Using seawater in cooking is not a completely new practice, some coastal communities and sailors have traditionally used seawater.
LONDON: Brooklyn Beckham has sparked a fresh online debate after he reposted a viral cooking video showing him using seawater to prepare pasta while on a luxury yacht, raising questions about food safety and the practicality of the unusual method.
The video, which was originally recorded last summer, shows Beckham preparing a tomato pasta dish during a yacht trip. In the clip, he says he is going to make tomato pasta before taking a saucepan to the side of the boat to collect water directly from the ocean.
“Of course we get some pasta water,” Beckham says in the video as he fills the pan with seawater.
He then returns to the yacht’s kitchen, where he boils spaghetti in the collected seawater and prepares a tomato based sauce. The dish also includes his own hot sauce brand, Cloud23, which he launched in 2024.
After Beckham shared the video again, many viewers renewed criticism of the cooking technique. Some questioned whether collecting seawater near a working yacht was safe, while others raised concerns about possible pollution or contamination in the water.
Using seawater in cooking is not a completely new practice, some coastal communities and sailors have traditionally used seawater when preparing food. However, cooks often mix it with fresh water because seawater contains a very high level of salt. Critics pointed out that Beckham’s video did not appear to show any adjustment to reduce the salt level.
Supporters of seawater cooking argued that the method has historical roots, while others maintained that safety precautions are necessary before using ocean water in food preparation.
The viral moment has once again placed Beckham’s cooking experiments in the spotlight, blending online debate, food trends and brand promotion in one widely discussed clip.
