Grub’s up! Cooked critters go down a treat at welly run

The menu was novel and certainly varied — and they just gobbled it up.

What about curry crickets, crispy barbecue mealworms, or plain roasted locusts for lunch? That was the unusual, free-of-charge fare in what was claimed to be Ireland’s first pop-up “pestaurant” in Killarney, Co Kerry.

Young and old alike queued to sample the quirky delights. And the general verdict appeared to be that they were tasty.

Former Kerry footballer Liam Hassett didn’t develop his strength by eating insects — he looks more like a steak man — but he tried the locusts.

“A bit nutty, but they’re grand,” he said. “Nice enough. I suppose food is all about perception, but you’d try anything once.’’

A man never short of words is well-known sports broadcaster Weeshie Fogarty and, after a moment’s hesitation, he braved chocolate-covered mixed bugs. “It’s just like chocolate,’’ he gasped.

Muiris O’Donoghue, of the Gleneagle Hotel, Killarney, was there with his daughter, Niamh, 9, who said her scorpion lollipop was not too nice. Muiris made quick work of his plain roasted cricket.

“I don’t know what it tasted like, to tell the truth. I swallowed it straight back and it seemed to go down alright,’’ he said, laughing.

The pestaurant — a side show to an attempt by Glenflesk GAA club to break the Guinness world record for a fundraising welly run — was part of 80th birthday celebrations by Rentokil Initial.

More than 3,000 people participated in the welly run, actually a walk led by country music star Nathan Carter, and it will take eight to 12 weeks to certify a new record, with photographic and video evidence to be scrutinised.

The previous record was set by 1,976 participants in Alaska last year.

Meanwhile, according to Rentotil managing director Michael O’Mahoney, Europe is the only continent in which insects do not appear on regular menus. He said the insects being consumed yesterday were all specially cultivated as a food.

“Many insects are rich in protein, zinc, calcium and iron while being low in fat,” he said. “They also have a high feed conversion rate, meaning they can be farmed using relatively little land, water, and energy compared to livestock.’’