"The Great Food Truck Race" lifted off for its 17th season on the Food Network by touching down at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Host and celebrity chef Tyler Florence welcomed nine first-time food truck teams to the George S. Abbey Rocket Park to get a first look at their trucks and to face off for their first competition, the "Blast Off Challenge," on Sunday night's (June 30) season premiere.
"Where you're standing right now represents a giant leap to push mankind to its limits," said Florence, as he and the teams were backdropped by historic Mercury-Redstone and Little Joe II rockets, as well as the building housing one of the only Apollo-era Saturn V moon rockets still in existence. "Teams, I want you to channel that energy and blast off right into your first challenge right here on the Great Food Truck Race!"
The competitors included Argentina's Empanadas from Wichita, Kansas; Bao Bei from Washington D.C.; Cooks with Passion, a Caribbean "New South" cuisine team from Atlanta; Down to Get Tacos from Gilbert, Arizona; Fishnet from Baltimore, Maryland; Kalye, featuring Filipino cuisine from New York City; Plates on Deck, serving up eclectic soul food from Davenport, Florida; SOLA Po'Boys from Los Angeles; and Wally's Waffles from Chicago.
