Time for Waxworms

I'm in Richmond VA now, one of two insect 'chefs' engaged in a gentle version of Iron Chef. My competitor is David George Gordon, well-known entomophagist and author of [among other works] the Eat-A-Bug Cookbook. We'll see how I'll do against him; I MUST post coverage of this event in a prompt fashion, and that will include images of our dishes.

The crucial part of this to note is that I'll be working with waxworms (Galleria mellonella). Various people had told me how good they are, but between the crickets and the exotic items I get in, I hadn't made time for waxworms. Now that I have, though, there's no looking back.

As usual, they're not worms but larvae -- caterpillars, in fact, and their adult form is a small, nondescript moth. The name comes from the fact that the caterpillars consume beeswax! They're a pest for beekeepers, but a real treat for frogs, lizards, and people.

Food for Thought: An impressive success

This was a big event for SLS. I was in the company of some of the best-known restaurants in Providence – a town where people like their restaurants. The setting (the newly-expanded Botanical Gardens at Roger Williams Park) was lovely, and the guests seemingly better-heeled than myself. I still hope to get some pictures of the actual event; but first, a couple images of the preparations.






The most labor-intensive prep was ‘filleting’ the Giant Water Bugs. We [I got a lot of help from the staff and students at the Genesis Center) did 175 of them. I thought a good deal about what the professional crab-pickers did with those world-famous Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs.











This is the empty square. The Six-and-five-eighths ounces of empty weight is equivalent to 188g.

Later, filled with the meat of the 175 insects, the one-pound-and-three ounces equaled 540g. Close perusal will reveal two kinds of tissue; the darker and more-square pieces are from the thorax of the animals, and might just correspond to pectoral muscle(?). The lighter-colored stuff is more connective rather than central. If that makes any sense. Seeing the inside of the insect would be helpful; I'll try to get some good macro shots of that this winter.

Here are the shells. The weight was 2 pounds and 11 oz. I don’t have the metric equivalent but it doesn’t really matter since this mound does not represent all 175 of the insects; some were discarded and could not be retrieved. I tried to boil the shells so as to get a stock but they proved far too salty to work with.



And Here Is The Finished Product!:










[Photo by David Winthrop]

The first name we gave it -- we being myself and Chef Branden Lewis of the Genesis Center, who was wonderful to collaborate with -- was Sour Candy Canape. This name reflected the fact that the bug's meat is reminiscent of sour candy, especially for example Jolly Rancher. But this first name morphed into WaterBugaMelon, since Branden wanted to be more clear about the fact that the dish contained insect protein material.

Traditionally, some people salt their watermelon in the summer. The saltiness-yet-fruitiness of the meat paired well with the fruits. The cocktail umbrella is for decoration only.

Then there were the crickets, which were good also although the planned dish didn't quite get off the ground. The intention was to 'honey-roast' them and serve with popcorn. We were to call it "Popcrick," and maybe next October we'll get it nailed down. Here they are on the roasting pan

and yeah, they were tasty; the sugar didn't overwhelm the nuttiness of the crickets themselves. But we had some problems with the popcorn maker, and in the end I'll need a real honey roaster, which I've seen at carnivals and suchlife venues but I haven't found something affordable that could fit the need.

I was too busy that evening to take pictures of the diners, but I may be able to track down some images one of these days. My tables were quite busy, though, and the even raised my company profile here in Providence, as well as started me off with a really nice collaboration with The Genesis Center, which is a great place.

I'll be serving the bugs at the next Food For Thought in October 2008.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT (and some other subjects)

My life has been too hectified for me to have covered this earlier: I'm very proud and happy to be involved in The Genesis Center's event on October 25th at the relatively-newly-expanded Botanical Center at Roger Williams Park. It looks pretty spectacular -- more than 25 of Providence's best restaurants (and ours is a city known for its food) and me. The cuisines will reflect the great diversity of the city, and that's part of the origin of the name: Food For Thought. This will mark the 11th year of the event; more information here.

I plan to have some pictures of the event: as it happens I've got three events before it coming up: Syracuse in a few days -- the 29th -- and then Central Square, Cambridge, on the 13th, and then Oak Knoll Audubon Center's Spooktacular on the 20th.

A Contest in Richmond

Yet more big news: I'm going head-to-head against the renowned David George Gordon. The email was so splendidly official that I am co-opting the text:

On August 1st I was invited to participate in the first annual Broad Appétit, a festival hosted by Richmond's Downtown Neighborhood Association. On Sunday, May 18, 2008, from noon until 5 p.m., West Broad Street will feature Richmond's finest chefs, a bug chef cook-off, specialty food vendors and visual artists. There will be food demonstrations and competitions, a mini-Farmers' Market, children's activities, street performers, music and more. The event will be heavily promoted through print material and advertisements in print and on the radio.

