Chunks is the McDonald's of space food. People don't buy it because it's good, they buy it because it's cheap, fast, and familiar.

New Atlantis also has real restaurants for people who want to eat real food.

If you look at the food selections in starfield it follows what astronauts currently eat//projected to eat in theory for deep space travel. The reason chunks is so popular is not just because it's everywhere but you can take it on your ship as rations. Food in 0g environments must be very compact and produce as little crumb like issues as possible to keep the food from getting into your space craft machinery. Be a real shame if your life support system shorted out because a drop of liquid got in it or your engines shorted out cause a chunk of apple got in it. Same with the bugs, I read a report that they could use certain bugs like worms as a protein replacement due to the science required to break the atmosphere. Because every single unit of weight must be calculated for fuel consumption entering and exiting atmospheres(a problem we don't really have on our player ships due to instant refilling he-3 gas tanks.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21554801/#:~:text=larvae%20were%20regarded%20as%20an,the%20last%20two%20instars%2C%20respectively.

https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/what-really-astronaut-food

Now for why it's still popular after grav drives produce artificial gravity, I have to say it's probably because people got so use to eating it on ships in the 300 years since Earths Demise and everyone bailing. Plus for in the rare instances your ship malfunctions from getting shot.

welcome to chunks. please choose your chunks😮‍💨

Well, why is beef jerky everywhere?

It's not even an homage to Outer World's food. I won't be surprised if there is a quest line where you get to the Chunks factory and find what are they made of for real.

I think "modern" cuisine evolved from astronaut food that everyone had to eat following the destruction of Earth.

Kind of like how modern American Chinese food evolved from whatever camp cooks could slap together from local ingredients for Chinese rail workers.

There's a mission where you have to bring real food to a client. I don't remember what it was but the damned thing cost me $1000

I could almost buy a ship for this price. Real food's expensive AF

While I did burst out loud laughing at Cabernet Chunkignon, I'm glad people haven't forgotten how to make latkes, even if it seems difficult to get schmaltz what with there being no chickens.