French restaurant serves up food of the future: insects
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[June 01, 2021]
By Yiming Woo
PARIS (Reuters) - Laurent Veyet's tasting
menu is not for the faint-hearted, but may point to the future of
feeding a booming world population - there is a prawn salad with yellow
mealworm, crunchy insects on a bed of vegetables and chocolate-coated
grasshoppers.
As sun bathed the outdoor restaurant terraces in Paris, Veyet's ornate
dishes were winning approving nods and murmurs of satisfaction from his
adventurous clientele.
"It's the ideal dish for first-timers," the Parisian chef said,
preparing a serving of pasta made with mealworm flour, sweet potato and
sauteed insect larvae. "There are some really interesting flavours. Not
many people could say they don't like that."

The European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) in January deemed the mealworm
fit for human consumption and in May approved its sale on the market.
The agency has fielded more than a dozen other applications for
insect-based food products, including crickets and locusts.
Mealworm, and insects more generally, could offer a sustainable and low
carbon-emission food source for the future.
Dining with his two daughters, Soheil Ayari gave his endorsement: "I
feel like I am in a traditional restaurant except the concept behind
what I’m eating is different. And honestly, the tastes are very similar
(to regular food)."
Ayari's young daughter was equally positive: "It's environmentally
friendly and what's more, it's good."
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French chef Laurent Veyet displays a dish as he poses in his
restaurant Inoveat serving insect-based food in Paris, France, May
12, 2021. Picture take May 12, 2021. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier

Veyet grows his mealworm on site, feeding them
porridge oats and vegetables. While the mealworm may look like an
unappetizing maggot, it is in fact the larvae of the darkling
beetle, rich in protein, fat and fibre.
A versatile ingredient, the mealworm can be used whole in curries or
salads, or ground to make flour for pasta, biscuits or bread.
"Insects are nutritious," said Stefan De Keersmaecker, a health and
food safety spokesman at the European Commission. "They can really
help us switch to a more healthy and sustainable diet and food
system."
For Veyet, the challenge is two-fold: winning over public opinion
and learning how to match the insects' taste with other foods.
"You have to find the right flavours, the right accompaniments. All
that is fascinating, any chef will tell you the same," he said.
(Editing by Richard Lough and Janet Lawrence)
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