Can 29 Chefs Make People Excited to Eat Crickets?
Can 29 of the country's best chefs convince Americans to eat crickets? Robyn Shapiro, founder of Seek cricket-based snacks, sure hopes so. She rounded up recipes from chefs around the country, including Natasha Pickowicz, Sean Sherman, and Alison Roman, for The Cricket Cookbook, now available at Dean & Deluca and online.
Crickets are already part of traditional menus across the world, from China to Mexico to Thailand. But, in the U.S., the idea of eating insects still tilts towards Fear Factor flashbacks. Seek, which had been focusing on cricket-packed granola and energy bites since it debuted in 2016, has rolled out a line of cricket flours in all-purpose, gluten-free, and paleo varieties — along with a cricket powder for blending into liquids, creams, sauces, and smoothies.
Shapiro was inspired to put together the cookbook after reading Dan Barber’s The Third Plate about the future of food. “I wanted to give chefs a free runway,” she says. “There are recipes for every part of the day, every part of the meal, every way we live. And that’s the only way it’s going to work if it’s going to change our future.” (Her breakfast smoothie recipes are included in the book.) We talked with a few of the other chefs about their own contributions to the book.
Photo by Ghazalle Badiozamani1/11Fig, Cilantro, and Chapulin Tostadas
"We already eat escargot, caviar, foie gras. It’s the presentation, the execution to break up the fear. Soaking, drying, toasting, seasoning — it’s a lot of work. It’s a really big process. But it’s always a big process when the goal is to change what’s possible." — Mario Hernandez, chef at The Black Ant
Photo by Ghazalle Badiozamani2/11Savory Barley Cricket Porridge with Parmesan and Soy
"It's like adding a tablespoon of flaxseed or bee pollen. It's more of a boosted thing here. I'm not asking you to eat a bowl of crickets."— Alison Roman, author of Dining In
Photo by Ghazalle Badiozamani3/11Brown Butter Cricket Pizelle Ice Cream Sandwich
"It's about elevating the ingredients you have. The earthiness here goes well with brown butter, which is warm and round. It’s less chewy but it’s more crisp, in texture and flavor." — Natasha Pickowicz, pastry chef at Cafe Altro Paradiso and Flora Bar.
Photo by Ghazalle Badiozamani4/11Jam Pot Breakfast Cookies
"I had a dinner party, and these cookies were the only thing where people were like, “Oh my God! These cookies!” and people took extras home with them. We have to figure out sustainability; otherwise what we're doing is just indulgence." — Carolina Santos-Neves, chef at Call Me Caro
Ghazalle Badiozamani5/11Bison Tamales
" I’m not trying to recreate 1491 with anything I’m doing. Here it’s tortillas and it’s with bison, because if we say that crickets are for vegan or no-meat diets, we’re going to lose too many people right off the bat. It can't be a progressive ingredient if it's not also an inclusive ingredient. " — Sean Sherman, The Sioux Chef
Photo by Ghazalle Badiozamani6/11Spiced Sweet Plantain Cake
"I wanted a cake but not a cake that was too too sweet. The cricket flour has a nutty taste so it worked well with plantain." — Adriana Urbina, former chef at De Maria.
Photo by Ghazalle Badiozamani7/11Dairy-Free Earl Grey & Cricket Ice Cream
" It's hard to make bad ice cream. We figured what's the point of this unless we go all the way. You hit all the notes here. To us it tastes like Froot Loops." — Ben Van Leeuwen, co-owner of Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream.
Photo by Ghazalle Badiozamani8/11Gluten-Free Dosa with Masala-Spiced Potatoes and Mint Chutney
"It lends itself to buckwheat. The first thing I thought of was a buckwheat blini. And that evolved into a dosa. A dosa can be a vehicle for almost any topping."— Ariane Aumont, chef at Le Picnic
Photo by Ghazalle Badiozamani9/11Cricket Tagliatelle with Mushrooms and Speck
"The recipe was the result of being scared. How can you make it disappear? I used a recipe that called for chestnut flour. I was extremely surprised because I am obnoxiously biased. I thought it would be another trend, but instead it was a new moment." — Gabriele Corcos, host of Extra Virgin
Photo by Ghazalle Badiozamani10/11Charred Cauliflower Cricket Hummus
"There's a mental hurdle for most Americans: how do you take this nutty, earthy, funky ingredient and present it in a way that works? If you're feeding something to a kid you put it in a purée — apples and pears with spinach and kale in it. So we did that. It's an entry point to a conversation. And it's shareable so you are sharing the experience." — Gabe Kennedy, co-founder of Plant People
Photo by Ghazalle Badiozamani11/11Chocolate Cricket Pie with Candied Cocoa Nibs
"Marvel made us culinary ambassadors for Black Panther and we were asked to make the food of Wakanda. We nailed on bugs being the future and, to be a little bit strange, we add candied and fried crispy cocoa nibs to replicate the crunch you get with crickets along with the maltiness, the robustness, the earthiness."— Malcolm Livingston II, co-founder of Ghetto Gastro
