McLean (TAN): United States-based hospitality company Hilton’s DoubleTree brand is all set to bake chocolate chip cookies in space inside a prototype oven to make space travel more enjoyable.
Senior vice president and global brand head, DoubleTree by Hilton, Shawn McAteer said: “Hilton has long been an industry innovator, and as we celebrate our 100th year, we’re excited to send our hospitality into orbit.”
“The simple gesture of a warm Cookie welcome is a favorite of DoubleTree guests around the world, and now we are sharing that moment of hospitality as part of this experiment aboard the International Space Station,” he added.
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A batch of DoubleTree Cookie dough will take off in a rocket for the International Space Station later this year. Making aerospace history, it will be the ‘first food baked in space’, the company said.
Hilton has collaborated with American companies Zero G Kitchen and NanoRacks for the microgravity experiment. While Zero G Kitchen builds appliances for microgravity use in long-duration space flights, NanoRacks develops products and offers services for the commercial utilisation of space.
Ian and Jordana Fichtenbaum, the husband and wife duo at Zero G Kitchen, have designed the space oven.
Ian Fichtenbaum, co-chef and co-founder, Zero G Kitchen, said: “Opening up the frontier of space means making it relatable to people’s everyday lives, and what could be more relatable than a freshly baked cookie? When we first concepted the oven, we naturally thought of DoubleTree by Hilton and its signature Cookie. It is the perfect treat to bring a warm welcome to space.”
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DoubleTree by Hilton, in partnership with American publishing company Scholastic, will design an educational programme associated with hospitality in space for 50,000 middle school classrooms across the United States. The programme and its curriculum will stress on understanding the challenges of living and working in space, while also encouraging creative thinking about important innovations that need to happen to make long-duration space travel comfortable.
The hospitality brand and Scholastic will introduce a student contest this fall, inviting students to submit their own proposal for making life in space more hospitable.
