Julia Roberts shocked friends by serving chocolate-covered bugs at a dinner party.

The 'Valentine's Day' actress - who is married to cameraman Danny Moder - loves experimenting in the kitchen but made 10 pals recoil in horror when they saw the delicacy she had prepared.

A friend told National Enquirer magazine: "Julia is weird and earthy and is always trying out new things, like ostrich burgers and homemade marmalade, on her unsuspecting friends. Not everyone shares Julia's taste, though.

"When she brought out the chocolate-covered crickets, you could hear the gasps. But she loves them! She was popping them in her mouth one after the other. A few guests cringed as Julia happily munched away."

Unfortunately, the Oscar-winning actress does not share the same affinity for rodents as she does for creepy crawlies, as she was said to be petrified when a rat ran over her foot while shooting her latest movie.

A source recently revealed: "She looked down and saw the glittering eyes of a giant rat! She leapt to her feet and, even though the rat had run away, went into a wild hysterical dance on the sidewalk. She was shrieking so loudly the crew came running."