In his compact Parisian restaurant, Chef Laurent Veyet adds the finishing touches to one of his signature dishes. He has prepared a shortbread sablé upon which sits some apple-flavoured hummus, carrots roasted in honey and tomatoes baked with thyme. 

To this, Chef Laurent adds the pièce de résistance: A few dehydrated mealworms and some whole crickets for crunch and flavour that will also marry well with the ground crickets and cheese that form the sablé base. 

For classically trained chef Laurent, cooking more respectfully and more intelligently refers to the challenge of feeding a projected global population of 9 billion people by 2050, without harming the environment. And to Laurent, insects are the food of the future.

In this final episode of The Star Ingredient, we’re getting to grips with all things edible insects: How do you cook with them? What are the environmental benefits? And will Europeans ever make the leap and accept them on their dinner plates?

Hosted by Tokunbo Salako. 

Written and produced by Aisling Ní Chúláin, Alice Carnevali Marta Rodríguez Martínez and Naira Davlashyan. 

With original reporting by Alice Carnevali and Aisling Ní Chúláin.

The theme music is by Andy Robini. 

Consultant editor: Catalina May. 

Solutions journalism consultant: Michèle Foin. 

Production coordinator: Louise Lehec. Editor-in-chief: Patrick Heery. 

For more information on The Star Ingredient, go to our website.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Teff is the star ingredient of Ethiopian cuisine and it’s essential for the  delicious chechebsca, a traditional breakfast dish in the country. This small grain can withstand harsh climate conditions and is mostly produced in the Horn of Africa. However, political and economic instability in Ethiopia has limited the country’s ability to benefit from its production. Aggravating the situation is the issue of biopiracy, a topic we delve into in this episode.

In Ethiopia, we meet Yonas Alemu to  discover his business Love Grass. Put on your headphones to discover how the company wants to modernize teff production and restore the grain to its origins. 

Hosted by Tokunbo Salako. 

Written and produced by Naira Davlashyan, Aisling Ní Chúláin and Marta Rodriguez Martinez, in Lyon, France. 

Our assistant producer is Alice Carnevali. 

Original reporting by Suad Ahmed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Consulting editor: Catalina May

Solutions journalism consultant: Michèle Foin. 

The theme music is by Andy Robini. 

Sound design is by Naira Davlashyan, sound mixing is by Hugo Pouillard.

Production coordinator:Louise Lehec 

Editor-in-chief : Patrick Heery. 

For more information on The Star Ingredient, go to our website.

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.  

Are you a French speaker? You can find a version of this podcast in French with the name La Surprise du Chef.

The podcast, The Star Ingredient, was funded by the European Journalism Centre, through the Solutions Journalism Accelerator. This fund is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cowpea or niébé is an essential ingredient in Senegalese street food. Branded as ‘food for the poor’ by the colonists, the cowpea has long been neglected by African countries. But chef Fati Niang is determined to give niébé a comeback as a popular legume used to flavour fancy finger food recipes like accras. 

Hosted by Tokunbo Salako. 

Written and produced by Naira Davlashyan, Marta Rodríguez Martínez, Aisling Ní Chúláin, and Alice Carnevali

With original reporting by Marta Moreiras. 

The theme music is by Andy Robini. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.