VIDEO AND PICS: Brave reporter eats 'Crispy Critter' burger topped with locusts, crickets and mealworms at Sheffield restaurant - would you eat one?

A Sheffield burger restaurant is serving up a real horror dish for Halloween - a burger that's packed with BUGS.
Darren Burke prepares to do battle with the Crispy Critter burger. (Photo: Andrew Roe)Darren Burke prepares to do battle with the Crispy Critter burger. (Photo: Andrew Roe)
Darren Burke prepares to do battle with the Crispy Critter burger. (Photo: Andrew Roe)

City centre restuarant The 8oz Burger Co. is serving up the gruesome grub - topped with dead locusts, crickets, mealworms and buffalo worms for Halloween - and we dared to try one.

Our reporter Darren Burke bravely tucked into one of the burgers, which is the brainchild of owner Matt Slaven.

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He said: "We wanted to do something a bit different for Halloween and that's when the idea of the Crispy Critter burger was dreamt up."

Darren Burke prepares to do battle with the Crispy Critter burger. (Photo: Andrew Roe)Darren Burke prepares to do battle with the Crispy Critter burger. (Photo: Andrew Roe)
Darren Burke prepares to do battle with the Crispy Critter burger. (Photo: Andrew Roe)

Diners can order the burger anytime from tomorrow (Friday) right up until Halloween on October 31. It might look normal enough - but there's a very special additional topping.

Added Matt: "It is our signature 8oz cheeseburger, served in a bun - but then we add what makes it - a mix of dried insects, which are all perfectly edible."

The burger was first trialled at the the firm's Barnsley restaurant last Halloween, with dozens of diners plumping for the disgusting sounding dish.

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"It proved successful, so we wanted to bring it to Sheffield," added Matt. "The response last year was brilliant.

The burger is topped with bugs. (Photo: Andrew Roe).The burger is topped with bugs. (Photo: Andrew Roe).
The burger is topped with bugs. (Photo: Andrew Roe).

"It normally took people 3 or 4 beers beforehand before they would pluck up the courage to eat it. Some people are squeamish, but no one has turned it down - yet!"

The dried bugs are delivered in sealed packs by Crispy Critter, a firm which specialises in sending out the unusual delicacies to restaurants across Britain - and which also serves up dried scorpions and tarantulas as part of its range.

And our intrepid reporter, yours truly, fearlessly decided to tuck in at the Leopold Street restaurant to deliver his verdict. Here's his thoughts:

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"You don't realise you are eating the bugs unless you pick them out and eat them separately. They are crunchy and a but chewy and sort of taste a bit nutty, a bit woody, a bit leafy.

Darren Burke prepares to do battle with the Crispy Critter burger. (Photo: Andrew Roe)Darren Burke prepares to do battle with the Crispy Critter burger. (Photo: Andrew Roe)
Darren Burke prepares to do battle with the Crispy Critter burger. (Photo: Andrew Roe)

"But after a while, the bugs just blend in with the taste of the burger - which was pretty delicious and juicy."

Matt is also serving up an additional Halloween treat to accompany the Crispy Critter - sweet potato fries with a sweet pumpkin relish.

And if the though of an insect topped burger is too much for you to stomach, the restaurant still has its usual 30-strong range of signature burgers to test out - and they come with more traditional toppings such as lettuce, tomato, cheese, chillis and onions.

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Added Matt: "It is all just a bit of fun. We thought we would give diners their own bushtucker trial!"

The burger is topped with bugs. (Photo: Andrew Roe).The burger is topped with bugs. (Photo: Andrew Roe).
The burger is topped with bugs. (Photo: Andrew Roe).

"The worst part is later on when you're talking, realise you've got something between your teeth and realise its the leg of a locust!"

The restaurant is also running a competition through its Facebook page HERE for one lucky diner to win the burger and a copy of the Sheffield Cookbook, which features the restaurant in its pages.

For more details, visit http://www.8ozburgerco.co.uk/