What the Olympic Athletes (Didn’t) Eat at Paris 2024

The latest news features Akrame Benallal, The Head Chef of the Olympic Village of Paris 2024: «The truth is that athletes don’t eat like us.in fact, I would say that from morning to night they do nothing but eat. They basically wanted 900 grams of protein a day, after all they do sports all day and their body needs to be nourished in this way».

As reported by the agency HANDLE, Well done he recounted the complaints of several guest athletes who spoke of meals that were too meager, raw and undercooked meat, a menu that was too low carb, little variety, a lack of vitamins. And, above all, endless waiting times in line (for a dish).

In fact, the quantity and quality of the cuisine promised, on paper, to be at the same level as the Grandeur for Paris 2024, in fact, Sodexo Live!division of Sodexo, company in charge of managing the global canteen, had thought big, with 3,500 seats, 40,000 meals served every day, from breakfast to dinner, with 550 recipes created and selected by great starred chefs, a 24-hour service. In addition, cuisines and flavors from all over the world, with typical dishes from French, Asian, African, Caribbean and World cuisine. Everything to satisfy the 10,000 athletes in the Olympic Village.

Yet, despite the efforts to create a wide range of products and a varied and nutritionally balanced menu, there have been many criticisms of the athletes to the food offered in the Olympic Village. Some of them reported dissatisfaction with the quality and quantity of foodwhich was perceived as insufficient to support the physical demands of athletes.

Among the most frequent complaints, athletes have denounced the lack of egg at breakfast and the milk which has been described as watered down. True “culinary stars”, on the other hand, chocolate muffins (renamed Olympics Muffins) which, although having become a sort of sweet icon in videos posted by athletes on TikTok and Instagram, have also been the focus of much criticism: given that, despite their irresistible taste, the presence of foods such as muffins is considered less useful for a diet adequate to the energy needs of athletes.

Criticisms from Thomas Ceccon and Simone Biles

In the last few days, already Thomas Cecconi had expressed himself regarding the globally problematic conditions of the Olympic Villagedeclaring to Rai Sport: «I’m a bit tired, it’s hard to sleep both at night and in the afternoon, between the noise and the heat. There is no air conditioning in the Village, you don’t eat well and there are problems with food. Many athletes travel for these reasons”. Then explaining: “I expected much more. It is unacceptable that essential foods like eggs are missing. And milk, it looks like colored water”. Also noteworthy are the comments of the American gymnast Simone Biles and her compatriot Hezly Rivera, quoted by Sky Tg 24: if for the first «The quality of the food leaves much to be desired, and the fact that there is no air conditioning makes everything even more difficult. It is not what you would expect from an event of this magnitude», the second then doubled down: «I don’t think the food is very good, at least not what they serve us in the restaurant. I think French gastronomy is good, but what they serve us there… I don’t think it’s the best you can find».

As evidence of the discontent, already in the first days of the Olympics thewhole team of Great Britain had decided to move to the British Olympic Committee Headquarters in Clichy, preferring to manage her own food rather than rely on the Olympic Village canteen. Who stayed behind, the British swimming star and six-time gold medalist Adam Peatyhas denounced (Adnkronos) the conditions of the food offered to the athletes in the Olympic Village, even underlining the presence of worms. Finally revealing how, right from the start, the athletes were taken aback by the sensational lack of food variety in the Village, probably due to the cuisine’s adherence to the sustainability principle of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which has thus privileged vegetarian options at the expense of those based on animal proteins.

Above all, given the very fast daily running out of some dishes and the food shortage In general, the importance of a caloric surplus to support training and competitionsa crucial aspect for athletes who have to face intense physical workloads throughout the duration of competitions.

Following the less than positive feedback, it must be said that the situation is immediately improved in all the cuisine offerings: but now les jeux sont faits, rien ne va plusand the curtain falls on Paris 2024.

Sources: HANDLE, Rai Sport, Sky Tg 24, Adnkronos