Heston's Dinner in Space

9 March 2016

Long before lift-off, British astronaut Tim Peake challenged Heston Blumenthal to create dishes to eat during his six month mission on board the International Space Station, which would remind him of home. The result of a two year research and development project is a menu of multi-sensory, gravity defying dishes including a bacon sarnie and sausage sizzle that conjure up nostalgic memories of life on earth.

Heston’s Dinner in Space will follow the real scientific adventures of Heston Blumenthal and his team, as they work closely with the UK Space Agency, ESA and NASA and attempt to revolutionise the previously limited world of space food, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the most scientific of ways.

British Astronaut Tim Peake’s six month mission at the International Space Station launched on the 15th December, when he rocketed into Space. Before he left, he set one challenge, to Heston Blumenthal. The task was to shake up the menu and create dishes that would remind Tim of home, helping him combat the emotional impact of his journey. Heston takes Tim on a nostalgic journey of his childhood with every bite, provides much-needed comfort food and creates the quintessential cup of tea, to match the crumb-less and classically British bacon sandwich. In the meantime, ensuring of course that the nutritional value is not lost whilst introducing multi-sensory food.

At the centre of Heston’s Dinner in Space will be 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. We follow Heston’s unfolding challenges, as he races against time and strict NASA food regulations to create foods that not only taste out of this world, but can be consumed in Space and most importantly in micro gravity.

The dishes include:

Bacon Sandwich                                             Alaskan Salmon

Sausages Sizzle                                             Thai Red Curry               

Beef and Black Truffle Stew

Heston Blumenthal 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 have also worked closely together, creating dishes that will remind him of home even though he'll be 400km away in Space. The very least I could do was make sure he had a cup of tea and a bacon sarnie”.

Jay Taylor, Executive Producer for 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 are sure Tim Peake is going to love.”

The 1 x 90 documentary was commissioned by Channel 4’s Sara Ramsden. The executive producer for Thoroughly Modern Media is Jay Taylor and the producer is Kate Dooley.