A few crickets.
Or if the crunch doesn’t do it for you, perhaps mealworms would be more to your fancy.
Though you may prefer something a little more out there.
Exotic.
Say a few Iridomyrmex bicknelli.
Yes, you too can have your fill of tyrant ants.
But if you want to be the star of the evening the choice isn’t tough, it’s obvious.
Cockroaches.
Nothing can be considered to better challenge the palate than those creepy, slimy, grimy little roaches that pop up in the most inconvenient places – your pillow for instance.
But Junction Moama will have them popping up on your plate as its part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival’s regional program.
Truly. Cockroaches. Yes, the same ones you stomp on, spray, bait, bomb and, most of all, loathe.
Junction’s star chef Dave Palmer, even as you read this, is racking his brains for the best way to serve up these diverse delicacies.
Maybe a spoonful of sugar will help them go down, but he’s not sure.
It will be his toughest menu in four years at the helm of the Junction kitchen and in the interests of his all-Australian menu he is skipping the sugar and planning to get some honeycomb from My Dad’s Honey.
Whichever way you look at it Dave guarantees it will be Buggin’ Delicious.
“This is a 100 per cent first for me, I have to admit I’ve never worked with insects – or mini livestock as the new generation of breeders call their produce – so it will be as novel for me as it will for our diners,” Dave said.
“We will be putting on a four-course dinner so yes, you get the cockies whether you planned to order them or not,” he said.
“Our bugs for Buggin’ Delicious will be from South Australia and Queensland and Junction’s mixologist will be matching drinks with each course and will take you on a journey into the world of insects. “You will also discover why they are so important to the diversity of the food we enjoy now and could be the food of the future.
“This is no ordinary meal! You’ll get up close and personal with some amazing mini-beasts and come away feeling pretty stoked for being at the forefront of sustainable locavore eating.
“Each course, featuring fresh and local ingredients to be shared with friends, will introduce you to a delicious way to eat insects, complemented by authentic Australian ingredients.”
Buggin’ Delicious will be held at Junction Moama on March 16 from 12pm-3pm.
■For tickets to the most unusual meal it will serve this year, perhaps ever, you simply go to melbournefoodandwine.com.au
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