10 High School Teams Compete to Create the Next Best Dish for Astronauts in Space
HOUSTON, TEXAS (APRIL 7, 2025) – Each year, Space Center Houston hosts the HUNCH (High School Students United with NASA to Create Hardware) Culinary Challenge Finals, where the top ten high school teams compete to create the next best dish for space to support astronauts.
The challenge, which celebrates its 10th year, began with 64 teams worldwide, narrowing down to the top 10 performing teams to compete at the space and science museum. The dishes are judged by 24 experts, including food scientists from the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) Food Lab, astronauts, guest chefs, NASA administrators, and scholarship partners.
Joining as a guest judge is Emmanuel Chavez, Houston’s Michelin-starred chef and owner of Tatemo, and a 2025 James Beard Award semifinalist for Best New Chef. Chavez recently won Chef of the Year at the 2025 Tastemaker Awards, adding to his previous accolades as Rising Star Chef in 2023 and Restaurant of the Year in 2024.
“We are thrilled to welcome talented students from around the world to Space Center Houston for the 10th annual HUNCH Culinary Challenge Finals,” said William T. Harris, president and CEO of Space Center Houston. “It’s inspiring to see the delicious meals they create as young innovators, helping to fuel tomorrow’s space explorers.”
A pasta-themed dish is to be prepared on-site, following NASA Food Lab standards, to sustain astronauts working and living aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Prior to the finals, teams compete in a preliminary round in their hometowns. The top 10 teams with the highest score earn an invitation to the one-day challenge at Space Center Houston’s Food Lab Cafe.
Competing in the April 8 culinary challenge are two Texas teams from Angleton and Allen. In the preliminaries, three international schools participated from Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Spain, with Luxembourg making it to the final round.
HUNCH’s Final Top Ten:
1. Venango Technology- Vegetarian Pad Thai- PA
2. North Pointe HS- Beef Stroganoff- MD
3. Phoebus HS- Rasta Pasta- VA
4. Angleton HS- Chicken and Chickpea Pasta- TX
5. RCTC- Spicy Cajun Fettuccini with Roasted Veggies- MI
6. Wekiva- Spinach Linguine with Creamy Mushroom- FL
7. Allen STEAM- Pad Thai- TX
8. Old Colony- Pumpkin Pasta- MA
9. Northeast Area Technical- Zesty Spesto- AR
10. Luxembourg- Luxembourg Ravioli Chicken-Europe
During the finals, Space Center Houston visitors can watch the students compete live, included with their general admission ticket. The student team’s start time will run from 9:00 a.m. – 11:20 a.m., with judging to begin at 11:30 a.m. and conclude by 1:00 p.m.
The winning dish will be served aboard the ISS, after being processed by the NASA JSC Food Lab to meet its food processing procedures and nutritional requirements. The winning team and entrée will be announced after the April 8 competition.
For more information, visit HUNCH Culinary Challenge Finals – Space Center Houston.
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About Space Center Houston
Space Center Houston’s shared purpose is to bring people and space closer together. Over 1.3 million visitors and more than 250,000 students and educators visit each year to connect with the significance of space exploration to pursue a path in STEM or follow along as incredible feats of human spaceflight continue to make new discoveries. Space Center Houston is owned by the Manned Space Flight Education 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and generates an annual $118M economic impact to the Greater Houston area. Space Center Houston is a Smithsonian Affiliate, the Official Visitor Center of NASA Johnson Space Center, and a Certified Autism Center. Learn more at spacecenter.org.
About NASA HUNCH Culinary
2024-2025 HUNCH Culinary Challenge(Pasta Dish) Partnering with the American Culinary Federation, Sullivan University, World Chefs, and the Johnson Space Center Food Lab.
The Astronaut Culinary Challenge develops food items for the Astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Each year there is a new theme given out to the schools where the students create new dishes taking into account food processing procedure and nutritional requirements so that their items will meet the standards of the NASA Johnson Space Center Food Lab.
Schools in the US and abroad bring dishes into their local NASA or partner center for a taste competition with different food industry professionals and personnel. After these preliminary culinary competitions, those with the highest scores from across the world are invited to Johnson Space Center for a final competition where their work will be judged by NASA Food Lab personnel, industry professionals, ISS program office, and Astronauts for quality, taste, their work on the research paper, and presentation video. The winning entree will be processed by the Johnson Space Center Food Lab and sent up to the station for the astronauts to enjoy.
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