When you go to Mars, bring a chef, argued ‘Nordic Alchemist’ chef Thorsten Schmidt at TEDxESA on 11 November 2015, recounting the raised significance of food to isolated social groups. Well known from Denmark’s Malling & Schmidt restaurant, he explained how he faced the challenge of preparing orbital rations for Danish ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, meals to stay edible for six months without freeze-drying and be delicious in taste-dulling weightlessness.