Edible Insect Supper Returns to Maine Tasting Center

Maine Tasting Center will open its season with a full lineup of events dedicated to one of the most talked-about topics in sustainable food: edible insects.

Designed to meet curious eaters wherever they are, the series offers three distinct entry points: a casual happy hour, a hands-on cooking class, and a curated multicourse dinner.

Eating insects is far from a new idea. More than two billion people worldwide include them as part of a regular diet and with good reason. Depending on the species, insects can contain anywhere from 40-75 % protein – often double that of beef or chicken – while requiring a fraction of the land, water, and resources to raise.

Maine is already home to a small but passionate community of producers and researchers working to bring that reality closer to home. Maine companies Entosense and Invertebration have been working to find new ways for U.S. consumers to enjoy edible insects and the nutritional and sustainability benefits they offer and to make Maine a leader in the edible insect industry.

Maine Tasting Center has been part of that effort for the past few years. Sara Gross, executive director of the nonprofit, has described working with the edible insect industry as “incredibly rewarding because of the passion and excitement these producers bring to it.”

The Maine Tasting Center’s annual Sustainable Supper has become a signature event in that effort, co-hosted each year by Entosense and Invertebration. This year, Maine Tasting Center and its edible insect producer partners are doubling down with a three-part series that spans the entire summer season.

The series kicks off on Saturday, May 30 with the edible insect happy hour, a low-key cocktail hour featuring snack-style hors d’oeuvres made with edible insects, special insect-inspired cocktails and the chance to chat with Maine-based edible insect producers. Whether one is a longtime entomophagist or a complete newcomer, it’s a fun and approachable way to start. Tickets are $20.

On Wednesday, June 10, the Deliciously Sustainable: An Introduction to Edible Insects cooking class ($40) invites participants to cook two recipes featuring edible insects, one using dried products and one using fresh mealworms raised in Maine. Taught by Gross herself, the class will cover the basics of entomophagy and why insects are increasingly recognized as a protein source of the future. Tickets are $40.

The season closes on Saturday, Oct. 17 with the third annual Sustainable Supper with Edible Insects, a four-course dinner bringing together Maine Tasting Center, Entosense, Invertebration, and a new collaborator: North Spore, Maine’s leading mushroom growing company.

The evening opens with an insect cocktail hour before guests sit down to a menu that pairs edible insects with mushrooms cultivated using North Spore grow blocks; the event brings together two low-impact approaches to food production that share a common philosophy of efficiency and minimal environmental footprint.

Tickets are $55. Previous Sustainable Suppers have sold out, and this year’s dinner is expected to do the same.

“We keep coming back to edible insects because they represent something genuinely exciting about the future of food,” said Gross. “We want people to feel like they can explore that in whatever way feels comfortable for them, whether that’s a snack and a drink on our opening day for the season, or sitting down to a full dinner with us in October.”

All events are held at Maine Tasting Center, at 506 Old Bath Road in Wiscasset. Advance registration is required. For more information, go to mainetastingcenter.com/edibleinsects.