comfortable with it—that’s very important with a product like this.”
When Chef Marcos met CEO and co-founder, Brittany Chibe, he was inspired by the company’s sustainability story and energized by the idea of innovating his own business while also supporting a local Chicago company.
“This is something really special. As a chef, when you see something creative and something different than anybody else is doing, it’s always catching your eye,” said Chef Campos. “‘How can I help to make this come alive?’ And a Chicago-based company…it’s something really important for us, too.”
What’s on the menu? Atún Crudo with AQUA Tuna, fried egg, and potato strings. The dish is gluten-free and can be made vegan upon request.
Since launching, Mama Delia’s front-of-house team shared that they preferred serving AQUA Tuna to avoid complaints about fishiness or freshness, as they had experienced with the real thing.
Atún Crudo is only the first application of AQUA for Chef Campos: “I want to show different dishes to show the versatility.” Bonhomme Hospitality’s concepts range in cuisine, mostly boasting Mediterranean flavors to represent Chef’s Galician roots.
Across concepts, Chef Campos regularly works with raw seafood. He explained that when ordering ahi or Bluefin tuna whole, about 20-30% is lost during trimming. AQUA, on the other hand, is packaged in perfect sakus to standardize the wholesale experience and eliminate waste. “Sustainability is going to be the philosophy of a lot of companies and restaurants around the world. It’s going to have to happen,” he adds.
AQUA Tuna is now available for purchase. The product is intended for raw applications and can be prepped just like true, raw seafood—no additional training is needed.
As for the taste? “The taste is just… really like tuna,” said Campos. “Even better than the frozen tuna you find in the market.”
They say tasting is believing. Try AQUA Tuna for yourself at Mama Delia (1721 W Division St, Chicago, IL 60622).
About AQUA Cultured Foods
AQUA Cultured Foods is an innovative food technology startup developing the world’s first fish-free seafood through fermentation. Its novel technology produces sustainable, fish-free tuna, scallops and more using only a fraction of the resources required by traditional aquaculture. With a focus on product commercialization, AQUA Cultured Foods occupies a unique position in the burgeoning alt-protein market as well as within the fermentation industry. The company’s mission is to mitigate global challenges such as overfishing, climate change, and feeding the world’s expanding population with delicious, nutrient-rich foods. For more information, visit https://www.aquaculturedfoods.com.
About Bonhomme Group
Based in Chicago and Santiago de Compostela (Spain), Bonhomme Group is comprised of Casa Beatnik Hotel, Maison Bonhomme, and Bonhomme Hospitality. Across Bonhomme’s family of companies, travel, culture, and style are at the heart of all that we do. We love hosting and enveloping our guests with joyous hospitality, rich storytelling, and true escapism filled with pleasure. Founded in 2012 by Daniel Alonso, the group’s name traces its origin to the two main qualities that their establishments strive for in service: to be humble and gracious. In French, “bonhomme” means good-natured, a character the group embraces and endeavors to be known for. Bonhomme was also the name of the street Daniel grew up on, serving as a reminder to never forget one’s roots and personal story. For more information, please visit www.bonhommegroup.com
