“Bug Chef” David Gordon will return to the Burke Museum for its 10th annual “Bug Blast” from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 28. He’ll share facts about bug-eating cultures around the world, and he’ll do cooking demos from his “creepy culinary tour” at 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m.
A P-I story on Gordon once described the blast this way:
“(He) will introduce children and adults to the delights of eating protein a different way, through such recipes as Crickets and Orzo Pasta (seasoned with ants) and Scorpion Scaloppini. “And for the grand finale, I’m going to be making a deep-fried tarantula. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it,” he says.
Gordon makes a convincing case for eating bugs. They’re protein rich, and many are loaded with minerals, vitamins and amino acids. Crickets are rich in calcium, termites in iron, and bees have the amino acid lysine. Some bugs even provide the coloring in your favorite drinks.
And if you’re wondering what’s in the Burke’s above photo, we got this answer from Gordon:
“Those are oven-baked American cockroaches (Periplaneta Americana). As they say, ‘Everything’s better when it sits on a Ritz.’”
Entrance to the Bug Blast is free with museum admission ($8 general, $5 student/youth, $6.50 senior, free 4 and under.) If eating bugs isn’t your thing, there are also hands-on activities including crafts, watching ant and honeybee colonies and work, and checking out tiny bugs with microscopes.