Cricket Cake

Countries all over the world view crickets as a food source high in nutrition. This knowledge has not yet reached America. My son Gavin and I had a fun day finding out how far his cub scout pack is from excepting this food source into their diets.

Since crickets are popular to feed pet reptiles, I thought it would be fun to do a snack post for our blog. At the same time, Gavin needed a cake idea for his scout group. We talked about how it’s helpful for scouts to know what is edible in nature. We decided to combine this knowledge with his cake.

I have had some experience cooking crickets in my past. I helped lead a youth group years ago, and we had done a Fear Factor night. One of our challenges was eating crickets. Once I got past my preconceived notion about crickets being edible, I tried one of the roasted little critters myself. I was pleasantly surprised with the nutty taste the crunchy cricket offered.

I was excited to give cooking crickets another try, and Gavin was excited to try the new food choice. We went to work on our unique idea. My vision was to place the crickets on top. Gavin had a better idea. He took the bowl and dumped them out. He created a masterpiece… although the rest of the group didn’t seem to see our point of view. I began to hear the whispers and instantly started to feel uncomfortable. While I knew bringing a cricket cake would bring up some controversy, my insecurity surfaced as the afternoon unfold.

Parents were asking my kids what I made the crickets out of. People were questioning the sanitation of our choice, and wondering if crickets were edible. As I started regretting our cake, I turned my heart to God for comfort. He reminded me, “people who make a difference in the world are not received well by everyone”. I realized the concern was from a lack of knowledge of insects being a food source. It’s OK for people to respond to a new concept with questions.

I do have to say I was proud of the way Gavin’s den leader handled it. Two of the dads went to him whispering about the cricket cake. He didn’t join in with the gossip but confidently said, “that is Gavin’s cake, and his mom is sitting right there if you have any questions”.

The two gentlemen looked at me with questioning looks as I replied, “crickets are a good source of nutrition and are enjoyed in other countries around the world.”

During this time, I was still struggling with our choice. Did we cost Gavin a chance to place in the contest? Should we have copied a Pinterest post? In the next moments, I tried my best to pull my confidence from what I knew to be true. By the time the votes were counted, I had lost hope in people seeing the beauty in his cake. Non the less, I paid close attention when the announcer took the stage and was shocked when I heard his cake number called. I stood up and yelled to Gavin across the room, who had no idea what his cake number was, “Gavin, that’s your cake!!!! Go get your prize!!! You won first place!!!!”. At that moment all the fear and uncomfortable feelings fell away. I realized it always pays off to show up as your true self even if you are not well-received by others.

His cake may have won him a Pinewood Derby car, but only a few people were brave enough to try the delicious dessert. The crickets didn’t change the taste, but they did offer a nice crunch. It had the texture of a thin wafer crumbled up in the icing. It’s sad to think our preconceived ideas can lead us to miss unique opportunities. Eating crickets is not a moral issue and shouldn’t be in a right or wrong category. Sometimes it’s the self-made block in our mind that holds us back from experiencing something new.

On a side note, I believe in taking on one controversy at a time….. I never told them the cake was also gluten free. We’ll save that debate for another day.