Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has the opportunity to solve a Star Trek: Enterprise mystery that has lasted for over 19 years. In Enterprise'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 major characters on Enterprise: cooking and making pasta with Subcommander T'Pol (Jolene Blalock), Ensign Hoshi Sato (Linda Park), and even Dr. Phlox (John Billingsley). Yet Enterprise never revealed Chef's identity.
Although Enterprise was the last series in the popular run of Star Trek shows produced by Rick Berman, it never received the same acclaim during its run on UPN. One reason was that Enterprise was a prequel. While the rest of Berman's shows featured crossovers and events impacting Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager, Enterprise's prequel status lent it fewer connections to the rest of Trek. Now Strange New Worlds can give Enterprise those references and allusions. The mystery chef could serve as a bridge between Enterprise and a new era of Star 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 if Star Trek: Strange New Worlds reveals that Enterprise's mystery chef is an ancestor of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount). Already, Strange New Worlds has revealed two key facts that point in this direction. Firstly, Captain Pike is a phenomenal cook. In the second episode of Strange New Worlds, Captain Pike hosts a dinner in his quarters to 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.
Secondly, Strange New Worlds has already established a link between itself and Enterprise. During Strange New Worlds season 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 to Enterprise'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 broader timelines and culture of Star Trek. We know that it's roughly 100 years between Star Trek: Enterprise's finale and the start of Strange 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 explicit Strange New Worlds wanted to get with the connection, the NX-01's mystery chef could even provide opportunities for references and crossovers with Enterprise. Twenty years ago, Enterprise struggled because it didn't have the same context and connections that the rest of Star Trek shared. Now, by forging new connections with Star 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 for Star Trek: Enterprise.
