Change is inevitable but change takes time as well. The world population is increasing, and the planet is at risk. Global warming is threatening the future of the planet.
There are so many reasons one should be looking for alternative ways of living to save the planet for future generations.
A group of young entrepreneurs and a chef are experimenting with alternatives protein sources that are less damaging to the earth – insect-based meals. In lieu of this, they have set up a pop-up restaurant in Cape Town, South Africa, that serves a whole insect-based menu.
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Known as The Insect Experience, the restaurant, in July 2019, started serving Cape Town gourmet meals made wholly from insect-based ingredients. Africa is not new to edible insects, but this is probably the first restaurant in the continent with a full insect menu.
Chef Mario Bernard and his partners, Gourmet Grubb, try hiding the insects in a visually appealing way, especially for first-timers to enjoy the meal without being grossed out.
Chef Barnard recounted his first experience with a bug-based meal to Reuters. He said he was grossed out when he had to eat grilled scorpions and crunchy insects mixed with garlic and spices. The experience was not a pleasant one for him. It, however, sparked him to probe further.
He said, “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 it’s a much easier way to eat. We try to present it as visual as possible to Westerns to make it easy to eat,” travelandleisure.com writes.
Leah Bessa, a member of Gourmet Grubb, is the founder of EntoMilk, an alternative dairy source made from insects. The young entrepreneurs are also experimenting with alternative ways to make EntoMilk a household brand. Almost everyone loves ice cream, so they launched an Insect Ice Cream as well.
Mopane worms are a delicacy in South Africa and other African countries like Ghana. Diners can have polenta fries, and black fly larvae chickpea croquettes paired with a mopane hummus and topped off with a sprinkle of dried meal-worms. Incorporating Gourmet Grubb’s ice cream unto the menu, a deep-fried dark chocolate black fly larvae ice cream is available to order as dessert, africanews.com reports.
Taking the health benefits of an insect-based meal into consideration, insects are high in fibre with no carbohydrate value. Barnard told Eyewitness News, “It’s a sustainable protein alternative to reduce our carbon footprint in the world. We want to show people that it’s not so bad, and it’s huge in protein, magnesium, everything… it’s a super food.”
Following the success of the pop-up restaurant, it will remain opened till mid-2020. It was initially meant to close in August.
