Gourmet Grubb, has opened a pop-up bug restaurant called the The Insect Experience – believed to be South Africa’s first all-insect restaurant.
Business Insider South Africa got a preview of bug-inspired meals designed by chef Mario Barnard, who first started cooking with bugs after a trip to Thailand where he was encouraged to eat tarantulas and scorpions.
They were a little bit hard for me to eat. But, since I started experimenting with [insect-based] powders and messing with the food and hiding in it in a kind of gourmet way, I’ve found its a much easier way to eat,” said Barnard.
“Insects are very under-utilised. I was looking at modern ways of bringing insects into the food processing and how Western consumers eat, that was the original inspiration. Gourmet Grubb was a way to bring it to the forefront of people’s minds and transform consumer perception about eating insects, one of the biggest barriers to entry,” said Leah.
The South African company hopes to encourage people to eat more insects, and products containing insects, as global populations grow and arable land becomes limited.