Bugs & Bubbly!

We all know the traditional food pairings with Champagne. Arthur Lambert, a student at the Ecole de Design in Troyes, decided to use a still unusual one for a project but it’s not for the fainthearted.

Les Champagnes de Vignerons had the idea for a competitive exam. They wanted a new promotional accessory for their members Champagne. This challenge was given to 18 second year students at the design school. They worked on their different projects for two months.

Less than half were then chosen to present them to a jury in Epernay earlier in June. These included a plastic Champagne carrier corks with confetti inside them and a board game. The jury tried Champagne ice cream and were also given something quite different to eat.

Arthur seems to have been inspired by the recent trend in entomophagy or insect eating. They have after all six times more protein than chicken. Top restaurants are serving them on their menus. Laithwaite’s Wine prepared a top 10 pairings list in 2014.

Tarantulas go well with chardonnay and scorpions with pinot noir. His project was entitled Eat the Eater. He presented a simple wooden box with dried insects inside in sachets. Pepper seasoned crickets or herb seasoned mealworms are said to go well with a brut Champagne. The seven member jury hesitated to explore these Champagne/insect pairings but quickly found them a winner.

Arthur’s tasting box will be given a press preview at the Champagne de Vignerons annual tasting in Paris in September. 5,000 boxes costing 15€ each will then be put on sale ready for the Christmas market. You will be able to order them on the Champagne de Vignerons site or buy them from wine merchants who are in partnership with them.

If you wish to experiment beforehand the UK’s Crunchy Critters has a large selection of edible insects available to buy online.