I dined at Britain's first edible insect restaurant. Here's what I found

Updated 6 days ago

I am sitting in a converted cowshed in Wales eating insects. Except there are no eyes, no wings, no antennae on my plate. The insects have been ground up into a Bug Burger so that now it resembles and even tastes like every other burger on the planet. That's the secret to getting people accustomed to eating insects, according to Dr Sarah Beynon, entomologist and founder of Dr Beynon's Bug Farm and Bug Farm Foods, a working farm and visitor attraction, on the outskirts of St Davids.

"It took me months to get my head around seeing insects as food," she said. "I would suggest starting slowly - try a cricket cookie then perhaps the Bug Bolognese next."

The Bug Farm is host to the Grub Kitchen, Britain's first edible insect restaurant. The squeamish can choose other food but there's no doubt insects (that don't look like insects) are the star attraction. There are small pots of plain roast or chilli crickets (these resemble and taste like potato crisps) curried mealworms and mixed insect pakoras with garlic mayonnaise.

Beynon and head chef Andy Holcroft have developed a product called VEXo, a combination of insect and plant protein which appears in a lot of their dishes.

According to Beynon there is a global need for alternative protein sources and insects are packed with the stuff. Apparently feeding the 10 billion people predicted to live on Earth by 2050 will require 70 per cent more food, 120 per cent more water and 42 per cent more cropland than today.

The solution - insects. They are packed with proteins, vitamins and minerals, and don't require anywhere near the feed or land area of livestock. Australia recently approved the production of three insect varieties for human consumption - super mealworms, house crickets and mealworm beetles. So someday when someone asks you if you want to go out and get some grub - in Australia or overseas - it may be an invitation to dine on insects. thebugfarm.co.uk