By . Ruth Styles . PUBLISHED: . 02:39 EST, 5 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 18:03 EST, 7 April 2013 . Given the recent horse meat scandal, you'd be forgiven for assuming that British diners would want to avoid meat that isn't beef, pork or chicken. But according to London restaurants, Wahaca and The Blues Kitchen, demand for exotic fare has increased so much, they've added some very unusual items to the menu. At Wahaca, a sustainable Mexican street food chain of restaurants, you can enjoy chapulines fundido - a Mexican delicacy that includes fried grasshoppers. Bugs: Wahaca's chapulines fundido, a Mexican delicacy that includes a side order of deep fried grasshopper . Not to be outdone, Camden's The Blues Kitchen has put fried alligator tail on the menu. According to the restaurant, this translates as 'tender pieces of alligator tail coated in Cajun panko bread crumbs, and served with fresh mint and sweet chili sauce.' Since the horse meat scandal broke, sales of exotic meats such as ostrich and kudu have shot up, according to the man behind a meat retailer that sells everything from camel to crocodile. ‘With all the media attention on horse meat, lots of people are curious to try new things,’ says Paul Webb, director of Exotic Meats. ‘We’ve seen sales increase tenfold in a week.' Kezie Foods, a Scottish supplier of exotic food stuffs has also seen sales go through the roof, according to company spokeman, Julia Toomey. ‘Kangaroo meat is a very popular alternative and is delicious,' she reveals. 'It is low in fat, high in protein and available in the same cuts as beef so can easily be substituted in a regular recipe or meal. Anyone for alligator? The Camden eatery has added a dish made with the scaly reptile to its menu . ‘There are many other alternative meats that are lean and healthy which taste great; springbok, venison, wildebeest and zebra, to name a few, are very popular.’ Like antelopes and zebra, Mexican grasshoppers and alligator tails are packed with protein and can be cooked in much the same way. What's more, say Wahaca, the percentage of protein in grasshoppers is far higher than in any other type of meat, boasting 60 per cent protein to just six per cent fat. But despite most Brits' aversion to creepie crawlies, Wahaca founder and chef Thomasina Miers says eating insects is no different to eating shrimps or prawns. 'It’s just not in our psyche at the moment', she says. 'The chapulines fundido is a great introduction to the beautiful earthy flavour of these insects as it tastes amazing and a salsa is much more palatable for the more squeamish diners out there.' 'Insects do not have to be a novelty food, they are packed full of protein, taste amazing and due to their farming methods are incredibly good for the environment.' Could you? Would you? Does a grasshopper snack sound like something you would want to eat? Tasty: Alligator meat is rubbery in texture and tastes like a bland, if slightly fishy, version of  chicken . In Uganda, where I lived for two years, the onset of the long rains in March only ever meant one thing to locals: grasshopper time. For at least a month afterwards, you could expect to find an enterprising trader selling the bugs deep fried and breaded on every street corner - and they were never short of customers. One day, that crowd of buyers included me. The bag of bugs handed over by the smiling trader certainly smelled OK, tangy and rich, and very much like a deep fried prawn. They didn't taste as bad as expected. The texture was worse. It was a bit like chomping on a prawn with the shell left on - disgusting. The taste meanwhile, was a blandly juicy version of the same and badly needed its salt and breadcrumbs. The hardest part was trying not to think . about what it actually was - an insect that under normal circumstances . I'd have been more keen to squirt with bug repellent than eat. While it wasn't entirely revolting, I'm not anxious to repeat the experience. I can't say the same for crocodile, however. In Zimbabwe I was offered the chance to try some crocodile sausages, and having previously munched my way through platefuls of buffalo, springbok and kudu, I thought I'd give it a go. The sausages arrived, pale cream and glistening, and bore a worryingly close resemblance to Scottish white pudding. In the mouth, the flesh was slightly rubbery, similar to squid, and tasted like a bland, fishy version of chicken. The chef at Singita Pamushana safari lodge had made a heroic effort to spice it up with a delicious sauce and thanks to his work, the end result was pretty tasty. Like grasshoppers, it badly needed the extra salt and pepper, but unlike the bug, the squid like texture of crocodile is inoffensive. I'd like to try it again, but perhaps in steak form next time around...
Mexican restaurant Wahaca to serve fried grasshoppers .
Camden's The Blue Kitchen will sell 'tender' alligator tail .
