Ray, about to beat Ducasse with an image of her own smiling face.Photos: Alain Ducasse — Eric Fougére/Corbis; Rachael Ray — Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images
Not only is the space race still on, but France has actually pulled ahead of the U.S. You read that right: The European Space Agency recently teamed with Alain Ducasse, a man who knows a thing or two about stars (Michelin having given him nine over the course of his career), and Ducasse has prepared special meals — quails roasted in wine, duck-breast confit with capers, and “Riviera style swordfish” — for inhabitants of the International Space Station, currently hovering 220 miles above the earth. The first one was served Sunday. NASA, meanwhile, has engaged Rachael Ray to design meals like Thai chicken for the Discovery shuttle crew, who will be blasting off on Thursday. We’re pretty sure her food will be an improvement on Fruit Roll-Ups and Tang, but it’s hard not to feel a pang of national embarrassment reading the Ducasse menu.
Gourmet Meals on Menu for ISS Crew [Aero-News Network]
TV Host Upgrades Astronaut Meals [USA Today]
