Star Trek: Strange New Worldshas the opportunity to solve aStar Trek: Enterprisemystery that has lasted for over 19 years. InEnterprise’s controversial finale, “These are the Voyages…”, Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) visits the NX-01 Enterprise in the holodeck, posing as the ship’s Chef. Riker’s version of Chef is friends with all the majorcharacters onEnterprise: cooking and making pasta with Subcommander T’Pol (Jolene Blalock), Ensign Hoshi Sato (Linda Park), and even Dr. Phlox (John Billingsley). YetEnterprisenever revealed Chef’s identity.
AlthoughEnterprisewas the last series in the popular run ofStar Trekshowsproduced by Rick Berman, it never received the same acclaim during its run on UPN. One reason was thatEnterprisewas a prequel. While the rest of Berman’s shows featured crossovers and events impactingStar Trek: The Next Generation,Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,andStar Trek: Voyager,Enterprise’sprequel status lent it fewer connections to the rest ofTrek. NowStrange New Worldscan giveEnterprisethose references and allusions.The mystery chef could serve as a bridge betweenEnterpriseand a new era ofStar Trek.
Strange New Worlds Should Reveal The Identity Of Star Trek: Enterprise’s Mystery Chef
We Already Know Captain Pike Looks Up To Captain Archer
It would make perfect sense ifStar Trek: Strange New Worldsreveals thatEnterprise’s mystery chef is an ancestor of Captain Christopher Pike(Anson Mount). Already,Strange New Worldshas revealed two key facts that point in this direction. Firstly, Captain Pike is a phenomenal cook. In the second episode ofStrange New Worlds,Captain Pike hosts a dinner in his quartersto welcome Cadet Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) to his crew, setting the tone for the entire show.Enterprise’s mystery chef was, obviously, talented in the kitchen Like Captain Pike,Enterprise’s chef knew how to use his cooking to bring crewmates closer together.
Strange New Worlds Is Finally Making Star Trek: Enterprise More Important
Strange New Worlds makes Star Trek: Enterprise more important with surprising connections to Scott Bakula’s Captain Archer and the NX-01 crew.
Secondly,Strange New Worldshas already established a link between itself andEnterprise. DuringStrange New Worldsseason 2, episode 7, “Those Old Scientists,“a literal piece of the NX-01 Enterprise is revealed to be kept in engineering. Captain Pike admits that he has always looked up toEnterprise’s Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula), and Uhura similarly explains that she has always admired Hoshi Sato. The crew of the NCC-1701 Enterprise already know and care about the NX-01. This connection would be strengthened and given more emotional impact if it were revealed that, in fact, Captain Pike is a descendant of the first Enterprise’s chef.
Why Making A Stronger Connection Between Star Trek: Enterprise & Strange New Worlds Is Smart
It Makes In-Universe Sense And Draws Attention To A Hidden Gem Of Trek
Because of his cooking talents and admiration for the NX-01 Enterprise, it makes sense for Captain Pike specifically to be a descendant of the mystery chef. Beyond that, it also makes sense, given the broadertimelines and culture ofStar Trek. We know that it’s roughly 100 years betweenStar Trek: Enterprise’s finale and the start ofStrange New Worlds.Since Captain Pike is already well established in Starfleet, and since Federation life expectancy is so high,it is easy to imagine the chef as Pike’s great-grandparent, telling Pike stories of the early days of Warp drive.
It makes sense for Captain Pike specifically to be a descendant of the mystery chef.
Depending on how explicitStrange New Worldswanted to get with the connection,the NX-01’s mystery chef could even provide opportunities for references and crossovers withEnterprise. Twenty years ago,Enterprisestruggled because it didn’t have the same context and connections that the rest ofStar Trekshared. Now, by forging new connections withStar Trek:Strange New Worlds, there is an opportunity to introduce a new generation of fans to the very first Enterprise and her crew.What started as an unsolved mystery could turn into a renaissance forStar Trek: Enterprise.
