Why we could all soon be putting insects on the menu, by Prue Leith
AS the founder of one of Britain’s most prestigious cookery schools, her name is synonymous with culinary excellence.
But Prue Leith has suggested a rather unusual new superfood to add to your pantry – insects.
Leith, 78, insisted they will be the next big food trend as she championed their nutritional value and sustainability at the Aldeburgh Food and Wine Festival in Suffolk.
Asked what she thought the next fashionable food would be, Leith said: ‘It could be insects. I’m serious. they are nutritious, can be delicious, are easy to farm, ecologically sound and could feed the world. Maybe not tomorrow but I think it will happen.’
the Great British Bake Off judge first tried them in South Africa when she ate a mopane worm. ‘then I realised anything deep fried or crisped in the oven or dried out is absolutely delicious,’ she said. ‘My point about insects is they are very high protein. they are eaten all over the world in many, many countries. We just have a thing about not eating insects.
‘Crickets are good. You can now buy cricket flour which is very high in protein. Insects are very easy to farm. It’s not as though you would cause an ecological imbalance, we could feed the world and we should stop eating so much meat.’
She isn’t the first chef to recommend bugs. heston Blumenthal has cooked woodlice on toast and fried grasshoppers.