NEW research by a Musselburgh university student has shown that, despite TV shows like I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, Scotland is not ready to embrace eating creepy crawlies.

Adam Roe, student vice-president at Queen Margaret University, has carried out a study of entomophagy – the consumption of edible insects – in his final year dissertation.

Two billion of the world’s population currently eat insects as part of their daily diet.

Despite sweet insect lollipops being sold in top London stores and bags of barbecue-flavoured crickets now available in Harvey Nichols in Edinburgh, it appears that Scots are still hugely resistant to indulging in insect cuisine.

Adam, who is a graduate of QMU’s International Hospitality and Tourism Management degree said: “During my travels to Thailand, I was fascinated to see the incredible range of street food on offer in Bangkok. The locals ate a wide range of insect-based snacks such as water bugs, scorpions and grasshoppers. It was interesting to learn about their food culture and I was intrigued to see workers, dressed in business suits, picking up bags of deep-fried insects to munch on their way home from work.”

He added: “Earlier research has identified Western consumer perceptions as a current barrier, but I wanted to find out whether chefs had an appetite to include insect cuisine on their menus.

“I discovered that chefs in high end restaurants were nervous about the damage to their restaurant’s reputation and didn’t feel that there was a consumer demand for edible insects in Scotland. Ironically, Noma in Copenhagen, known to be one of the world’s finest restaurants, serves live insects, such as ants, from time to time.

“Chefs also felt that they were not educated and experienced enough to safely prepare and serve insects. However, one French chef in particular was more enthusiastic about embracing insect cuisine, and showed his willingness to offer an edible insect tasting experience.”

Grasshoppers, which were deep fried and served with fish sauce and seasoning, became one of Adam’s favourite insect dishes when he was touring Thailand. However, the same cannot be said for scorpion.

Adam said: “It has a creamy sour taste which was rather off putting, but I persisted in trying different insects. When I returned to Scotland I continued to experiment with various ingredients and dishes. I’ve incorporated mealworms into chocolate brownies – that was a big hit – but my beef stew with mealworm flour didn’t go down well.”

He added: “Although I may feel enthusiastic about entomophagy, my research shows that Scotland just isn’t ready for bugs on plates. It’s now over to TV shows, possibly with celebrity chefs, to create a more favourable image of insects in gourmet cooking and trendy street food.”

Bernie Quinn, senior lecturer in International Hospitality and Tourism Management at Queen Margaret University, added: “Adam has conducted a fascinating insight into a food phenomenon that there is currently little knowledge of in Scotland. His findings are perhaps just a little too cutting edge for our top chefs.”

Adam was due to present his study: 'An exploration of the perceptions of chefs regarding entomophagy in Michelin and Rosette awarded restaurants – case study of Edinburgh’s finest chefs’ at Council for Hospitality Management Education conference at the University of Ulster this week.