OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — Two high school students in Holland are excelling in their Careerline Tech Center culinary program.
“It's a little daunting right now," said senior Katie Bird.
In fact, their food is out of this world — literally.
"[We're] making food for astronauts," said senior Devon Vanderwall.
Bird and Vanderwall are heading to the Johnson Space Center in Houston this week for a nationwide competition against dozens of their peers.
"We are very excited. I'm personally a little nervous," said Bird.
The winning recipe will be used to fuel astronauts as they set out to orbit.
"They've done well, so far. They've been really organized. They've been they've been very diligent. They've done a lot of practice. So, just time to shine on Thursday, nothing different," said their instructor, Austin Gresham.
They were selected to enter to competition after they submitted an Austrian Steak Soup recipe that they made to fit within certain nutrition parameters, with limited calories, fat and sodium levels.
"It's fantastic on Earth, but the nutritional requirements for how the food will be impacting the astronauts bodies are 100% for space travel," said Bird.
Bird and Vanderwall have two and a half hours to make it, and then they’ll have to face a panel of nearly 30 judges, consisting of former astronauts, NASA employees and culinary experts.
“Having people with the knowledge and experience to really pick apart the individual elements of our dish will be very interesting," Bird said.
Still, their job-focused classes are making them feel confident going into the competition. It’s even helped them find a career they’re passionate about.
Both of the seniors plan to work in food after graduation this spring.
“These programs really help like, grow your like grasp of how it can really work as a career," said Bird. “It has really just grown our love for it."
On Thursday, the duo doesn't plan on settling for a constellation prize.
“They're passionate, that's going to drive their learning, that's going to drive their engagement and they've really got a shot," said Gresham. "They've achieved this."
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