Mama Dip's meal worm gumbo.
RALEIGH -- Call it Fear Factor meets Iron Chef.
Local chefs faced-off to create tasty dishes using insects – grasshoppers, ants, meal worms and crickets - as ingredients Friday, at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.
The event was a preview of this year’s 10th annual Bugfest, which kicked off Saturday.
So just how did they taste?
“The meal worms are definitely more meatier, and also the crickets are full of flavors," said Sarig Agasi, a chef at Zely and Ritz Tapas restaurant, who took part in the competition.
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Some of the highlights of the dishes served included a pecan pie with ants, a crème brulee with ants and crickets, and a quiche made with grasshoppers.
“I prepared the gumbo with crickets, I mean with the worms, the meal worms,” said Mama Dip of Mama Dip’s Country Cooking.
Three judges rated each dish on taste, and afterwards audience members had the chance to dig in.
"Actually, I was just joking with my partner that we might put the crème brule on the menu tonight," said Agasi.