Recently, a cookbook from Zimbabwe authored by locals took home the 2023 Gourmand World Cookbook Award in Saudi Arabia. The book won best in class “Cuisine of the Future,” honoring its avant-garde approach to cooking.

The cookbook, “Edible Insects: Food For The Future,” dispels preconceptions about edible insects and illuminates their benefits as a sustainable, nutrient-dense, and environmentally beneficial way to include them in diets.

The journal gives a unique insight into the customs and flavors of the area through a combination of writing, scrumptious images, and recipes. It includes traditional recipes, chef advice, and ingredients that can be used to create new cuisine at home.

In addition to presenting species like Mopane worms, mealworms, ground crickets, and edible bugs, the 95-page book emphasizes how these insects may be utilized in a range of recipes, including cakes, pizza, and even sausages.

Co-author of the cookbook Chef Dulsie Fadzai Madekwa stated in an interview with The Herald Arts that edible insects can end poverty by satisfying the need for protein without requiring more conventional sources.

“By reintroducing edible insects we’re alleviating poverty by reducing the demand for common protein sources,” she stated.

“In Zimbabwe, a lot of people grew up eating edible insects but because of modernization people have shunned away from our traditional insects in favor of meats like fish, chicken, and pork.”

Chef Dulsie stated that updating traditional insect cuisines was a critical first step in increasing consumer acceptability.

“Edible insects can be modernized, you know a lot of people if they see insects like edible bugs (harurwa) but if you grind them into meals you can now make cakes out of it or bread out of it.”No one should go hungry in Zimbabwe or anywhere else in Africa because the continent has abundant resources. The only issue is that we’ve forgotten about this great African cuisine and have instead focused on contemporary, Western cuisine.”

An innovative strategy is required, according to Robert Musundire, a co-author of the cookbook and associate professor of entomology at Chinhoyi University of Technology, to protect Zimbabwe’s gastronomic and cultural traditions.

“As the traditional insect consumers and gathers are becoming less due to old age and passing on of generations, a new pathway should be followed to preserve the culture from dying while making new imagination of future integration of insect-based diets within the context of contemporary eating habits and food systems.”

According to Prof. Musundire, reintroducing edible insects can play a role in improving food and nutrition security. 

“Some edible insects have equivalent or more proteins than beef. I grew up in a rural area where sometimes people would consume sadza and salt, and that is very dangerous to children. We are saying edible insects are the other readily available alternative option in terms of nutrition, and we can improve food and nutrition security.”

In addition, the 95-page book seeks to advance sustainable agriculture in low-income nations, reduce hunger, and provide food security. It also explains in its pages how edible insect farming can boost rural towns’ GDP by millions of dollars by giving them another source of revenue and jobs.

The writers believe that the recognition would highlight regional tastes on a global scale.

The Gourmand World Cookbook Awards have been recognizing the top culinary books and food-related television shows since 1995.

First-place winners at the national level are chosen, and the winners of the Best in the World competition are then chosen by an international jury.