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How El Niño is shaking up global cuisine, from Denmark's chocolate to Japan's catch
Experts from the United Nations have predicted a very strong cycle of El Niño this year, which would increase the risk of extreme weather in 2027 as well.
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As the world braces for a record-breaking El Niño, top chefs have been forced to rewrite their menus due to the impact of the erratic weather on food supply.
El Niño is a natural weather phenomenon that develops in the Pacific Ocean and is linked to a change in wind patterns. It allows warm water to spread eastwards and releases heat into the atmosphere.
Experts from the United Nations have predicted a very strong cycle of El Niño this year, which would increase the risk of extreme weather in 2027 as well.
WMO warns of intense El Niño
According to a statement by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) earlier this month, El Niño is expected to intensify into a very strong event in the coming months.
The WMO predicted a 100 per cent likelihood that the phenomenon will persist through September to November of 2026 and December 2026 to February 2027.
“El Niño is being supersized before our eyes. The science leaves no room for doubt: the planet is in uncharted waters, and those waters are heating up. Sea surface temperatures are rising, temperatures keep climbing, and the world is in the danger zone of extreme weather. The race now is between rising risks and our commitment to take climate action and protect people. We must win that race,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
"El Niño has the potential to deliver a massive blow to communities and economies across the world," warned WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.
El Niño forcing chefs to rewrite menus
With the erratic weather brought about by El Niño, food and produce supplies are likely to take a hit.
From cocoa-free chocolate in Denmark to Japan serving up warm-water fish, the weather phenomenon is causing the world's top chefs to rethink their menus due to an unpredictable availability of ingredients.
"In the last three years, I've been creating an annual menu that I end up adjusting many times, almost weekly, because certain products aren't available," Brazilian chef Alex Atala told AFP, adding that this decision has also led to ants coming off the menu.
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Atala added that the delicacy is now only served when it is specifically asked for by customers in São Paulo.
The Brazilian chef said El Niño also has an effect on transportation. With floods or wildfires, transportation is impacted, which in turn impacts the delivery and shelf life of fresh produce.
Danish chef Rasmus Munk is calling on his peers to think about future food resilience. His Copenhagen restaurant Alchemist is now experimenting with chocolate alternatives because "the chocolate market is also under pressure," he told AFP.
"The non-chocolate we're making now, we make it from BSG, which is the brewer's spent grains," he added.
In Alvaro Clavijo's Bogota-based El Chato restaurant, ingredients like cacao pulp and Andean tubers are already running low. However, the chef is most worried about water shortages, recalling a severe drought in 2024.
"Two years ago, rationing already started to be felt, and that in a restaurant is super complicated," he told AFP.
In Japan, chefs are working with a new selection of seafood due to El Niño altering ocean migratory routes.
