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Brazilian superstar chef Alex Atala graces the cover of the July issue of Delta Sky magazine in honor of the FIFA World Cup 2014 being held in his home country.
During his interview with the publication, the chef spoke about his passion for Amazonian ingredients, his love of soccer and his desire to help local communities. He was also asked about one of his most famous dishes: ants on a pineapple. Although edible insects have yet to gain popularity in the West, Atala made eating ants sound poetic, fun and thrilling - like a must-have culinary experience.
Here's an excerpt from Atala's fascinating interview:
“There is much logic behind the ants! I still love the ants. I use the ants not to be exotic for the sake of being exotic, I use them because they’re good, they’re tasty, they’re delicious! I also use ants to help humans: We could produce insects very cheaply for the animals we eat. It could be that chickens could be fed insects instead of grain.”
“When you are here and you get the piece of pineapple with an ant on it, it’s a surprise. It’s a roller coaster. The first impression is scary, it’s conflict. You cross the gate of fear and put something weird in your mouth, and suddenly you change! You taste the flavor, you think, “Wow! This is good. This is impressive.” The next day you wake up in your house, maybe you don’t think eating insects is the greatest possible taboo.”
For more on the chef's thoughts, swing by Delta Sky to read the full interview.
