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Heston Blumenthal is back on TV this weekend in a new documentary that follows the Michelin-starred chef as he attempts to revolutionise the world of space food.
‘Heston’s Dinner In Space’ airs on Channel 4 at 6pm on Sunday (March 20).
The 90 minute programme also features British astronaut Tim Peake. Before he left in December for his stint on board the International Space Station, Tim set Heston a challenge: to create dishes to eat during his six-month assignment that would remind him of home.
The result is a menu of multi-sensory, gravity defying dishes including a bacon sandwich, Alaskan salmon, sausage sizzle, Thai red curry and beef and black truffle stew.
Heston said: “When Tim set me my mission, I felt a surge of pride to be involved in such a historic moment for both astronomy and gastronomy. Imagine telling a young boy that when he grows up he will create food for astronauts to eat in space – it’s a dream I couldn’t even envisage, let alone it coming true!
“Working with the team at the UK Space Agency, ESA and NASA has been a phenomenal experience. Tim and I also worked closely together, creating dishes that will remind him of home even though he’ll be 400km away in space.”
‘Heston’s Dinner in Space’ follows Heston and his team as they work closely with the UK Space Agency, the European Space Agency and Nasa to create foods that not only taste out of this world, but can be consumed at Zero G.
A central theme of the programme is Heston’s quest to push the boundaries of how we eat, delving into the biology of how our bodies react to being in space and how the physics and chemistry of eating can be changed within this environment.
Jay Taylor, executive producer for the documentary’s production company Thoroughly Modern Media said: “Teaming Heston with the space agency to create food that can be eaten in space seemed like the dream partnership, but none of us could have anticipated the monumental struggle this would be.
“From hundred page rule books to exploding space shuttles, this challenge has pushed Heston further than ever, but the resulting food we hope will genuinely change space travel for the better.”
Sara Ramsden, commissioning editor at Channel 4 said, “If humanity is ever to get to Mars and beyond, science needs to turn its attention to the sensory and aesthetic side of nutrition in space. Heston has brought his usual flamboyant creativity to the challenge and created some wonderful dishes that we’re sure Tim Peake is going to love.”
