Squirrel haggis and Japanese knotweed reach UK menus as invasive species trend grows

The rise of ‘invasivorism’ has introduced a range of unusual eating choices as diners strive for a more ethical diet

It can be grilled like asparagus, mixed into a sweet-sour ripple ice-cream or even turned into a beer. When guests arrive at Silo, a “zero-waste” restaurant in east London, next month they’ll be treated to a series of dishes from an unlikely source. It is more famous as the scourge of homeowners, but for some, the solution to the Japanese knotweed crisis is to serve it for dinner.

Eating invasive species – called “invasivorism” – is increasingly fashionable as people search for ethical diets. In London, at The Ninth in Fitzrovia, three-cornered leek, a milder version of wild garlic, has been whipped into aioli, while at Native in Mayfair it is used alongside asparagus. At Seasonality in Maidenhead you can tuck into muntjac deer tartare, while Edinburgh’s The Palmerston uses sika deer extensively.

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