A cricket salad

GREAT for your health, great tasting, great for the planet and eaten by two billion people worldwide – it’s a low-cost superfood holding one of the answers to scarce resources, global hunger and the climate crisis.

The special powers of the humble cricket -– the chirruping winged insect who sing at night to attract mates often associated with crop disasters – are being harvested and brought to dining tables in Finsbury Park.

Next week Yum Bug opens in Fonthill Road – and the proprietors of the restaurant are aiming to introduce Islington residents to the joys of this low-fat, high-protein ingredient.

Founder Leo Taylor, trained as an architect, and then moved across to design, working on food branding.

Aaron Thomas, came to serving up crickets via a stint working at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine – specialising in insects.

Yum Bug in Fonthill Road

“He would joke that he used to get bitten by bugs, and now he is getting his own back,” said Mr Taylor.

The idea started in 2017 and the pair now have a series of cricket-based dishes, including burgers, mince and sausages. He said: “Aaron was cooking insects in his kitchen, making burgers and sausages. We started cooking together in our free time, experimenting with dishes.”

While crickets are tasty and easy to breed, Mr Taylor has crunched his way through a veritable Savannah of related species.

He said: “We sell crickets at the moment but we would love to expand into other insects. Crickets happen to be one of the most delicious – and we have tried a lot of them. Nutritionally, crickets are excellent and they have a tiny carbon footprint and ecological impact compared to other farmed meats. They are full of fibre, protein, iron, vitamins, Omega 3 oils.”

Curious but potentially squeamish diners will be pleased to know the insects do not look like insects on the plate.

Yum Bug founders Leo Taylor, left, and Aaron Thomas, right, and Ollie. ‘We turn crickets into ingredients people recognise’

Mr Taylor said: “We turn crickets into ingredients people recognise – for example, burgers and mince.

“It looks like beef or another red meat. It can be quite like beef, lamb or pork, depending on how it is cooked and seasoned.”

The restaurant draws on classic culinary styles, with diners able to choose everything from Mexican tacos to classic Italian dishes, through to Asian-inspired meals.

He said: “The meals are familiar. This is not a scorpion on a stick. It is food you might see in any other restaurant.

“We wouldn’t be doing this in any other city. We felt now was the right time. People’s palates are changing, they are more sophisticated and people are willing to try new things. There is an increasing rate of change in the food scene. For example, look at the rise of plant-based food. And Finsbury Park is the perfect place.

“People are open-minded and there are lots of great places to eat in the neighbourhood.”

Last year Yum Bug ran a pop-up restaurant in Shoreditch and its success was such that they have taken on the permanent Finsbury Park base.