We couldn’t be prouder of our members Yumbug, who made the front page of the Guardian this week, as top columnist Tim Dowling visited, feasted at and commended their ground-breaking Finsbury Park restaurant.
The double page spread dominated the middle of the 7 August edition of the newspaper, and also features a nod to several more of our members, including Horizon Edible Insects, Bugvita’s Adam Banks and by extension, us too!
“The most akin meat actually ends up being something like beef or lamb, just simply because of the taste,” says Yum Bug’s co-founder Aaron Thomas. “But also the look. It’s quite brown.”
This quote from the article is classic Yumbug. They’ve recognised that getting people over the yuck factor is one of the major hitches in spreading the insect revolution, and their plan to expand is set out in this inspirational promo video.
From donning wacky cricket costumes and random taste-testing strangers, to targeting celeb chefs and tv gurus, they are bent on bringing insects to the Western world. It’s happening too - they’re already on the menu in Mexican-inspired restaurant Wahaca, and are heading for the kitchens of several other major names.
Yumbug is headed up by Leo Taylor, and long-time UKEIA member Aaron Thomas, who sits on our Board of Directors. If two guys who started out in a garage and sold ready meals during the pandemic can get this far in just a couple of years, just imagine what other ento-innovators out there could achieve with the support of the UKEIA community a complete swarm of insect protein advocates!
The article is also incredibly thorough in discussing both the pros and cons of getting into insect farming in the UK - explaining the current limitations around cost, regulations and economies of scale - but also weighs up the impact compared to other products as the industry expands worldwide.
Dowling asks the Yumbug team about how insects fit into a vegan or vegetarian diet plan, with Yumbug responding: “There’s a cost to the food we eat…There’s a cost to the avocado that you’re spreading on your toast, a cost to the almonds in your milk. We’re just saying that we feel this is an acceptable point in the spectrum of all the things you could possibly eat.”
This is the kind of PR that we love to see - and we’d really like to hear your thoughts on the piece too, so feel free to drop us a line.
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