Don’t Call the Health Dept.: Insects on Menu at Bug Fair

Chef Zack Lemann laid a single dry-roasted, salted leaf-cutter ant atop a bed of sour cream, cucumber and toast like a spoonful of fine caviar.

Daniel Danziger, 8, screwed up his face as he put the delicacy in his mouth, chewing thoughtfully.

“I think it’s kind of good,” he said, a dab of sour cream clinging to his lip.

In a multicultural region accustomed to exotic foods from around the world -- shark fin soup in San Gabriel, beef head at downtown taco stands -- a creepy food genre was introduced to visitors Sunday at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

As part of the Exposition Park museum’s 18th annual Bug Fair, more than 100 adventurous adults and children lined up for trays of poached wax worms, crispy Cajun crickets and deep fried dragonflies.

It wasn’t hard to convince the crowd to try the unusual cuisine, said Lemann, an entomologist with the Audubon Nature Institute who has showcased his insect cooking skills around the world. Like an infomercial salesman, Lemann cooked his dishes before a packed audience, which then lined up to gobble samples. Many even returned for seconds.

“My perception of California -- borne out by the relish with which they ate everything -- is that it is a pretty open-minded place,” he said.

“My approach is not like a reality show, where it’s, ‘This is gross, I dare you,’ ” he added.

Instead, he advocates a kind of insect fusion cuisine, incorporating bugs into dishes as if they were mushrooms, cashews or chunks of chicken.

He pointed out to the audience that many cultures commonly dine on insects.

People in sub-Saharan Africa regularly munch on Mopani worms, and Cambodians often sup on spiders, he said. Colombians eat dry-roasted ants like popcorn at the movies.

Part of the reason lies in the wonderfully balanced nutrition insects offer, Lemann said

“If you have 100 grams of house cricket, you’ve got 12 grams of protein, 5 grams of fat and 5 grams of carbohydrate,” he said.

Lemann said he has perfected his recipes by testing them on friends and colleagues. His show Sunday required careful preparation: The crickets had to be roasted for 30 minutes at 250 degrees. The dragonflies were folded in half, tucked into wax paper envelopes and stored in a refrigerator. He covered his demonstration table with bottles of vegetable oil, bowls of beaten eggs and spices.

“I begin with the assumption that most of the audience has not tried bugs before, so I couch them inside other flavors,” he said. “I try to make the whole insect more palatable, mentally and gastronomically.”

The cooking show has been one of the weekend fair’s biggest draws, said Brent Karner, insect zoo coordinator.

“You might not know it, but you’ve eaten three pounds of insects a year,” he said. “If you like shrimp, lobster or crab, these are in the same group of animals, really.”

Alaysha Williams, 8, of Sun Valley looked with fear at a cup of wax worms and ants. She poked a finger in and asked, “They’re dead, right?”

She brightened after a bite of ant. “Mmm, they taste good,” she said. “It’s kind of like a nut.”

But even as many children pronounced the bugs delicious, many adults were not convinced. Daniel’s mother, Cecelia, frowned at the thought of eating an insect. “I’m not that brave,” the 44-year-old Long Beach resident said.

For those who didn’t care for bug snacks, vendors offered bug pets.

Ian Ptak, 4, played with a $12 millipede and asked his mother if he could take one home.

“There’s zero possibility,” said Pattie Ptak, 43. “I’ve had the shivers all day.”