St John’s College welcomed Daniel Creedon from the Archipelago Restaurant in London as guest chef to produce a range of recipes for the tasting panel.
Gourmet treats on offer included a Leafcutter Breakfast and a Pecan Pie made with wheelworms, crickets and locusts.
Served in the Wordsworth Room at St John’s, the first course featured the ‘Leafcutter Breakfast’ which provided a sustainable alternative to the popular cooked breakfast and comprised Queen leafcutter ants, black pudding, quail egg, thyme roasted tomato sauce, mushroom ketchup and fried slice (made with cricket flour).
Main courses were: falafel hashara, buffalo worm and cricket falafel, zataar flatbread (made with cricket flour), tzadziki and tabbouleh.
A 'Pecan pie' made with mealworms, crickets and locusts in cricket flour pastry, with wild black ant creme Chantilly rounded off the tasting.
Bill Brogan, Catering and Conference Manager at St John’s College said: “It was a pleasure to welcome Daniel to cook a selection of insect dishes in College and a step forward towards sustainable catering. A few months ago we held an insect tasting and now we have taken this further with the creation of specific dishes using a selection of insect ingredients.
“The feedback from the tasting panel was very positive and we will be doing it again next year. It was also discussed on Wednesday morning at the EAUC – Environmental Association of Universities and Colleges – meeting in the University Centre.”
Daniel Creedon has rapidly gained a reputation for cooking with insects and has recently appeared in the national press and on TV. His Archipelago Restaurant in central London brings together the ‘exotic, the exciting and the unexpected’ with insect dishes which include a ‘Love Bug Salad’ and chocolate covered scorpions.
Image: Bill Brogan, Catering and Conference Manager, St John’s College; Kevin Keohane, Catering Manager, Christ’s College; Alex Downer, Account Director, Foodbuy Ltd; and Charlotte Payne, PhD student.
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Further press information from: Lesley Crosland at Crosland Communications on 01638 662188 Email: info@croslandcomms.co.uk
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