The slightly longer story is this: David George Gordon (whom I saw give his bug cooking presentation way back in 2002 here in Providence, and who, it must be admitted, has been a sort of model for my efforts) has competed against the redoubtable Zack Lemann in the past, and Zack was approached for this event so that the pair could duke it out once more. But AH!, Zack has a engagement set for that weekend that cannot be shifted. Thus the mind reaches for some replacement, so that the contest aspect of the thing can be realized. My name is broached, and deemed acceptable to all parties.

Naturally the news has thrown me into excited nervousness, and it's taken me a week of thinking about it to be ready to "blog it." I need to start planning. More updates on that progress to come.

Basics Part 2: Tasters

My programs have been full of people who had to wait their turn to eat insects, and since we can't have you doubting me on that here's a more-or-less random gallery of tasters trying dishes at events from the last year or so.

Here's the scene at the Newark Museum's BugMania2. I was serving at the far tent.






This is Sarah, who really did enjoy her insects. I'm pretty sure that her grimace came from the fact that the cicada (barely visible between her teeth) was a little chewier than she'd expected.







One might ask whether images like this are good for the cause, given what an ordeal it looks like for her. But this may just be the face of someone readjusting her ideas about food, and getting used to a new concept -- after all, the vast majority of participants have never before deliberately eaten an insect -- one that, a week before or even 30 minutes before, seemed repulsive. So that's great progress then.



Besides, this blog is about what it's like to operate an edible insect company; therefore I'm not interested in pretending as though there won't be difficulties along the way. I'll blog the good and the not-so-perfect, like the resistance that inevitably comes..... Though Sarah was a great sport.


Visting with students in the Boston area.






Both Mom and Son tasted the crickets and/or cicadas; that day there were several kids -- and some adults -- who asked for seconds. I'm pretty sure he was one of them.










I never got this guy's name, but just look at that facial expression! He knew how to enjoy a good bug.









And once more: the look of YUM.

Basics Part 1: Presentations of the Past [and upcoming]

So far I've mostly focused on the recent acquisitions of fancy exotic insects, and it's been great to share that. Yet my "business history," if I can use that phrase, has centered more on simply feeding the public the crickets and other insects that I can get on a steady basis. Sometimes I tend to take these insects for granted; they're far from boring, and it's time that I featured them.

But before I go into detail about those bugs I'll focus on the people part of all this. These are the educational programs [and other notable business-related activities] I've done thus far. My website doesn't yet feature the entire list -- I'll put that on the list of things to do...

2001

10/6: Peabody Museum of Natural History - Yale University; New Haven CT


2004

3/7: ESA [Entomological Society of America] Eastern Branch Conf.; New Haven CT


2005

3/17: AS220 Gallery; Providence RI
3/20: ESA [Entomological Society of America] Eastern Branch Conf.; Harrisburg PA
7/31: EcoTarium; Worcester MA
9/10: Dennison-Pequotsepos Nature Center; Mystic CT
10/9 Roger Williams Museum of Natural History; Providence RI
11/9: Menunkatuck Audubon; Guilford CT


2006

9/15: Centers for Nature Education at Baltimore Woods; Marcellus NY
9/16: Helmer Nature Center; Rochester NY
10/7: Powder Mill Ledges Audubon Refuge; Smithfield RI
10/31: La Laiterie; Providence RI
11/17: Community MusicWorks; Providence RI
11/25: Jamestown Philomena Library; Jamestown RI
11/26: EcoTarium; Worcester MA


2007

2/21: Radio Show Interview, WNRI; Woonsocket RI
3/10: Portsmouth Public Library; Portsmouth RI
3/15: Shipment, Tonight Show with Jay Leno; Burbank CA
3/17: Peace Valley Nature Center; Doylestown PA
3/18: ESA [Entomological Society of America] Eastern Branch Conf.; Harrisburg PA
4/17: NY Entomological Society; New York, NY
5/24: Cranston-Calvert Elementary School; Newport RI
5/24: Broad Meadow Brook Audubon; Worcester MA
6/09: Newark Museum; Newark NJ
6/25: Shipment, meeting of the Washington Entomological Society; Washington D.C.
8/01: Radio Show Interview, WNRI; Woonsocket RI
8/05: Farmer's Market; Mystic CT
8/12: NOFA Conference; Amherst MA
9/6: Powder Mill Ledges Audubon Refuge; Smithfield RI
9/29: Centers for Nature Education at Baltimore Woods; Marcellus NY
10/13: Central Square Festival; Cambridge MA

I bolded the last few listings because at this point they're coming up.

Next Gig! (uh, presentation)

I’ll be serving up the insects at the Newark Museum’s Bug Mania 2 on June 9th. The event runs from 11am to 4 pm (a long day) and I’m really looking forward to it. I’ll be serving:

House Crickets
Cicadas [not very many]
Chapulines [VERY few]
Ant Pupae
Silkworm Pupae
Giant Water Bug

And possibly something more; not sure yet.
I'll also probably blog my review of the day.