Michelin STAR dining! Six diners will be cooked a meal by a two

Release time：2024-05-21 13:48:52 Source：Culture Connect news portal

Some restaurants might promise an out-of-this-world experience, but none can quite deliver it like this. 

Two-Michelin-star chef Rasmus Munk, of Alchemist in Copenhagen, has announced he will offer diners the chance to eat a meal at the edge of space. 

Next year, six lucky - and extremely wealthy - tourists will get the chance to ride on a 'space balloon' 100,000 feet (3.5km) above sea level.

Over the six-hour experience, each diner will be served 'dishes inspired by the role of space exploration'.

But at an astronomical price of $495,000 (£388,535) per ticket, this might be a steep price to pay for a restaurant with (literally) no atmosphere. 

A two-Michelin star chef has revealed plans to serve a once-in-a-lifetime dinner aboard a space balloon (pictured) on the edge of space 

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The culinary expedition will take place aboard Space Perspective's Spaceship Neptune.

Despite its name, this craft is not actually a spaceship but rather a pressurised capsule hung below a huge hydrogen balloon. 

Without any rockets or jet engines, the flight is supposed to be gentle enough for anyone to take part without any training at all.

The balloon is planned to take off from Florida at a rather gentle speed of 12mph (19 km/h).

At its highest point, diners will be able to look down on Earth through the biggest window ever taken into space.

According to Mr Munk, dinner will be served as the guests watch the sun rise over the curvature of the Earth. 

Importantly, he notes that the craft will not enter microgravity during the flight, so the guests, and the food, won't experience any weightlessness.  

Rasmus Munk (pictured) is the head chef of Alchemist, Copenhagen. He is renowned for his experimental and immersive techniques which he calls 'Holistic Cuisine'

The diners will be served aboard Space Perspective's Spaceship Neptune, a pressurised capsule that can hold eight passengers and a pilot 

Space Neptune: key facts

Ticket price: $125,000 (£100,000)

Take off from: Florida

Experience lasts: 6 hours

Cost per minute: £277

Weightlessness: No

Altitude: 20 miles 

Is it technically space? No

First flight: End of 2024

Passengers: 8

Mr Monk said: 'In this experience, I want to highlight food as a common thread in our human existence, and it will be truly meaningful to serve it while gazing down at the Earth's curvature.

'I am honored to be part of what I think will be a transformative once-in-a-lifetime experience.'

The company have kept the details of the menu vague beyond the caveat that they will not be able to cook with an open flame.

Given how small the pod is, it isn't clear if the food will actually be prepared on the craft or if it will simply be served there. 

However, if it is anything like previous menus at Alchemist, the dinner will no doubt include a large amount of novel techniques.  

Previous menu items, or 'impressions' as the restaurant calls them, have included wood ants set in candy, a cod eye gel, and a dessert served in a silicone head.

In 2010 the restaurant even created a sakura blossom dish for the Japanese Space Agency.  

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This dish was created for two astronauts Naoko Yamazaki and Soichi Noguchi from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency who wanted to be reminded of cherry blossom season while in space 

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While it is obviously extremely decedent, the mission to send six people for dinner in space is also keen to promote its socially conscious credentials.

The diners will ascend to the edge of space on the world's first 'carbon neutral spaceship'. 

All proceeds will be donated to the Space Prize Foundation, a charity dedicated to improving the role of women within the space industry.

Alchemist also suggests that the experience of looking down on everyone on Earth might be 'a sobering reminder that our destinies are intertwined.'

Roman Chiporukha, founder of SpaceVIP which is organising the experience, says: 'This inaugural voyage is but the first chapter in SpaceVIP's mission to harness the transformative power of space travel to elevate human consciousness and shape the course of our collective evolution.'

Diners will look down over Earth and be served dinner while the sun rises over the horizon. The cost of a single ticket will be $495,000 (£388,535) per ticket

Alchemist says it hopes that the diners will gain a 'a sobering reminder that our destinies are intertwined' while looking down on Earth

The effect of looking at Earth from space, also called the Overview Effect, is a psychological phenomenon reported by some astronauts upon reaching space. 

Those who visit space sometimes report feeling a change in consciousness or a connection to the fragility of the Earth.

In its statement, Alchemist writes that seeing Earth from space 'has the power to create a cognitive shift and inspire a greater appreciation for Earth and a deep connection to humanity as a whole.'

But, whether showing people the Earth while they enjoy a half-a-million dollar dinner will really 'dismantle the barriers that divide us', is yet to be seen. 

Currently, Space Perspectives is yet to launch its first commercial flights but it hopes to do so before the end of the year. 

If successful, the company could join a number of other vying to offer the first wave of space tourism. 

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