Even 200+ Years in the Future, Captain Pike Is Still a Proud Fan of Lodge Cast Iron

By episode two of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Paramount’s latest entry in the iconic franchise, we learn that the captain of the Enterprise, Christopher Pike, is a cook—and an accomplished one at that. ‘Children of the Comet’ opens with a party hosted in the captain's private quarters. He greets his guests in a heavy duty denim apron with leather accents and a glistening rack of ribs displayed in the kitchen, which he occasionally seasons with barbecue sauce using a basting mop. In the Star Trek universe, where most meals are replicated using futuristic technology similar to 3D printing, food prepared by scratch is an outlier. 

To make this aspect of his character feel realistic, the show’s production team went to great lengths to curate cooking tools that reflect Pike’s history and personality. Before joining the Enterprise, Pike lived on a ranch in Montana, and Jim Murray, the prop master for both seasons of the show, says over the phone that this location inspired most of the kitchen products he used on set. 

“It’s very rustic and earthy, with lots of wood and leather,” Murray says of the tone he was trying to set with Pike’s kitchen tools. “It was all about the cowboy vibe.”

In one scene in ‘Children of the Comet’, for instance, you see the ship’s engineer, Hemmer, chopping carrots on a thick walnut cutting board. Murray also employed a leather pouch (typically visible in the background of several kitchen-centric scenes) to hold Pike’s knives, which he says the character would have collected on his many adventures around the galaxy. 

Pike also would have brought all his cast iron cookware from his Montana ranch on board the Enterprise. Tanya Osmond, a food stylist on season two of Strange New Worlds, says that it was important to include cast iron in Pike’s repetitore because it's versatile cookware that can be used forever and eventually passed down to another generation of cooks. 

Murray agrees that Pike would love cast iron, and even pointed to Lodge as one brand he might use. In fact, you can clearly see a cast iron wok in ‘Children of the Comet’. “It’s timeless — even in the future you would be using it. It tells the story of what it does. So we used a lot of cast iron with a sprinkle of futuristic stuff in there,” Murray says.  

When Pike cooks, he likes to create a “family atmosphere,” Murray explains. “It’s a communal space where everyone can gather and talk.” And that spirit of community and togetherness comes through in the warm, well-loved cooking gear Pike uses on the show. 

“Pike is definitely someone who likes to gather people together,” Osmond says. Characters who share intimate conversations over scratch-made meals make a show that can sometimes feel alien, “just a little bit more relatable.”

Here, we found five products inspired by Captain Pike’s kitchen on Strange New Worlds. Now you too can outfit your kitchen in Star Trek-approved space cowboy style. 

Lodge 14-Inch Seasoned Cast Iron Wok

Made in USA Walnut Wood Cutting Board

Cuisinart Cast Iron Basting Pot and Brush

Hudson Durable Goods 8 Pocket Knife Roll

Hedley and Bennett Essential Apron