Chef Laurent Quenioux’s Ant Larvae

“We make blinis with ant eggs and caviar, and a three-egg dish of escamoles, quail eggs and salmon roe. We have been making an escamole [ant larvae] quiche, and, using just the albumen that drains out when the eggs are frozen, meringue. Our signature dish is a corn tortilla resting on a nasturtium leaf and topped with escamoles sautéed in butter with epazote, shallots, and serrano chilis, served with a shot of Mexican beer and a lime gel.

Their delicate eggy qualities, their wildness, their unexpected appearance—like condensed milk with little pebbles in it—and the responsibility I feel to train the American palate to accept them inspires me to do gastronomy with bugs. The insects will be the solution to feed all those masses, but how do you get insects on the daily table in America? In the last twenty years, we grew here in America from iceberg lettuce to baby frisée. Insects are like any other ingredient: a challenge and an opportunity.”

Laurent Quenioux was the executive chef and owner of Bistro LQ in Los Angeles; he now operates pop-ups across Los Angeles

#grilgeniet #buggy #ant