I’d never eaten Ostrich before so at the small South African restaurant I visited tonight I asked the waitress what Ostrich tasted like. She paused for a moment to ponder the best way to describe the dish, then in an accent not dissimilar to that of an intoxicated Slovakian after a bar brawl, she informed me that it tasted “something like leather.”

I should have perhaps heeded such a warning, but I felt that maybe our waitresses unflattering description was due to her obvious struggles with the English language. So undeterred I went ahead and ordered. “You know what,” I said decisively, “I’ll have the Ostrich.”

So what does Ostrich meat really taste like? It tastes like an old leather chair that’s been maturing in some musty old trailer somewhere, that’s what Ostrich meat tastes like.

I don’t think I’ve really eaten that many strange things. I’ve had wood pigeon before, served at one of my favorite Welsh hideaways. In Abu Dhabi I believe I ate snake, though it might have just been an eel, I simply couldn’t tell from the waiters animated gestures. And in India I might have eaten strange or unpleasant things, but when the menu you’re looking at is entirely made up of squiggles and wiggles you tend to just point at something and nod politely when the waiter comes to take your order in his native language.

So, what’s the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten?