ISS crew over the moon with new gourmet menu

Michelin-starred chef Alain Ducasse teams up with Breton food packagers to satisfy appetites on the satelliteIt may be one small step for cooking, but it is a giant leap for haute cuisine.Duck breast with capers, Breton lobster, organic quinoa with seaweed and celeriac puree, lemon chutney and chocolate cake are going where little fancy food has previously ventured … space, the final frontier.Nasa has commissioned one of the most celebrated masters of Gallic gastronomy and a Breton canned meat company to come up with fresh, "special occasion" menus for astronauts and cosmonauts in the International Space Station (ISS).Alain Ducasse, the most Michelin-starred chef on the planet, has been sending food out of this world since 2006. So far, international astronauts have enjoyed what he describes as "food for extreme pleasure", including the Sicilian speciality caponata, roasted quails in a Madeiran wine sauce, celeriac puree with nutmeg and "melt in your mouth" apple slices.Ducasse's hi-tech food laboratory has also been commissioned by the European Space Agency to create meals for an eventual Mars mission lasting several months.Now he has teamed up with the Brittany family firm Hénaff – more famous for its tinned meat and pâté, favoured by long-distance mariners – to provide the containers to ensure the Ducasse delicacies lose none of their flavour on their 200-odd-mile journey to the ISS.A spokesperson for Ducasse told the Guardian: "We've been sending special dis...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: The Guardian World news Food & drink International Space Station Food science European Space Agency Source Type: news