JWU Grad Emeril Prepares Space Food for the Soul

Emeril’s hearty food has entertained soldiers in Iraq, warmed the bellies of children in Harlem schools, and now, three lucky men drifting in space are eating culinary creations from Chef Emeril Lagasse’s highest reaching efforts, literally. In July, space shuttle Discovery delivered five of Emeril’s dishes to the International Space Station (ISS), making him the first celebrity chef to have his cuisine served in the great void. As part of a special episode of Food Networks “Emeril Live” that aired the fall of ‘06, Emeril spoke with the astronauts about food and life in outer space.    
 
For 18 months, Emeril and his troops worked with NASA on a project that would send Emeril’s food into orbit (a place where critics of his food wish it would have ended up years ago). Out of the several dishes that were sent to the Space Food Systems laboratory at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, only five were deemed space worthy.  Those dishes included:  jambalaya, spicy green beans with garlic, mashed potatoes with bacon, mixed fruit, and rice pudding. Emeril had the chance to taste his food after it had been dehydrated then reconstituted and was surprised at how good it was.
 
While NASA does their best to make sure the spacemen consume 100% of their recommended nutrients, sometimes they need a little something extra to feed the soul. Comfort foods actually play a very important role helping “to counter the psychological challenges of isolation,” says astronaut Jeff Williams. Even though Emeril’s food does help to comfort the astronauts, they still long for things us “Earth-restricted” people take for granted. Apart from home cooked meals, astronaut Williams is looking forward to, “food being well behaved, staying put on the plate and not floating away.”
 
By Nate Martell, Herald Staff Writer