Exotic meat sales have increased since horse meat scandal .
By . Ruth Styles . PUBLISHED: . 02:39 EST, 5 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 18:03 EST, 7 April 2013 . Given the recent horse meat scandal, you'd be forgiven for assuming that British diners would want to avoid meat that isn't beef, pork or chicken. But according to London restaurants, Wahaca and The Blues Kitchen, demand for exotic fare has increased so much, they've added some very unusual items to the menu. At Wahaca, a sustainable Mexican street food chain of restaurants, you can enjoy chapulines fundido - a Mexican delicacy that includes fried grasshoppers. Bugs: Wahaca's chapulines fundido, a Mexican delicacy that includes a side order of deep fried grasshopper . Not to be outdone, Camden's The Blues Kitchen has put fried alligator tail on the menu. According to the restaurant, this translates as 'tender pieces of alligator tail coated in Cajun panko bread crumbs, and served with fresh mint and sweet chili sauce.' Since the horse meat scandal broke, sales of exotic meats such as ostrich and kudu have shot up, according to the man behind a meat retailer that sells everything from camel to crocodile. ‘With all the media attention on horse meat, lots of people are curious to try new things,’ says Paul Webb, director of Exotic Meats. ‘We’ve seen sales increase tenfold in a week.' Kezie Foods, a Scottish supplier of exotic food stuffs has also seen sales go through the roof, according to company spokeman, Julia Toomey. ‘Kangaroo meat is a very popular alternative and is delicious,' she reveals. 'It is low in fat, high in protein and available in the same cuts as beef so can easily be substituted in a regular recipe or meal. Anyone for alligator? The Camden eatery has added a dish made with the scaly reptile to its menu . ‘There are many other alternative meats that are lean and healthy which taste great; springbok, venison, wildebeest and zebra, to name a few, are very popular.’ Like antelopes and zebra, Mexican grasshoppers and alligator tails are packed with protein and can be cooked in much the same way. What's more, say Wahaca, the percentage of protein in grasshoppers is far higher than in any other type of meat, boasting 60 per cent protein to just six per cent fat. But despite most Brits' aversion to creepie crawlies, Wahaca founder and chef Thomasina Miers says eating insects is no different to eating shrimps or prawns. 'It’s just not in our psyche at the moment', she says. 'The chapulines fundido is a great introduction to the beautiful earthy flavour of these insects as it tastes amazing and a salsa is much more palatable for the more squeamish diners out there.' 'Insects do not have to be a novelty food, they are packed full of protein, taste amazing and due to their farming methods are incredibly good for the environment.' Could you? Would you? Does a grasshopper snack sound like something you would want to eat? Tasty: Alligator meat is rubbery in texture and tastes like a bland, if slightly fishy, version of  chicken . In Uganda, where I lived for two years, the onset of the long rains in March only ever meant one thing to locals: grasshopper time. For at least a month afterwards, you could expect to find an enterprising trader selling the bugs deep fried and breaded on every street corner - and they were never short of customers. One day, that crowd of buyers included me. The bag of bugs handed over by the smiling trader certainly smelled OK, tangy and rich, and very much like a deep fried prawn. They didn't taste as bad as expected. The texture was worse. It was a bit like chomping on a prawn with the shell left on - disgusting. The taste meanwhile, was a blandly juicy version of the same and badly needed its salt and breadcrumbs. The hardest part was trying not to think . about what it actually was - an insect that under normal circumstances . I'd have been more keen to squirt with bug repellent than eat. While it wasn't entirely revolting, I'm not anxious to repeat the experience. I can't say the same for crocodile, however. In Zimbabwe I was offered the chance to try some crocodile sausages, and having previously munched my way through platefuls of buffalo, springbok and kudu, I thought I'd give it a go. The sausages arrived, pale cream and glistening, and bore a worryingly close resemblance to Scottish white pudding. In the mouth, the flesh was slightly rubbery, similar to squid, and tasted like a bland, fishy version of chicken. The chef at Singita Pamushana safari lodge had made a heroic effort to spice it up with a delicious sauce and thanks to his work, the end result was pretty tasty. Like grasshoppers, it badly needed the extra salt and pepper, but unlike the bug, the squid like texture of crocodile is inoffensive. I'd like to try it again, but perhaps in steak form next time around...
Given the recent horse meat scandal, you'd be Camden's The Blues Kitchen has put fried alligator tail on the menu. According to the