PARIS (AP)
-- Celebrity chef Alain
Ducasse wants to turn outer space into haute-r space. Meals cooked up by
Ducasse were on board a Progress M-58 cargo ship that blasted off Monday for
the international space station, France's National Center for Space Studies
said Wednesday.
The menu
includes caponata, a Sicilian dish made of peppers, tomatoes and zucchini;
roasted quails in a wine sauce from France's Madiran region; smooth celery root
puree with nutmeg; and rice pudding with preserved fruit.
Ducasse, who
has award-winning restaurants in Paris, New York and Monaco, and chefs from
ADF, his consultancy and training department, developed recipes to meet the
difficult requirements of dining in space, including zero bacteria.
"To achieve
the right result, the chef worked like a sorcerer's apprentice, experimenting
with textures, seasoning and cooking,'' the French space center said. "Some
recipes were tested five times before getting it right.''
German
astronaut Thomas Reiter will be the first to enjoy the meals, which are
designed for special occasions, while daily meals are provided by the Russians
and Americans, Ducasse's office said.
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