Guiltless gourmand Nigella Lawson recently shocked Anthony Bourdain – known for drinking the blood of cobras – with a tale of having a pig aborted for her in France and devouring the “crispy fetus.” We asked foodies: What’s the grossest – um, most adventurous – thing you’ve ever eaten?
“I have happily consumed sea slugs and armadillos. But I had a hard time with the deep-fried worms I once shared with Alice Waters in Tijuana. They had an electric flavor that still sends sparks shooting down my spine.”
“When I was in Hong Kong, I ate a soup with ‘black chicken.’ Later, I was told that in Hong Kong, black chicken is actually bat!”
“A raw shellfish in Puglia that had this creamy white mucus inside. It was called fungo del mare, or sea mushroom. They thought it was a delicacy.”
“In Japan, I ate a bowl of 100 live, white, tiny fishes with soy sauce. I could feel them swimming in my mouth.”
“Maguey worms – they’re an aphrodisiac. When I started out fifteen years ago, I had a meeting with this group of investors and I served a roast pig, and I kept on telling everybody, ‘Please try the worm sauce.’ Everybody was eating it, and as somebody was leaving, I said, ‘So how did you like the worms?’ And the guy says, ’Worms? I thought you said warm and you couldn’t pronounce it!’ “