London To Celebrate Food and Insects

London has been at the forefront of the insect-eating movement for a while now.

The city is home to Daniel Creedon's Archipelago, a groundbreaking restaurant that serves us locusts and crickets along with exotic finds like crocodile and kangaroo. It also hosted René Redzepi's Taste of Noma pop-up restaurant at Clayridge's last year, which brought ants to the table.

Next month, the city will welcome a festival dedicated to edible insects. Called Pestival 2013, it will feature a two-day pop up restaurant by the Nordic Food Lab, the team that helps Redzepi experiment with grasshopper sauce and other crispy critters. 

On April 30th and May 1st the Nordic Food Lab will host a discussion on the deliciousness of insects. Guests will hear from Nordic Food Lab director Michael BomFrost; Benedict Reade, Nordic Food Lab's head of Culinary Research and Development; and professor Marcel Dicke, TED speaker and ambassador for insects.

During the discussion, which will take place from 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., guests will be treated to insect canapés and beer brewed at the Nordic Food Lab. Tickets for the event are 50£. To reserve your spot, you are urged to call +44 (0)20 7611 2222, as there are only 50 tickets available for each evening. 

Pestival is sponsored by the Wellcome Trust and aims to spread awareness of the environmental benefits of eating insects. It's a trend supported by Redzepi and other chefs who aim to popularize it in the West.

''I know it's taboo to eat bugs in the western world, but why not?'' Redzepi told The Guardian. ''You go to south-east Asia and this is a common thing. You read about it from all over teh world, that people are eating bugs. If you like mushrooms, you've eaten so many worms you cannot imagine. But also we eat honey, and honey is the vomit of a bee. Think of that next time you pour it into your tea.''

WATCH: René Redzepi's Grasshopper Sauce

Editor's note: This article was updated on March 25, 2013 to reflect current information pertaining to the dates of the festival and the events hosted by the Nordic Food Lab.