Brooklyn Bugs

I’ve been a huge fan of Radiolab on my local NPR affiliate WNYC ever since I can remember. The way they uncover science and philosophy, and dig into stories that would spark my curiosity was something that I have long appreciated.

When I worked as a private chef, I’d often be cooking on Saturday afternoons, discovering stories on Radiolab that would consistently satiate my wonder, and have me crave for what story they’d uncover next.

So, you can imagine my great joy when I got an email from them inquiring whether I’d be interested in an upcoming episode, BUT I was not so happy about the subject matter—cockroaches! “Umm, I cook dozens of other insects, and roaches perpetuate the sensationalism and are actually antithetical to my work. Would you consider having me cook something else for you?”

“Joseph, the show is about cockroaches…”

As a huge “stan” of the show, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to appear, and also, ponder why I’d do something that I believe goes against the nature of my work—which is to increase the appreciation and awareness of edible insects.

The episode is now online and may air on your local NPR affiliate depending on their programming schedule. Please give it a listen, and look out as I share more of what I learned from this experience with them in future posts.

Special thanks to the producer Alex Neason, to the nine Radiolab team members who came to my apartment for a seventeen course tasting of edible insects (among which were three roach species), and to Louis Sorkin at American Museum of Natural History for helping me procure edible roaches for the episode.

Without further ado, please enjoy, “This American Roach.”

https://radiolab.org/podcast/this-american-roach

We are thrilled to announce that KNC is hosting Chef Joseph Yoon, Founder of Brooklyn Bugs, Chef Advocate for the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development, and member of The Explorers Club, for multiple events you don’t want to miss. Chef Joseph Yoon has spent the past eight years transforming one of food’s greatest taboos into one of its most exciting frontiers, and will be joining us for multiple talks and tastings on insect cuisine. Whether you’re a bug lover, gastronomically curious, or just interested in a good time, these are the events for you.

One of the highlights of his visit is Insect Canapés and Conversation with Chef Yoon. He will host a small group of guests for an evening of carefully curated
insect-forward “bugs d’oeuvres”, poured alongside unhurried conversation. Click here to register: https://naturecenter.org/events/insect-canapes-and-conversation-with-chef-yoon/

Our largest event with Chef Yoon is the Terry Todd Lecture and Tasting: Can Eating Insects Save the Planet? Where we'll explore the frontier of sustainable food and experience a special tasting of insect-based dishes. Click here to register: https://naturecenter.org/events/terry-todd-lecture-and-tasting/

The Annual Meeting and Dinner is one of my favorite moments of the year.

Where else do you find yourself in a room with people who’ve mapped the arctic, orbited earth, descended to the ocean floor, and uncovered lost cities — all before dinner? They’re called the most interesting people in the world, and honestly, that’s not hyperbole.

But what draws me most isn’t the résumés. It’s the shared conviction that exploration should leave the world better than we found it — for humanity, for the planet, for those who come after us.

They say the company you keep is a measure of your character. If that’s true, then being in my third year as a member of this remarkable institution is one of the quieter honors of my life. These colleagues — many of whom have become genuinely dear friends — have pushed me to grow into the chef, explorer, and Edible Insect Ambassador that I’m still becoming.

There are so many incredible people from the week not pictured or tagged here — platform limitations, not lack of appreciation 🦋🦋

It’s time we finally step into 2026, and share more videos and reels about our work around edible insects! Drop an emoji in the comments to support this upcoming move for us—launching this month!

April Fools.

Thank you for eight incredible years—and many more to come! We have never believed in what we are doing now more than ever, and have a lot of assertive goals that we will be launching this month. Stay tuned!

We love you, xox Joseph

*Update* April Fools!

After eight years of bugs, scrutiny, criticism, sacrifices, and soul-searching — I’m done.

I’m going vegan. Brooklyn Bugs is evolving (Brooklyn Bites?), and I’ll be continuing my advocacy around global food systems and sustainability as a vegan chef.

Thank you for everything, more soon 🌱

I needed a fresh start to this year to reimagine the limitless possibilities of being an Edible Insect Ambassador with newfound purpose, vision, and a light-footed, creative whimsy, all while driven by great conviction. These ingredients have led to an assertive set of goals that will begin seeing the light of day next month!

I’ve also been eating at home more than ever, and have been trying to add some form of edible insects into every meal I prepare. You may wonder how this is even possible, and it’s all part of what we’ll begin sharing with you soon.
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After living in Valencia, Spain for one year, I have a very special fondness to Spanish Tortillas, and every bite of this dish made me feel nostalgic. The superworms have an interesting cheesy flavor to them, and worked really well in this dish, and the cricket powder is virtually ubiquitous in all my cooking.

The superworms are available at , and the crickets are available at both for 15% off using our discount code BBUGS at checkout.

This was so good that I was tempted to keep it a secret for the briefest slice of time, but then thought—what good is anything if we just keep it to ourselves? Isn’t everything better enjoyed and appreciated when shared with others? With that in mind, we are thrilled to be deep in production for a video series that will share our joy of eating insects, and answer all the interesting questions we’ve ever encountered regarding them!

If you have a question about edible insects, feel free to comment below, and we’ll make sure to answer all your pertinent questions when our video series debuts next month.
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Delighted to further develop our cricket chili crisp, and love adding it to virtually all of my foods as it quickly becomes one of my favorite condiments. And yes, we’ll share the recipe for how to make it in an upcoming video!

What a great joy to share these beautiful pics from our, “Spring Metamorphosis: A Thirteen Course Tasting,” at last week. We haven’t hosted a ticketed event without working in tandem with a university or museum in quite some time, so we weren’t sure of what to expect. We were so grateful to pack the space with so many friends and ento-enthusiasts, and make some new friends along the way.

Big thanks to our ever supportive sponsors - , - for providing all the ento-products (besides the cicadas which we foraged). All their delectables are available for a 15% discount with the code BBUGS at checkout.

A really big special thanks to for taking these photos. If you are unfamiliar with his brilliant work, he is a disruptive environmental artist who creates large-scale installations at global gatherings (Art Basel, COP, World Economic Forum), transforming discarded materials into potent symbols of change. I’ve been a huge fan of his work for years, and it was an honor to have him document our event.

We look forward to hosting more events - please do consider contacting us if you are interested in collaborating with us in the future.

I love demonstrating every day ways we can easily incorporate edible insects into our diet. I have a variety of salt seasonings that incorporate cricket powder for an added nuance to my dishes. Any salad dressing that I’ve made for myself over the past eight years has incorporated cricket powder or black ants. I love knowing that I can responsibly and deliciously add protein to my meals that’ll keep me from getting hungry shortly after I finish eating and have found that edible insects really works for me.

Listen, I know it’s boring to read text, and as we scroll through our various social media platforms, reading long texts isn’t what most people want to do…so, we’re finally preparing to share a lot of our content in video form! Standby, as we will be launching our video programming very soon!