Food Fixations

Getting To Like Delta Quadrant Cuisine

Under the circumstances, it's perhaps not too surprising that the Voyager crew have such a deep and abiding interest in all things culinary. Used to living in a society where replicator technology allowed them free and constant access to whatever they wanted, many of the crew had probably never had to 'rough it' with real food in their lives. And now, not only are they rationed in their use of the replicators so that the energy can be diverted to more critical systems, but the foodstuffs of the Delta Quadrant are alien enough to make it almost impossible to 'fake' what they're used to. It's got to come as a shock to the system. Small wonder if some of them grumble a bit.

As a cook, Neelix is well meaning. But he's also a little heavy handed with the spices, and prone to championing the cause of foodstuffs that may have admirable nutritional qualities but don't actually taste very good, such as the notorious leola root. This makes it a given that his cooking will fall short of the expectations of the more finicky eaters such as Tom Paris, and if said finicky eater is also given to sarcasm and intermittent whining, a reputation is quickly born. Neelix's cooking may not be haute cuisine, but there's the definite possibility that it may be the victim of a certain amount of bad press.

That Coffee Obsession

Our crew have their likes as well as their dislikes. Janeway's major grievance with eating in the Delta Quadrant is that the supply of real coffee ran out almost immediately, and the energy shortages of their first few years meant that she couldn't even replicate herself a decent cup of the stuff without setting a bad example to the crew. Happily, those days of extreme rationing seemed to have been put behind them in the later years of Voyager's journey, but it's entirely probable that she measured their system status as much by whether she could replicate her coffee or get an adequate substitute bean from Neelix as by whether the warp drive was working at peak efficiency!

Past Featured Coffee Cups

Coffee Cups: 1
Coffee Cups: 2

All text and original artwork is copyright © Jules Langley 1997-2024, based on images, concepts and characters from the television series Star Trek: Voyager. Star Trek and all of its associated trademarks are TM, ® and © Paramount Pictures. It is not the intention of this page to attempt to infringe or supersede those copyrights in any way.


SCOREBOARDS FOOD FIXATIONS Season One Season Two Season Three Season Four Season Five Season Six Season Seven Coffee Cups: 1 Coffee Cups: 2 THE IRRELEVANCE COUNT THE McCOY SYNDROME SHUTTLECRAFT STATUS "What do you suppose this is, anyway?" -- Tom Paris "What what is?" -- Harry Kim "This mystery dish. It tastes vaguely like chicken, but it has the consistency of corn husks." -- Tom Paris Hunters		Food Fixations Getting To Like Delta Quadrant Cuisine Under the circumstances, it's perhaps not too surprising that the Voyager crew have such a deep and abiding interest in all things culinary. Used to living in a society where replicator technology allowed them free and constant access to whatever they wanted, many of the crew had probably never had to 'rough it' with real food in their lives. And now, not only are they rationed in their use of the replicators so that the energy can be diverted to more critical systems, but the foodstuffs of the Delta Quadrant are alien enough to make it almost impossible to 'fake' what they're used to. It's got to come as a shock to the system. Small wonder if some of them grumble a bit. As a cook, Neelix is well meaning. But he's also a little heavy handed with the spices, and prone to championing the cause of foodstuffs that may have admirable nutritional qualities but don't actually taste very good, such as the notorious leola root. This makes it a given that his cooking will fall short of the expectations of the more finicky eaters such as Tom Paris, and if said finicky eater is also given to sarcasm and intermittent whining, a reputation is quickly born. Neelix's cooking may not be haute cuisine, but there's the definite possibility that it may be the victim of a certain amount of bad press. That Coffee Obsession Our crew have their likes as well as their dislikes. Janeway's major grievance with eating in the Delta Quadrant is that the supply of real coffee ran out almost immediately, and the energy shortages of their first few years meant that she couldn't even replicate herself a decent cup of the stuff without setting a bad example to the crew. Happily, those days of extreme rationing seemed to have been put behind them in the later years of Voyager's journey, but it's entirely probable that she measured their system status as much by whether she could replicate her coffee or get an adequate substitute bean from Neelix as by whether the warp drive was working at peak efficiency! Past Featured Coffee Cups Coffee Cups: 1 Coffee Cups: 2

LAST UPDATED: 06 Feb 2005		All text and original artwork is copyright © Jules Langley 1997-2024, based on images, concepts and characters from the television series Star Trek: Voyager. Star Trek and all of its associated trademarks are TM, ® and © Paramount Pictures. It is not the intention of this page to attempt to infringe or supersede those copyrights in any way.