Insects: the latest culinary trend?

When we represented the Mexico City Tourism Board and brought food journalists to the city, we always took them to a pre-Hispanic restaurant, which specialized in Aztec delicacies: insects. The reviews were mixed, but the visit always made for terrific press coverage.

Entomophagy (the consumption of insects as food) seems to be getting past its disgusting status a la TV’s “Fear Factor” and is becoming chic. According to article “Grub” in The New Yorker, insects were among America’s gourmet foods of the 1940’s thanks to prestigious foods distributor, Reese Finer Foods, which featured French fried Venezuelan ants and baby bees from Japan.

Insects were also featured on Bravo TV’s Top Chef Masters and star chef Jose Andres, winner of the James Beard Foundation’s Outstanding Chef award, is known for his chapulin taco made with Oaxacan grasshoppers.  He sees insects as a gastronomic experience and wants Americans to start thinking of insects as a serious food source – as a “matter of survival” as the world’s population surges and pressure is placed on the world’s food supply.

The UN Food & Agriculture Organization is considering strategies to cut levels of meat consumption worldwide as part of its commitment to stamp out famine and cut global warming. It’s urging us to try other alternatives, including insects. It claims livestock, such as cows and pigs, requires too much space and fodder to be an energy-efficient source of food for the ever-expanding population. Likewise, the agricultural ministry of the Dutch government is taking this seriously by funding a research project to the tune of one million Euros to research insect husbandry as an alternative protein source.

Restaurants in Los Angeles are at the helm of this culinary trend with insects such as crickets, grasshoppers and ant eggs topping gourmet menus.  Cheap, they are not – for instance, ant eggs from Mexico, aka Mexican caviar, runs $70 per pound. Step over escargots, you’ve got new competition on the gourmet front.