Attracting attention as sustainable food, I went on a report on “Insect Gourmet Fest Vol.0”, where insect foods are gathered at Tokyo Station! A New Shape of SDGs

Hello! My name is Okunuki, and I joined SUNNY SIDE UP this April.

In this article, I would like to send you a report on the “Insect Gourmet Fest Vol. 0,” which was held for a total of four days from Thursday, November 26 to Sunday, November 29, 2020, at the event space “Square Zero” located inside Tokyo Station.

We established the “Insect Gourmet Fest Executive Committee” with the aim of continuously promoting the appeal of insect foods and establishing a new food category called “insect cuisine.”

As the first step of this activity, “Insect Gourmet Fest Vol. 0” will be held to allow people to enjoy a variety of insect foods at one time.

Cricket crackers released by MUJI in May of this year became a major topic of conversation, and “cricket food” was ranked in Nikkei Trendy’s hit prediction for 2021 and was also ranked in Nikkei Trendy’s 2021 hit forecast.

“Insect cuisine” is a new option that has entered the food culture of meat, fish, and vegetables that we have become accustomed to, and is causing diversity in the food industry.

We have decided to hold this event in order to promote the “new form of SDGs” of food diversity.

We would like to send you a report from the event, where people who were full of curiosity and wanted to experience something they had never had contact with before enjoyed the much-talked-about entomophagy!

Please refrain from viewing this article if you do not like insect photos….

A large gathering of restaurants specializing in insect dishes

The event will include the unique bar “Cho-jyu-chu Izakaya Kome and Circus,” an entomophagy specialty restaurant, “Insect Food TAKEO,” a restaurant specializing in entomophagy, “Hamaru Shokuhin,” which sells insect foods, a university-launched venture “Futurenaut,” in collaboration with insect food activist Kazuki, and lastly an insect food researcher who participated as a special advisor at this event supervised by the official kitchen, Shoichi Uchiyama, bringing together a total of five stores. Here are some of the products sold.

■Cho-jyu-chu Izakaya : Kome and Circus

Three kinds of hamburger eating comparison set: cricket, deer, and beef-pork

The ground beef is not beef and pork, but “cricket and deer” ground beef. All three types of hamburgers, including cricket-only and cricket-beef-pork hamburgers, go great with salt. The slight cricket crunchiness was addictive!

■Insect Food TAKEO

Turtle cider

Tortoise Cider is so transparent that if you take away the package, it is hard to tell if it is insect food or not. This product, with its green apple-like aroma, was made by extracting pheromones from turtles! The drink has a fruity taste and is easy to drink.

■FUTURENAUT

Oshiruko with cricket powder + matcha gaufrette

This product, which is not easily recognizable as an entomophagy, was easy to try even for first-timers. The gaufrette is also sold as a boxed product, and many people bought it as a souvenir.

■Hamaru Shokuhin

Butter sauteed sago worms and giant hornet larvae

This product, with its outstanding visual impact, was so popular that crowds of people gathered in front of the store! The butter soy sauce seasoning and texture made this an addictive dish!

■Official Kitchen

Hachinoko Onigiri Set

Hachinoko Onigiri, which tasted like rice balls, is a perfect dish for those who are hungry. Many customers were satisfied with the luxury of being able to enjoy three different insect foods in one set, which also included cricket soup and silkworm feces tea!

We hope to see more insect foods attracting attention as a new option in food culture in the future!