DEL.ICIO.USYOO & THE CITY — A weekly look at the eccentric, the eclectic and the unusual
YOO & THE CITY: Chef shows how to make critters into food
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
This article was originally published on 6/21/2007
You’ll never look at a roach the same way again.
Charles Yoo/ajc.com
Susan Beasley of Atlanta digs into one of chef Ryan Cobb’s specialties —- sweet and sour mealworms on rice noodles. Her reaction: Yum yum!
The next time you spot that vile thing on your linoleum kitchen floor, ask yourself “Why do I hate it so much?”
Simply put, scientists have brainwashed you. What if there were no food left on this planet. Would you still stomp? Of course not.
So prepare for the days when global warming, nuclear holocaust and other calamities affect the supply of Angus beef or halibut. Go to the Atlanta Botanical Garden in Midtown and taste the future —- literally.
Every month, a four-star chef prepares two gourmet dishes before a crowd of curious spectators. It’s part of the botanical garden’s latest exhibition —- killer plants and oversized wooden insect sculptures by artist David Rogers.
The real treat, however, is Ryan Cobb, 31, the tall “insect chef” with dry wit.
“If you can’t beat ‘em, eat ‘em, ” he says.
Monday through Friday, he dishes up seared veal tenderloin and pecan crusted trout at the Rice House at Barnsley Gardens Resort in Adairsville. He has run the kitchens at Cafe Boheme in Little Five Points, Oceanaire Seafood Room in Midtown and other chichi places in Hilton Head Island, S.C., where he got four stars.
Cobb hasn’t cooked insects in years though. When he was a student at the Art Institute of Atlanta, his thesis was on bugs a la carte.
Cobb was disgusted at first, but quickly got over it. Research showed that many other cultures dine on the creatures. Besides, at the rate the human population consumes food, the supply is bound to run out.
Bugs are ugly, but they sure eat clean —- plants, mostly.
“Insects eat grass, ” he said. “Lobster has the nastiest diet. It’ll eat anything, any waste, and it’ll pass [that] on to you.”
(Incidentally, cockroaches —- which lobsters tend to resemble —- also will eat anything.)
Cobb’s insect cooking demonstration is the first Saturday of each month, through October. The other day, the menu included sweet and sour mealworms over rice noodles and crickets and grits. He already has done chocolate-covered crickets and scorpion scampi.
Wait, aren’t scorpions dangerous?
“Yes, scorpions are poisonous, but they’re safe after cooking, ” he said, adding that he clips off the tail’s poisonous tip.
Armed with skillets, olive oil, chopped green peppers and other fresh vegetables, Cobb wowed an audience of 200. The crowd first resisted the thought of inserting those crunchy critters into their mouths, but Cobb’s 20-minute cooking segment quickly transformed them into believers.
“Oh my god!” said Morgan Voyles, 13, of Atlanta, as she tried the sauteed worms. “It’s crunchy. It’s good.”
Susan McKeen’s 6-year-old son, Colin, was snacking on unseasoned crickets. He took off the limbs and swallowed just the body. She, too, was snacking —- on unseasoned mealworms in a mixing bowl.
Until one of them squirmed. She looked puzzled.
“Have I been eating live worms?” the Stone Mountain woman asked.
Yes, Cobb told her. They had been put in the freezer and thus were hibernating. They certainly weren’t dead.
“Lovely, ” she replied before screaming.
One appeal of serving insects is the cost. They’re cheap. Cobb buys from a Louisiana farm (a food factory for reptiles). It cost him $60 to feed 200, including 1,000 crickets for $8.
Insects are nearly all protein. They also are rich in calcium and iron, and are virtually cholesterol-free.
The late Dr. Atkins would have been proud.
Chef Ryan Cobb’s Crickets & Grits
- 4-6 Servings
- 4 cups prepared grits
- 6 diced tomatoes
- 12 pieces diced okra
- 1/2 diced onion
- 2 tbsp. cajun seasoning
- 2 tbsp. fresh basil
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 2 tbsp. minced garlic
- 7 oz. diced pancetta (or bacon)
- 50 roasted crickets
First freeze live crickets, then roast on a cookie sheet at 350 degree for 13 to 15 minutes. Cook pancetta in a sauce pan; once browned, strain off half of the grease. Add onion and garlic. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients except crickets. Cook over low heat for one to one and a half hours. Season with salt and pepper. Add roasted crickets. Cook for a minute. Spoon over prepared grits.
IF YOU HAVE THE GUTS
The Atlanta Botanical Garden’s Insect Cooking Demonstrations take place on the first Saturday of each month. Chef Ryan Cobb does two shows, 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.
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