Mama Delia, a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant in Chicago owned by Chef Marcos Campos Sanchez, has introduced AQUA Tuna as part of the restaurant’s ‘Atún Crudo’ (raw tuna) dish. The dish comes with potato strings and fried eggs, but it can be vegan upon request.
“The taste is just… really like tuna. Even better than the frozen tuna you find in the market”
Atún Crudo is just the beginning for AQUA’s Tuna in Chef Campos’s kitchen, as he plans to explore additional uses to highlight the product’s versatility.
“The taste is just… really like tuna. Even better than the frozen tuna you find in the market,” said Chef Campos. “I think they did an amazing job creating something that looks exactly like something we are already familiar with. Some people looking at it will not know the difference,” he added.

Creating raw fish-free options
AQUA Cultured’s whole-cut tuna in sakus and scallop in rounds are made of water, fiber (cellulose), and plant-derived ingredients through fermentation. The company says it uses plant-derived flavors and colors, for example the color of the tuna is beet-derived. They are vegan, allergen-free, pregnancy-safe, and free of microplastics, mercury, cholesterol, and saturated fats.
The startup’s alternatives to raw seafood are said to closely resemble the texture, taste, and appearance of fresh-caught seafood. Michelin-starred chef Laurent Manrique advises the refinement of the products’ appeal to meet sushi-grade quality.
“I think it’s an incredible achievement to recreate something that looks like just tuna”
“I think it’s an incredible achievement to recreate something that looks like just tuna. As humans, we eat with our eyes,” Chef Campos said. “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.”

The future has to be sustainable
Founded in 2020 in Chicago, AQUA Cultured Foods secured $5.5 million last year to expand its production. Co-founder and CGO Brittany Chibe now leads the company after the departure of co-founder and CEO Anne Palermo. Earlier this year, in partnership with the biotech company Ginkgo Bioworks, the company worked to optimize its strains to achieve cost-efficiency at scale and finally launch after many years of R&D.
Chef Campos highlighted the convenience and sustainability of AQUA products compared to traditional tuna: a realistic product with consistent quality and freshness, stable supply and prices, and standard portions packaging (which avoids the waste of trimming whole fish). A plus for food waste, AQUA’s seafood offers a longer shelf life of six weeks when refrigerated, compared to conventional seafood.
“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. 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 added.
AQUA Tuna is now available for purchase. The product is intended for raw applications and can be prepped just like raw seafood and no additional training is needed to properly use the alternative seafood.