In Space, No One Can Hear You "BAM!"

8/11/06

Sometimes I think cynics give Emeril too hard a time. Yeah, he’s goofy and has silly catch-phrases, and his audience kisses his ass as if it had the cure for cancer inside it, but he’s also a premier chef whose celebrity is backed up by an enormous amount of skill. I must admit that I cringe whenever I watch his show and his audience seems awestruck by the fact that he just added cream to something, reacting as if he’d just turned back a sheet to reveal the Ark of the Covenant, but Emeril’s obvious love for cooking and ridiculously jubilant attitude just sort of makes you feel fun and goofy too. But to quote Jennifer Jason Leigh, “that’s just potatoes, Smitty, here comes the gravy.”

Yesterday the crew of The International Space Station chatted with Emeril via video link after enjoying dishes prepared by the chef and delivered to the station last month by the space shuttle Discovery. The meals had to be processed a bit differently; they didn’t want Essence floating all over the damn place, but 5 of Chef Lagasse’s dishes were selected to go orbital: Mardi Gras jambalaya, mashed potatoes with bacon, green beans with garlic, rice pudding and mixed fruit.

Emeril said he’s always been a fan of the space program and that “it’s an absolute honor to share my food with you on such a journey.” Currently The ISS is home to NASA astronaut Jeff Williams, Russian cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov, and European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter. The crews typically work up there for six months at a time, and “quality, appetizing food is important for the heath and morale of astronauts during space missions,” states Vickie Kloeris who manages the development of food for the station.

I don’t know about you, but ever since I was a kid and had “freeze-dried ice cream,” I sort of felt space food must have been like eating packing peanuts, but apparently the menu for The ISS has over 200 items, including some Russian and Klingon cuisine. Okay I made up the Klingon thing. But I guess they were happy for the Emeril variations, because “our perception of taste is a little bit decreased,” said NASA’s Reiter. “We have a longing for a little bit spicier food.”

Good for them, I say, because when trapped in the deadly vacuum of space, urinating into a tube and conducting science which the general public basically just ignores and doesn’t understand, you should at least have appetizing food. I wonder if they get booze up there?



Sources: NASA, NPR Morning Edition