HOUSTON — A group of talented young chefs from 10 high schools across the U.S. cooked up dishes Thursday that could be sent to the International Space Station to feed astronauts.
Two Houston-area high schools, Milby and Brazoswood, made it to the finals of the NASA HUNCH Culinary Challenge at the Johnson Space Center Food Lab.
This year's challenge was to create a hearty ethnic soup or stew.
It's much more than just a cooking competition. The students must also use math and science skills to meet the stringent nutritional requirements for astronauts living in microgravity.
"This competition is very challenging because it's very difficult to find a dish that tastes good with so many nutritional restrictions, like low in sodium, fat and sugars, but high in fiber and protein, with the right number of calories," one of the Milby chefs explained.
His team created a traditional Peruvian dish called chupe de quinoa from the Inca civilization.
The competition was extra tough for Christina Contreras, a junior at Brazoswood High. Her team started with 9 or 10 students but she said they all dropped out because it was too much work.
"I stuck through it and I did all the work and the research by myself to get here," she said.
Christina said she enjoyed creating a recipe that met the requirements.
"I'm making a roasted red pepper tomato soup. It just takes the tomato soup to another level with the red peppers," she said.
She hopes the warm flavors remind the astronauts of home.
Celebrity judges included "Top Chef" season 19 finalist Chef Evelyn Garcia and James Beard outstanding restauranteur finalist Chef Chris Williams from Lucille's.
The winner will be announced at a future date.