When you think about the food that astronauts eat in space, lobster, haddock and foie gras probably don’t spring to mind – but that’s exactly what France’s next visitor to the International Space Station (ISS) will be dining on.
Astronaut Sophie Adenot has teamed up with award-winning French chef Anne-Sophie Pic to create a menu of gastronomic delights that will travel with Adenot to the ISS next year.
Instead of the usual freeze-dried nutrients that astronauts eat, Adenot, 42, will be choosing from the likes of “Foie gras cream on toasted brioche” and “Lobster bisque with crab and caraway”.
The menu – which the European Space Agency (ESA) has dubbed “a pinch of France in space” – includes four starters, two main courses and two desserts.
Adenot said the dishes, which also include braised beef, and chocolate cream, will not only “delight our palates” but also help her feel connected to Earth, and her home country.
“Her (Pic’s) cuisine signature is deeply influenced by the terroir. This is important to me because I grew up in the countryside, and it will remind me of my roots,” she was quoted as saying in an ESA statement.
There are strict rules for food on the ISS – it must be crumb-free, lightweight and keep for at least 24 months, the ESA says.
Therefore, most meals are canned, vacuum packed or freeze-dried, with fresh fruit and vegetables a rare luxury that can only be enjoyed when a spacecraft arrives with new supplies.
But to keep things interesting, boost morale, and help with crew bonding, every tenth or so meal is one prepared especially for each astronaut, with these “bonus meals” often made in partnership with a chef.
Famous for her haute cuisine, Pic, 55, has the most Michelin stars of any female chef in the world – 10.
She says this project is “pushing the boundaries” of gastronomy, as she worked with her team to create special food, while keeping within the technical constraints.
“Cooking for space is an exhilarating challenge,” she was quoted as saying by the ESA.
Adenot says she will share the haute cuisine with her colleagues on board – it is after all an important moment – French gastronomic culture becoming for the first time… extra-terrestrial.
Adenot, a former helicopter test and rescue pilot, has won a string of awards, including a medal honouring her actions in gender equality in the sciences.