The Artemis II mission to the moon has gripped the world, despite – or maybe even because of – all the war-related anxiety and upheaval. The four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft have captivated us with their beautifully-worded commentary and their mind-blowing photography. They've made us want to know more about them and the whole lunar mission and there are many people on this island who have probably wondered about a possible Irish connection. Well, Oliver Callan found one. Sort of.
Step forward Michael Slintak, Florida chef, the man who makes meals for the Artemis II crew and, more importantly perhaps, the man who likes to holiday in Co Kerry. In Cloghane, near Brandon in Co Kerry, to be exact. Michael told Oliver that he saw a recruitment ad looking for a chef to cook for astronauts in NASA’s space programme:
"I sent my resumé in and my cover letter was I’d love to cook for the spacemen and that was about it. And I was thinking of it as a joke. And so about a month later, I get a call from the lady and she’s like, 'Would you like to cook for the astronauts?’ And I was like, ‘Oh my Lord, yes please!’"
Michael started cooking for some US crew on the International Space Station and then he was charged with making meals for the Artemis II crew a week before their scheduled launch. A delicate time for the astronauts, as Oliver points out.
"So their meals are pretty simple meals because they are going into space, so they can’t eat too heavy or spicey foods or anything like that, so everything is low sodium – they have like a curry chicken, a croissant sandwich, a roasted pork loin. They have their ultimate meals two days prior to launch, they get their favourite meal."
The ultimate astronaut’s meal, what is that like? And by using the term ‘ultimate meal,’ are they politely avoiding using the phrase ‘last meal’? Well, in any case, here’s what the Artemis II crew considered their ultimate meals:
"Two of them had filet mignon with a bacon wrap and bordelaise sauce and the other one was lamb chops with a minted bordelaise sauce, a demi-glaze and the female astronaut was a roasted chicken and sweet potato. Which was very rustic."
Part of being involved in direct contact with astronauts who are on the verge of going into space is keeping things as germ-free as possible, which meant that Michael had to quarantine before and during his space cheffing duties:
"A week prior to feeding the crew, we have to quarantine and get tested, Covid tested and flu shots and all our vaccines put together and then during that week, we just quarantine ourselves from the rest of society."
Back on Earth, Michael likes to get to Cloghane as often as he can:
"I’ve been to Ireland about four times, about two weeks at a pop and doing hiking up Brandon and all over the place. I just love that part of Ireland, it’s just gorgeous."
Michael even likes to make his visits to the cousin’s Cloghane guesthouse a bit of a busman’s holiday as he has been known to roll the sleeves up and make breakfast for the other guests. He’s a big fan of Irish brown bread as well and he’s tried to make it back home in Florida:
"I try to make it here and I use the treacle in Ireland and then I use the molasses over here and it’s a totally different taste and it’s so much better in Ireland."
Filet mignon for astronauts and full Irish breakfast for guesthouse residents – Michael Slintak is a chef of many talents.
You can hear Oliver’s full chat with Michael Slintak by tapping or clicking above.