10 QMYOU / Sustainable Business
Is Scotland ready for edible insects ?
NEW UNIVERSITY RESEARCH has shown that despite TV shows like ‘ I ’ m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here ’, which highlights the consumption of insects , Scotland is just not ready to embrace entomophagy .
Entomophagy is the consumption of edible insects . Two billion of the world ’ s population currently eat insects as part of their daily diet . People in Asia Pacific , Australia and Africa are known to view certain dishes , which include insects , as delicacies , and in places such as Vietnam and Cambodia , children often eat grasshoppers and crickets as snacks during school hours .
Despite sweet insect lollipops being sold in top London stores and bags of barbeque flavoured crickets now available in Harvey Nichols in Edinburgh , it appears that the Scots are still hugely resistant to indulging in insect cuisine .
Maybe our fear of eating ‘ beasties ’ is down to the fact that , as a nation , we are just not that used to big creepy crawlies . The swarm of midgies is not going to be a meaty enough treat to sustain a strapping Scotsman . However , anything with longer legs than a daddy long legs is maybe just too much for the Scots to swallow . Even though we have got our heads around haggis , and all that it constitutes , our chefs , and even real foodies , are still not brave enough to go beyond their comfort zone .
Adam Roe , former Student Vice President at QMU , conducted the study of entomophagy for his final year dissertation . Adam , who is a graduate of QMU ’ s International Hospitality and Tourism Management degree explored the perceptions of Edinburgh-based chefs with regards to using insects as part of their culinary offering .
Adam explained : “ During my travels to Thailand , I was fascinated to see the incredible range of street food on offer in Bangkok .
The locals ate a wide range of insect based snacks such as water bugs , scorpions and grasshoppers . It was interesting to learn about their food culture and I was intrigued to see workers , dressed in business suits , picking up bags of deep fried insects to munch on their way home from work .”
Adam was keen to explore the acceptance of insect consumption with chefs in Edinburgh . He said : “ Earlier research has identified Western consumer perceptions as a current barrier , but I wanted to find out whether chefs had an appetite to include insect cuisine on their menus .
“ I discovered that chefs in high end restaurants were nervous about the damage to their restaurant ’ s reputation and didn ’ t feel that there was a consumer demand for edible insects in Scotland . Ironically , Noma in Copenhagen , known to be one of the world ’ s finest restaurants , serves live insects , such as ants , from time to time .”
Adam continued : “ Chefs also felt that they were not educated and experienced enough to safely prepare and serve insects . However , one French chef in particular , was more enthusiastic about embracing insect cuisine , and showed his willingness to offer an edible insect tasting experience .”
Grasshoppers , which were deep fried and served with fish sauce and seasoning , became one of Adam ’ s favourite insect dishes when he was touring Thailand . However , the same cannot be said for scorpion , which he disliked intensely . Adam said : “ It has a creamy sour taste which was rather off putting , but I persisted in trying different insects . When I returned to Scotland I continued to experiment with various ingredients and dishes . I ’ ve incorporated mealworms into chocolate brownies – that was a big hit – but my beef stew with mealworm flour didn ’ t go down well with my dinner guests .”
Adam concluded : “ Although I may feel enthusiastic about entomophagy , my research shows that Scotland just isn ’ t ready for bugs on plates . It ’ s now over to TV shows , possibly with celebrity chefs to create a more favourable image of insects in gourmet cooking and trendy street food .”
Bernie Quinn , Senior Lecturer in International Hospitality and Tourism Management at QMU , added : “ Adam has conducted a fascinating insight into a food phenomena that there is currently little knowledge of in Scotland . His findings are perhaps just a little too cutting edge for our top chefs – unpalatable even !”
Adam Roe presented the findings of his study : ‘ An exploration of the perceptions of chefs regarding entomophagy in Michelin and Rosette awarded restaurants – case study of Edinburgh ’ s finest chefs ’ at Council for Hospitality Management Education conference at the University of Ulster in May
2016 . ❒
10 QMYOU / Sustainable Business