ROCHESTER — For the Old Colony NASA HUNCH Challenge team, the sky is no longer the limit: it’s space. 

The team is heading to Houston on Monday, April 7 where they will compete at the Johnson Space Center Food Lab among 10 finalists from across the country to see who will win the ultimate prize: getting their dish sent to the International Space Station where it will be enjoyed by astronauts orbiting the earth.

This is the first time Old Colony has made it to finals in person. Due to Covid pandemic restrictions, the team competed virtually when they qualified in 2021.

While Old Colony is no stranger to culinary competitions, instructor Ashley Ulett says this tournament is completely unique from the average tournament.

“This is totally different, totally out of our comfort zone. None of us have been to Texas, so we’re looking forward to the experience,” said Ulett.

Sending food to space is no easy feat, adding layers of research and experimentation to the team’s preparation.

“The idea of sending food to space was crazy to me,” said sophomore team member and Lakeville resident Elena Tan.

Sophomore and Rochester resident Scarlet Savaria says she joined the contest because of her interest in the nutritional research that the competition requires.

“I thought it was gonna be a good challenge to keep all the nutrients within the guidelines and learn about food sense rather than just making dishes in the kitchen,” said Savaria.

Specific nutritional requirements and ingredient limitations informed many of the decisions the team made when crafting their recipe for pumpkin sage pasta.

“Something that is really important is sodium content. It’s very low, like about a tenth of a teaspoon is what’s allowed in the total dish,” said Old Colony junior and Lakeville resident Emily Silvia.

“When it’s vacuum sealed in space and it’s dehydrated, the salt just marinates there and just gets stronger and stronger so when you bite into that it’s just gonna be a blast of salt into their mouth,” said Justin Ielo, Old Colony junior and Lakeville resident.

To maintain a strong flavor without using salt, the team is toasting herbs, caramelizing onions, deglazing the pan and adding lemon juice.

In addition to a lack of salt, the team must pay attention to fiber requirements.

“When you’re in space, digestion is very important,” said Ielo. “You don’t want to be up there and have a bloated stomach because they have to be operating throughout that day so fiber helps them process the food.”

The team picked a pumpkin pasta as an homage to the flavors of New England and fall harvest, according to Savaria.

“There’s a lot of sage. There’s a lot of nutmeg. There’s a ton of flavors,” said Tan.

The first round of the competition took place at Old Colony where they presented the dish to a panel of judges alongside a presentation. During finals, the team will have two hours to cook their dish and then present it afterwards to a group of judges selected by NASA.

Ielo says he looks forward to seeing what opportunities the competition may present.

“They have scholarships for colleges and stuff like that so I thought it would be a good opportunity not only to participate in a culinary competition but also plan for my future,” said Ielo.

Ulett says the competition is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

“In years past, the team that wins their food goes to the International Space Station so just even being in the area of having a 10% chance that could be your food is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Ulett.