DoubleTree by Hilton to partner with Zero G Kitchen and NanoRacks to bring its signature warm welcome to the International Space Station in historic scientific experiment
DoubleTree by Hilton will take its iconic warm welcome to new heights when its famous chocolate chip Cookie becomes the first food baked in space inside a prototype oven designed to make long-duration space travel more hospitable.
Later this year, the company will make aerospace history when a batch of DoubleTree Cookie dough is launched along with the prototype oven in a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS) as part of a landmark microgravity experiment. Working in partnership with Zero G Kitchen, which creates appliances for microgravity use in long-duration space flights, and NanoRacks, a leading provider of commercial access to space, Hilton will be the first hospitality company to participate in research aboard the space station.
“That is only fitting for a hotel brand that at the height of the Space Race announced plans for a hotel on the moon,” said Senior Vice President and global brand head, DoubleTree by Hilton, Shawn McAteer.
“Hilton has long been an industry innovator, and as we celebrate our 100th year, we are excited to send our hospitality into orbit,” McAteer added. “The simple gesture of a warm cookie welcome is a favourite of our guests around the world, and now we are sharing that moment of hospitality as part of this experiment aboard the International Space Station.”
Ian and Jordana Fichtenbaum, the husband and wife team at Zero G Kitchen responsible for the space oven concept, said that the DoubleTree cookie was their first thought when they began imagining the creation of an oven to make space travel more comfortable.
“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?” said Ian Fichtenbaum, co-chef and co-founder, Zero G Kitchen. “When we first conceived the oven, we naturally thought of this brand and its signature cookie. It is the perfect treat to bring a warm welcome to space.”
The brand is committed to inspiring the next generation of travellers to pursue careers in hospitality, so the brand will also partner with Scholastic to develop an educational programme related to hospitality in space for 50,000 middle school classrooms across the United States. This supports Hilton’s Open Doors Pledge, the company’s commitment to connecting, preparing or employing at least one million young people by 2019 by helping them to reach their full potential.
The programme and accompanying curriculum, which includes a lesson and activity sheet, will focus on better understanding the challenges of living and working in space, and encourage students to think creatively about what innovations need to occur to ensure long-duration space travel is comfortable and hospitable.
To accompany these efforts, the brand and Scholastic will launch a student contest this autumn asking US middle school students to submit their own innovative proposal for making life in space more hospitable.
