Breed-your-own insect 'revolution' for the kitchen

A few insect restaurants have sprung up in Europe and North America in recent years, and some products, ranging from salt-and-vinegar crickets to lollipops with scorpions (actually arachnids), are available.

But for the most part, Westerners generally see bugs as a nuisance, not as nutrition.

This is a shame, Unger says, since insects are not only tasty but a more sustainable source of protein than traditional farmed livestock－and are vital to feeding the world's growing population.

"Compared to beef you need only 10 percent of the land to grow mealworms and you need only around a quarter of the feed that it typically takes to grow the equivalent amount of beef," she says.

Indeed a 2013 by the FAO noted the "huge potential" of insects, not only for feeding people but also livestock, although it cautioned more research was needed.

The mealworms are also nutritious, containing the same amount of protein as beef, more vitamin B12 than eggs and more fiber than broccoli, according to Unger and Kaisinger's firm, Livin Farms.

Alexandra Palla, a well-known Austrian food blogger present at the recent tasting event, plans to post a recipe of risotto with mealworm, calling the taste "nutty, or mushroomy", but "not spectacular".

But she said that it will take some time for people in Europe and the US to get over the "yuck" factor and really embrace creepy-crawlies as food.

"The first step is mentally to get over the fact that you are eating an insect. Once you eat them you realize they're not so bad," she says. "It's about getting rid of the fear."

"I think in the future everyone will eat insects, or at least almost everybody," predicts Kaisinger, the co-founder of Livin Farms, which already has 200 pre-orders for its $499 hives.

"People actually consume around half a kilo of insects every year without knowing it, from tiny traces in chocolate to orange juice and the like."