University chef adds insects to school menu

WINNIPEG, Canada — A Winnipeg university is taking sustainable eating to a new level by planning a campus menu with crickets and mealworms.

“For me, the flour is kind of the gateway in. It’s the safest way, because we’re dealing with a generally pretty squeamish clientele,” said Ben Kramer, the executive chef of Diversity Foods at the University of Winnipeg.

For the past few months, Kramer has been experimenting with recipes — coming up with ways to use cricket flour, whole crickets and mealworms in dishes students will actually buy and enjoy.

Diversity Foods has a mandate to be organic, sustainable and support local wherever possible — and when it comes to protein, it doesn’t get much more sustainable than crickets.

Crickets yield one pound of protein for every two pounds of feed, whereas cows yield one pound of usable protein for every 25 pounds of feed.

Not to mention it only takes six weeks to harvest crickets, whereas cows and pigs take about a year.

How much feed it takes, how much space it takes, how much time it takes — the health benefits of it. There is no down side of it other than people being squeamish," he said. “I’m trying to get people to have an open mind about it because as soon as I talk about it people are grossed out.”

Crickets taste like sunflower seeds

The ick-factor is the biggest hurdle Kramer faces.

Even his own staff are squeamish about eating the full, roasted bugs.

Alba Sawatsky works at Elements on campus and squirmed, shuddered and closed her eyes before trying them.

When she did, she was impressed.

"I think the crickets taste a little more earthy — maybe more like pumpkin seeds. It's weird to talk about eating bugs ... I thought there would be legs, and I would feel them but I didn't," she said. "It's pretty good. It would be a good snack, I think — really healthy. Bring it to the beach."