In Louisiana, you can eat dishes made with bugs - even king cake

While having anything creepy and crawly on their plates might repulse most people, the Bug Appétit café at the Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium in New Orleans wants to change that stigma.

The café tries to make eating bugs like crickets, waxworms and dragonflies feel more normal by serving them in familiar dishes like cookies, crackers and even king cake.

Zack Lemann, 49-year-old Curator of Animal Programs at Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium, has worked for the Audubon Nature Institute since 1992, during which time he witnessed the beginning of the program.

“In 1997, the person in charge of the Audubon Louisiana Nature Center’s Education Department called me and said, ‘We’re doing an edible insect event,’ to which I replied, ‘Great.’ This was followed by a pregnant pause, after which I offered, ‘And?’ To which he said, ‘Well, you’re the bug guy,’ which was his way of asking me to double as a bug chef.”

Lemann did indeed double as a bug chef, and the event was so successful that it was repeated over and over. In 2008, it became a permanent staple of the Insectarium, known as Bug Appétit.

The café offers guests the chance to try samples of the seven dishes typically offered on a daily basis.

According to Lemann, Chocolate Chirp Cookies are the most popular items and carnival season is being celebrated with house made Cricket King Cake.

“We like to put a buggy twist on all kinds of traditional things, food included,” said Lemann. “The Cricket King Cake is great way to get the uninitiated into entomophagy, because who doesn’t love king cake? Plus, from a flavor standpoint, adding crickets is no different than adding nuts.”

Lemann recalls trying his first bug when he ate a live fire ant at the age of 7.

Since that time, his palate and sensibilities have become more refined, and he has discovered that he prefers crickets, honey pot ants and waxworms, but doesn’t care much for katydids or beetle larvae.

“I have been cooking bugs for about 20 years now, and in that time, I think I have settled on a fried dragonfly dish I call Odonate Hors d’oeuvre as my favorite dish to make and serve,” said Lemann. “It turns out like a lightly fried delicacy atop a slice of sautéed mushroom with a drizzle of Dijon-soy butter. They are delicious and end up tasting like softshell crab”

Over the years, Lemann has learned a lot about the nutritional benefits of insects, and enjoys sharing his knowledge with guests.

“In brief, many, many insect species that have been assayed for their nutritive value have good ratios of proteins, carbs and fat. Also, most insects I’ve read about have fairly high amounts of iron, calcium, phosphate, riboflavin, thiamine and niacin, all of which are important components of a good diet.”

When it comes to making people feel comfortable with sliding the creepy creatures down their gullets, Lemann has come up with a few tricks to help people get over the hurdle.

“It often takes some mental massaging to get folks over the anxiety hump of eating bugs,” said Lemann. “Many people will eat ground up insects in a dish where the bugs can’t be seen, but are hesitant to expand their gastronomic horizons if they are looking at a whole insect in something like salsa or chutney. We try to accommodate for these variances by serving items that are cooked and presented in different ways.”

While many guests are still taken aback that bugs are being served in the café, Lemann wants to help people feel normal about making bugs part of their diet.

“The question isn’t why eat bugs? It’s why not eat bugs? We eat crabs and shrimp, which are basically aquatic bugs, and the FDA permits insects and bits of insects in everything from chocolate bars and ketchup, to fresh raisins and frozen broccoli,” said Lemann. “Insects are eaten all over the world over by about 2 billion humans on a regular basis, and they taste good.”

For more information about Bug Appétit or the Insectarium, visit audubonnatureinstitute.org or call 504-524-2847.