The baker insulted because he makes bread with cricket flour: «Isn’t that part of the tradition? It’s nice to experiment”

There is still a great distrust against the use of insects for food purposesrecently authorized by the European Commission. Indeed, to tell the truth, “distrust” is not even the right word when one is witnessing one shitstorm in full respect of those who embrace the novelty, and try to make it their own. She knows something about it Enrico Murdocco, a young and capable baker from Turinwhich with its Tellia brought Roman-style pan pizza to the highest levels in the city, and then opened a creative bakery laboratory.

As a good creative, Murdocco set about experimenting: having learned of the fact that the Italian Cricket Farm in Scalenghe, in the Turin area, was marketing cricket flour, he decided to try making bread with it. And he even succeeded: «We did some tests, until we achieved an excellent result both from the point of view of textures and from that of taste», he says.

So off, the first cricket flour loaf is Made in Turinsigned by Enrico. It’s just that not everyone takes the novelty with enthusiasm. Just not at all. The comments on the many articles that talk about the experiment are merciless towards Enrico, who smiles before him, from the height of the certainty of his thirty years and his abilities. But then he realizes that things have gotten out of hand. “I’m not naïve, I expected there to be a polarization of opinions: either strongly against or totally in favour,” he says. «But I didn’t think I’d get so much free maliceespecially from people who could be my parents: I was hoping for a little more maturity».

Instead, the web is merciless: bread with grillo flour is an insult to the Italian spirit. Insects are crap that no one wants to put on their plate (even if the majority of the world’s population does it, and even if we already do it, often without being aware of it). It’s all a successful publicity stunt, even some colleagues tell him. The comments multiply, and Enrico witnesses something he really doesn’t like. “I’m not of the opinion that it’s good as long as we talk about it, also because I’ve read really not very nice things”, He says. “In particular, I was enraged by those who told me I wasn’t worthy of being Italianand that for this reason I should have left: there are many, too many young colleagues in the restaurant industry who have had to try their luck abroad, and I have to say that it is also the fault of those who make this type of comment, who over the years have not he was able to protect us”.

«I’ve always been curious, I experiment, taste, study, and I felt like trying this new thing», continues Enrico, also a little perplexed by the fact that he has to justify himself for having done his job. «Is it something that goes against our tradition? Yes, that’s fine, and patience. No one is forced to buy it, no one will force you to eat it and there are no health risks: I would invite everyone to stay a little calmer».

Barilla’s precedent

However, Murdocco isn’t the first to have run into the fury of the haters for having opened the dialogue on insect-based nutrition. Just a few months ago, an appreciated brand such as Barilla also ended up in the same vortex, a company with slightly broader shoulders than a small Turin baker. In that case, the hatred of the web was directed against a video by comedian Carmine Del Grosso on the consumption of insects, which ended with a question from Barilla to its consumers: «Insects have also become of interest in Europe , as a source of high quality protein with low environmental impact. And what do you think?”.

That was enough to cry out the scandal, the shame to be avenged with a boycott, the danger for the Italian agri-food chain. And yes, even in that case politics had ridden the wave of easy indignationmaking his own a battle against yet another invented enemy. Insects don’t hurt anyone, and indeed they can be an important resource. Not to mention that the future is a river that certainly cannot be stopped with bare hands, or even with a bucket with holes in it. But these are all arguments that obviously don’t interest those who prefer to be blinded by hatred towards who knows exactly what. I hate that, moreover, it won’t stop those like Enrico who are determined to experiment: “I don’t know if this is the future, and I’m not even asking myself that question. I know it’s something new that has arrived, and I’m working on it”, He says. «My cricket flour bread isn’t on sale yet, but it will soon be: I’m waiting for the company I get my supplies from, which for now imports the flour from Vietnam, to start producing it locally».

Then, the bread will arrive in its stores, and the experimentation will not stop. «Cricket flour has a marked tendency towards a nutty flavour, which in some of our experiments even resembled milk chocolate. In South East Asia it is used for a bread of bananas: so why not work on one Banana Bread?». It remains (perhaps) to see what the social network listening panel will think.