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Associated Press

Ants and beetles in the kitchen? Normally that would close down a restaurant, but for a unique eatery in Bangkok, bugs in the beef ragu and pests in the pesto are the business plan.
Tucking into insects is nothing new in Thailand, where street vendors pushing carts of fried crickets and buttery silkworms have long fed locals and adventurous tourists. But bugs are now fine-dining at Insects in the Backyard, a Bangkok bistro aiming to revolutionise views of nature’s least-loved creatures and what you can do with them.

“In Thailand, there is a long history of local populations, of people consuming insects and they continue to do, in large amounts. But it’s essentially as a snack, not a part of dishes, not a part of cuisine,” said Regan Suzuki Pairojmahakij, a Canadian partner at the eatery.
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“We are interested in moving people away from seeing insects from purely as a snack to be a part of a gourmet and a delicious cuisine.”

That’s the responsibility of executive chef Thitiwat Tantragarn, a veteran of some of Thailand’s top restaurants. Together with his team he has designed a menu that features seven different insects, including ants, crickets, bamboo caterpillars, silkworms and giant water beetles.
Japanese foodies enjoy unusual Christmas meal: insects
“It’s a new thing,” Thitiwat said. “You live in the world, you need to learn the new thing.” He said he has cooked with pork and chicken for a long time, but insects are “a new world of cooking [and a] new lesson”.

For Kelvarin Chotvichit, a lawyer from Bangkok, the menu has been a revelation of taste and texture.
“When I taste this, it’s opened my new attitudes about foods, that insects are one of the foods that’s edible,” he said. “And it’s tasty too. It’s not weird as you thought and the feeling – it’s crispy, it’s like a snack. Yeah, I like it.”
United Nations food experts have pushed insects as a source of nutrition for years. Studies show they are higher in protein, good fats and minerals than traditional livestock. Even when commercially farmed, their environmental impact is far lower as they need less food.

Wholesaler Amornsiri Sompornsuksawat is one the suppliers to Insects in the Backyard. The prospect of a new market – the fine-dining sector – is enough to make her salivate.
“I hope that people will eat more of my bugs and I can sell more of them,” she said. “We can have new menus, replacing the old familiar ones. It’s great.”
Lovely grub, say Hong Kong’s insect eaters: delicious, nutritious and good for the planet
Insects in the Backyard has only been open a few weeks, so it’s too early to tell whether it will metamorphose insect cuisine.

Amornrat Simapaisan, a local shop manager, tucked in quite happily to her watermelon and cricket salad on a recent evening.
“It’s tasty. It’s munchy,” she said.
Edible insects on the menu as South Korea launches publicity blitz to whet appetites
But her dining partner exemplified the biggest problem the restaurant faces – that lingering feeling of disgust.
“I still have a barrier, something on my mind to stop me from eating it,” said Patr Srisook, a freelance photographer. “But, yes, it kind of tastes like normal, nothing, like normal food.”

And that is the message the restaurant is trying to send.
“There is obviously the shock value with insects and that might bring some people through the door,” Pairojmahakij said. “But, essentially, for the longevity or sustainability of the restaurant, and, for the sector of the edible insects as a whole, it has to stand on its own legs, so to speak. It has to be attractive. It has to be delicious and it actually has to add something to the cuisine as we know it.”


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Offbeat

Bugs found in food at Bangkok bistro are part of the recipe

Spaghetti with silkworm and cricket at Insects in the Backyard restaurant in Bangkok. Photo: AP

In this Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017 photo, Kelvarin Chotvichit, a lawyer from Bangkok, uses a fork bamboo worms, silkworm and cricket fired before eats†at Inspects in the Backyard restaurant, Bangkok, Thailand. Tucking into insects is nothing new in Thailand, where street vendors pushing carts of fried crickets and buttery silkworms have long fed locals and adventurous tourists alike. But bugs are now fine-dining at the Bangkok bistro aiming to revolutionize views of nature’s least-loved creatures and what you can do with them. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

In this Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017 photo, ingredients use in some of dish from left to right, bamboo worms, silkworm, giant water beetle at Inspects in the Backyard Restaurant, Bangkok, Thailand. Ants and beetles in the kitchen? Normally that’d close down a restaurant, but bugs in the beef ragu and pests in the pesto are the business plan for one Bangkok eatery. Tucking into insects is familiar in Thailand, where street vendors pushing carts of fried crickets and buttery silkworms feed locals and tourists alike. But bugs are now fine-dining at a restaurant aiming to revolutionize views of nature’s least-loved creatures. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

In this Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. photo, Amornrat Simapsaisan, a local shop manager, watches before she ate watermelon salad with bamboo worms, at Inspects in the Backyard restaurant, Bangkok, Thailand. Tucking into insects is nothing new in Thailand, where street vendors pushing carts of fried crickets and buttery silkworms have long fed locals and adventurous tourists alike. But bugs are now fine-dining at the Bangkok bistro aiming to revolutionize views of nature’s least-loved creatures and what you can do with them. She tucked in quite happily to her watermelon and cricket salad on a recent evening. “It’s tasty. It’s munchy,” she said. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

In this Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017 photo, chef Thitiwat Tantragarn prepares giant water beetle on dish at Inspects in the Backyard restaurant, Bangkok, Thailand. Tucking into insects is nothing new in Thailand, where street vendors pushing carts of fried crickets and buttery silkworms have long fed locals and adventurous tourists alike. But bugs are now fine-dining at the Bangkok bistro aiming to revolutionize views of nature’s least-loved creatures and what you can do with them.(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

In this Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017 photo, Kelvarin Chotvichit, eats bamboo worms, silkworm and cricket fired†at Inspects in the Backyard Restaurant, Bangkok, Thailand. Ants and beetles in the kitchen? Normally that’d close down a restaurant, but bugs in the beef ragu and pests in the pesto are the business plan at one Bangkok eatery. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

In this Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017 photo, chef Thitiwat Tantragarn cooks giant water beetle raviolis at Inspects in the Backyard restaurant, Bangkok, Thailand. Thitiwat, a veteran of some of Thailand’s top restaurants, together with his team, has designed a menu that features seven different insects, including ants, crickets, bamboo caterpillars, silkworms and giant water beetles.(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

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