Banned Products Chefs Wish They Could Have

With the recent news that some standards would be relaxed on importing Italian pork products, chefs across the country rejoiced. But while that is very good news for anyone who loves international products, there are still many items that are restricted.

At this year's James Beard Foundation Awards, we caught up with some of our favorite chefs to discuss which items they would most like to see in the U.S. There were a lot of similar answers — many wanted to see French cheeses come in and others, like wd~50's Wylie Dufresne and Momofuku's David Chang, are now moving on from Italian pork products to Spanish pork products.

Some chefs had very specific wants. Empellón Cocina's Alex Stupak wants to see sal de gusanos, a salt made with roasted worms from Chile (although it appears he is taking matters into his own hands on that one...). Frontera Grill's Rick Bayless noted that "I wish that we had an opportunity to get some of the chorizos from Mexico in and the cheeses." And Alinea's Grant Achatz is looking further afield to Japan, and is hoping to bring in more shellfish.

For more, watch the video above!