Phoebus High School culinary team wins NASA HUNCH Culinary Challenge

 

The Phoebus High School (PHS) team Galaxy Phantom Six, under the direction of Chef Travis Walker, was named the national winner for the NASA HUNCH Culinary Challenge. The team traveled to Houston, TX on April 8, 2025, to complete against other entrées. Team Galaxy Phantom Six competed and took first place in the NASA Langley Research Center HUNCH competition on February 25, which qualified them for the national competition. They were notified on April 24 of their national winning dish.

The entrée, Rasta Pasta, will be processed for spaceflight for the astronauts aboard the International Space Station to enjoy.

Team members include Andros Romo Melo, Dasha Edmunds, Arianna Morgan, Samir Clemente, Diamond Fulton, and Makhi Johnson.

The team is also invited to attend the American Culinary Federation National Convention to present their winning entrée. There are scholarship and prize opportunities through American Academy of Chefs and Sullivan University for the team.

The Phoebus culinary team has won the national NASH HUNCH’s Culinary Challenge two previous times in 2015 and 2019.

“Phoebus High School is extremely proud of our culinary students and Chef Walker,” said PHS executive principal David Coccoli. “Our program's win in the National HUNCH competition truly embodies our purpose of greatness every day in every way.”

About the HUNCH Culinary Challenge

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.