Food Service at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games will bring together over 15,000 athletes from 208 territories and nations, along with a vast number of support staff. The food service at the Olympic Village faces the monumental task of catering to the diverse dietary requirements and preferences of these athletes, while navigating challenges such as special dietary needs, cultural considerations, language differences, food safety, sustainability, timing, and cost management. This necessitates meticulous planning, seamless coordination, and adaptability to ensure that athletes receive appropriate and nourishing meals throughout the Games.
local French produce featured as part of the food provided to the athletes Below is information about the Olympic Village food service and menu for Paris 2024. We have more pages about Olympic Village nutrition with links to information about the food supplied at other Olympic Games.
Maintaining the French Standards
French cuisine is widely regarded as one of the finest, and as expected the food provided to the athletes showcase the variety and quality of French products, including cheeses and pastries (though French wine will be a noticeable absence).
French company Sodexo has been awarded the catering job at the village.
The Dining Spaces
The food hall at the Paris Olympic Village was able to seat 3500 people, making it one of the biggest restaurants in the world. There were six different food areas offering dishes from around the world. There were also "grab and go" food points. Throughout the Olympics and Paralympics, they served more than 13 million meals.
French Menu Items
Many athletes were disappointed to discover that there was no French wine on the menu, or any form of alcohol for that matter. But the food on offer was of a very high standard, as expected in France. One of the "grab and go" food points was dedicated exclusively to French cuisine prepared by chefs. There was of course a boulangerie (a French bakery) producing baguettes, croissants and other pastries. To the disappointment of some athletes, there were no French fries. Unlike previous Olympics, there was no McDonald's restaurant on site.
Sustainability and Environmental Impact
As part of the aim to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly, all meals were based on seasonal products sourced locally, and plant-based food represented one-third of the offerings at the Olympic Village. The effect was a reduction of the carbon footprint of the meals by half.
To make the Games more sustainable and environmentally friendly, the main restaurant in the village also used only reusable serving dishes and minimized the use of single-use plastics. To avoid waste, any food not consumed was given to food banks and associations. Food scraps were turned into compost or used for bio-gas production.
All meat, milk products and eggs were French-produced. Items that need to be imported, like bananas, exotic fruits and rice, were organic or have fair trade certification.
Vegan and Vegetarian Food
The aim was to provide a high percentage of food in the village that was vegetarian or vegan-friendly. Unfortunately, they underestimated that so many athletes would be choosing the meat and dairy options over the vegan-friendly ones, and early on they were running out of meat and dairy options in the village dining halls and had to increase their orders. Many countries resorted to providing their own food supplies to their athletes.
Athlete Dissatisfaction
As the Games progressed, the Paris 2024 Olympic Village faced significant issues with food quality and availability, causing widespread dissatisfaction among athletes. Several athletes reported a lack of essential high-protein foods like chicken and eggs, as well as concerns about the overall variety and nutritional balance of the meals provided. These supply problems have led some teams, such as Team GB, to bring their own chefs and resort to packed lunches to ensure adequate nutrition. The organizers worked to address these issues, though the problems had already impacted the athletes' dining experience during the Games, and possibly impacted their performance.
References
- CELEBRATING THE MODERN TASTE OF FRANCE: Paris 2024 Food Vision. Published July 2022
Related Pages
- Olympic village nutrition, includes links to information about the menu at other Olympic Games.
- Nutrition and the Olympics
- More about the Paris 2024 Olympic Games
- History of the Olympic Games Athlete Villages
- Nutrition for Athletes at Major Events
- Sport in France
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
Upcoming Events