The Olympics are coming to France in 2024 and even though that’s still more than a year away, things are buzzing already. Especially when it comes to food. Of course, the so-called gastronomic meal of the French is world-famous and enlisted on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity but for the Olympic athletes, things are going to be a little different. Because even though wine, cheese and butter are the key ingredients for an unforgettable dinner, they’re not ideal if you have to compete the day after.
Therefore, things have been in the making for over a year already when it comes to feeding the Olympians. Last year, the organisation already revealed there would be twice as many vegetables on the menu as usual for these kind of events and moreover, the goal is for 80% of the ingredients served to come from within 250 kilometres of the Olympic kitchen. An ambitious plan, for sure, and one that can’t be completed by just anyone.
Therefore, the Sodexo group will be in charge of the Olympic food in 2024. They’ve already got some experience when it comes to large-scale sports events – take Roland-Garros or the Tour de France for example – but even for them the challenge is real. With 15.000 athletes in the Olympic village, a team of 6.000 collaborators will have to make a grand total of 40.000 meals a day. And as if that weren’t difficult enough already, there will be no set menus: the athletes will all be able to compose their own menus day to day, choosing between 500 recipes. A true logistic nightmare if you ask us but a non-negotiable one if you’re working with professional athletes, according to the organisation.
All in all, 13 million dishes will be served during the Olympics and Special Olympics. As we said, 80% of the food should come from within a 250 kilometre radius from the kitchen. That means all dairy and meat will be French, fruits and vegetables will be sourced as much as possible locally, all fish will be sustainable and so on. One of the biggest exceptions when it comes to sourcing locally are bananas: no less than 3 million of them will be ordered for the Olympics and sadly, the fruit doesn’t grow within the French borders. However, all tropical fruits such as bananas will be certified organic.
Those athletes that would like to make the most of their stay in France by tasting some culinary marvels, will be able to do so in a restaurant next to the main food hall in the Olympic village where three French chefs will compose some of the greatest French culinary dishes.
