Ich bin ein Made Esser.
Posted on 05/21/2005 7:44:57 PM PDT by aculeus
Sarah Azubi, 17, had hers deep fried. "They were crunchy like chips and tasted a bit like nuts," she said approvingly of the new delicacy on the menu at a Dresden restaurant. "There was a soft juicy bit in the middle around the crunchy shell."
Another diner, Nancy Weinhold, 25, was less convinced by the plump maggots, imported to Germany from Mexico, which the Espitas restaurant began serving last month. "I will try most things once but was really tempted to give this a miss," she said. "They looked disgusting - two-inch long, fat, squishy grubs that looked as if they should have been eating the lettuce, not lying on it waiting to be eaten. I closed my eyes for the first bite, but they were really not that bad."
Few diners seem to share her reservations. Since the head chef, Uwe Engert, started dishing up yellow kingworms (Zophobas morio) in everything from salads to cocktails as a "nutritious and extremely tasty" alternative, the Espitas has been full every night.
Mr Engert himself is a convert, describing the beetle larvae as a "protein bomb for those who are not too squeamish", ideal for human consumption because the exoskeleton is easily digestible.
The restaurant owner, Alexander Wolf, stumbled across the delicacy during a trip to Mexico. Given the popularity of Mr Engert's larvae salads at €13 (£8.90), fried larvae with cactus and corn (€19), and larvae in ice cream or chocolate sauce (€7), he now intends to branch out into grasshopper and ant dishes.
"I was visiting an area close to Mexico City where these larvae seem to be the staple diet," said Mr Wolf, 27, who prides himself on the authentic Latin American ambience in his three restaurants. "The locals cook them in everything from soups to burritos. The larvae used to be a pest as they hatched into a beetle which can destroy crops. People started eating them simply to get rid of them."
He is now considering starting his own maggot farm in Europe. "We have them deep-frozen on the ground to stop them hatching and then ship them over," he said. "We are now planning our own colony here so we can sell them elsewhere in Europe. I reckon they will go down well in the UK. London, especially, has a tradition of variety in its cuisine."
Information appearing on telegraph.co.uk is the copyright of Telegraph Group Limited and must not be reproduced in any medium without licence.
GGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaCK!!!
I used to like German food.
That is just plain nasty! With a capital nast.
I'll stick with tofu.
Ich bin ein Made Esser.
Jagerschnitzel, yes. Jagermaggots? I don't think so.
From where does a restaurant get its maggots?
I won't be able to eat for a week after reading that.
you must be kidding me...
Whats next -
' Fecal Flambe ' ?
Are German maggots so inferior that they need to import Mexican maggots?
"He is now considering starting his own maggot farm in Europe."
EEEE-UUUU and maggots...should be a great match.
Right out back...just off from the parking lot. 
What do you expect from people who think a half inch thick pan fried veal cutlet is high cuisine.
I have friends who have visited Germany and they say finding a fresh green vegetable is nigh impossible. If it ain't fat it ain't food.
Mexican maggots doing the work German maggots won't do.
Yeah, I saw that. I meant to say, "From where does a restaurant usually get its maggots?" I guess it's good that they're importing them instead of home growing them.
Dumpster out back?
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