Olympic Village cafeteria serves 40,000 meals a day to the world’s best athletes

Transcript

A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:

Of all the Olympic feats, here's one that deserves more appreciation - serving 40,000 meals a day to the world's best athletes.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Inside the Olympic Village in France, African, Caribbean, halal, kosher, Asian and, of course, French cuisines are front and center. The French company helping organize this epic catering challenge is Sodexo Live! Jennifer Bargisen is one of the head chefs supporting Sodexo's culinary operation at this year's games.

JENNIFER BARGISEN: We are utilizing approximately 20 chefs worldwide that do nothing but things like Super Bowl, Royal Ascot, Formula One. You think of the biggest events we have - World Cup - and we're using all of the top talent from that.

MARTÍNEZ: Bargisen says dieticians ensure the food fuels athletes' performance, and then chefs try to make it fun.

BARGISEN: Our role is to make sure that it's something the athletes want to eat because we can meet all of those guidelines, but if it doesn't excite them, it doesn't meet what anybody's trying to accomplish.

FADEL: Well, despite the Michelin-Star chefs behind the menu, the food inside the Olympic Village has raised eyebrows. Here's what Olympic gymnast Hezly Rivera said at a press conference when asked what she thinks of the food.

(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)

HEZLY RIVERA: I don't think it's very good, at least what we're having in the dining hall.

(LAUGHTER)

RIVERA: I definitely think French food is good. But what we're having in there, I don't think, is the best, but it gets the job done. So...

(LAUGHTER)

MARTÍNEZ: Ah, that's got to hurt. She's not alone in her criticism. Athletes have been taking to social media, complaining about long lines and unseasoned meals. The cafeteria has been dubbed the largest restaurant in the world.

GEOFF WEISS: I think part of the online chatter is that French food is known for being so amazing, right? So this is sort of a kind of pointed turn of criticism.

FADEL: That's Business Insider reporter Geoff Weiss. He said some of the loudest complaints about the food in the Olympic Village are coming from Great Britain.

MARTÍNEZ: Yeah, so maybe a little revenge against its cross-channel rival that's always had a reputation for better food, right?

FADEL: Yeah, maybe.

MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.

FADEL: The British Olympic Association's chief executive, Andy Anson, said when the Olympics began, there are not enough of certain foods - eggs, chicken, certain carbohydrates.

MARTÍNEZ: Sodexo told NPR that the complaints were isolated to one day of service over a week ago and that things have stabilized since. Here's Business Insider Geoff Weiss again.

WEISS: Before the games, Paris 2024 sort of laid out its vision for food, calling France sort of the land of gastronomy but also highlighting environmentalism. So there would be more plant-based food. All meat, dairy and eggs would be sort of sourced from France, and meat and eggs are really two of the biggest points of contention here.

FADEL: Paris Olympics CEO Etienne Thobois told reporters earlier this week that they're bringing in an additional ton of meat and 700 kilos of eggs in order to meet the athletes' demands. That also means the food served in the Olympic village may end up being less climate-friendly than the French had hoped.

MARTÍNEZ: The broader climate consciousness of these games has frustrated some Olympic teams, like the plan to forego air conditioning in the village.

FADEL: No air conditioning. I need air conditioning.

MARTÍNEZ: (Laughter).

FADEL: Then there was this heat wave with temperatures in the 90s.

MARTÍNEZ: Yeah, no fun at all. Some teams brought even their own AC units. Weiss says because the Olympic Village is so massive and ambitious, that makes it ripe for criticism.

WEISS: France is really focusing on sustainability with its village this year, including the food. But I think what we're seeing is that those values don't always square up with those of, you know, high-performance athletes who are not seeking, I think, environmentally friendly foods as much as foods that are just going to help them, you know, win medals.

FADEL: To be clear, not all the reviews are bad.

MARTÍNEZ: (Laughter).

FADEL: One of the top food stories coming out of these Olympics is a Norwegian swimmer's love affair with a particularly good chocolate muffin.

MARTÍNEZ: Chocolate unites us all, Leila.

FADEL: Mmm hmm. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.