MASTER BUG CHEF TO DISH OUT `CRICKET FRITTERS'

MASTER BUG CHEF TO DISH OUT `CRICKET FRITTERS'

LOS ANGELES (Wireless Flash) -- Pinocchio's pal, Jiminy Cricket, won't want to hear this, but this weekend (May 15-16), thousands of his cricket cousins will be cooked up by a "master bug chef." The creepie-crawly cuisine will be served up at the Natural Museum of Los Angeles which is holding its 13th Annual Insect Fair. Entomologist and chef Zach Lemann plans on cooking up more than 1500 "Chocolate Chirp Cookies," egg-battered "Cricket Fritters" and spicy seasoned "Crispy Cajun Crickets." Lemann says he hopes his cricket cooking inspires others to cook and eat bugs, which he claims are a good source of protein and nutrients. However, he recommends avoiding the free pickins' behind your kitchen cabinets or from your backyard because those insects may have been exposed to pesticides. The best place to find edible farm-raised bugs is from a local bait shop.

CONTACT: Zach Lemann, ****; Arrange thru Mary Baerg; LA; (213) 763-3515