Breton pâté heads for space station

STAR chef Alain Ducasse and Breton food firm Hénaff have been awarded the highest honour after Nasa chose them to feed the astronauts on the International Space Station.

Hénaff’s round blue tins of pâté have long been a staple for Brittany’s deep-sea fishermen and now tins of pork pâté could be heading into space after winning approval from the space agency.

The company, based in Pouldreuzic, Finistère, has been asked to prepare festive meals for the astronauts as it is the only French preserved foods manufacturer to be accredited by the US Department of Agriculture.

It will work with multi Michelin-starred chef Ducasse to prepare a festive menu for the ISS devised by the chef’s Ducasse Education Research & Consulting subsidiary.

While their menu has not yet been revealed, it is expected to move away from the dehydrated or frozen dishes that have long been a staple for astronauts. The space mush seen in the blockbuster movie Gravity could be replaced by lobster or filet mignon – although even Hénaff pâté, which is 96% fresh pork and is full of easily-digestible proteins, would make a welcome change.

However, the astronauts will have to find a new way to enjoy it as the essential baguettes are banned on the space station to avoid clogging up the air filters.

The Ducasse chefs will also be working in other nutritious meat-based dishes that can be reheated as the ISS has its own oven.

Hénaff may be no stranger to the Nasa crews as the company already sells its pâté to 50 countries round the world and sold 100,000 tins a year to the US.