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Louise Thomas
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Olympians are sharing their honest thoughts about the food being served at the Olympic Village in Paris.
On social media, multiple athletes are giving their reviews of the food hall, which is being catered by Sodexo Live. Throughout the Olympics, the food company is not only responsible for meals in the Olympic Village, but it’s also offering its catering services “for spectators, organizational staff, and athletes across 14 competition venues,” according to the brand’s official website.
However, according to multiple Olympians, the food at the Olympic Village isn’t anything special. In one TikTok video, Team USA volleyball player Erik Shoji showcased one of his late-night dinners in the food hall after his first match. He started off by tasting his pasta with pesto sauce, acknowledging that the noodles “weren’t really over done,” so that “was good.”
He then went on to eat a few pieces of broccoli, which he wasn’t impressed by either. “Tasted like steamed broccoli,” he simply said.
Shoji also had similar thoughts about the grilled chicken, adding: “That also tastes how you might expect it. Not terrible, not great.”
The athlete concluded his video by eating the last thing on his plate, grilled tofu, which he could “barely cut.”
“Not great but it’s OK,” he said about the tofu. “It’s OK guys. It’s super late at night. Only one section of the dining hall was open. So far, the food’s been good. It’s 12:30 at night, I’m going to finish this meal and go to bed.”
In another TikTok video, Olympic gymnast Aleah Finnegan, who’s competing for the Philippines, documented her experience at the Olympic Village. After filming her walk through the food hall, she then sat down with her tray and gave her mixed thoughts about the food.
“Honestly, the food is good. It’s not really seasoned,” she said. “There is a seasoning station over there. It’s not bad, it’s just pretty basic… It’s pretty good, it’s good food. It just probably needs some seasoning a little bit. Personal preference, that’s me.”
However, Raven Saunders – a Team USA track and field star – isn’t a fan of the food at all. As the text over her TikTok video read: “Eating in the Olympics like…” she held up what appeared to be a burnt piece of meat on a stick. The video was set to the sound: “You disappointed me.”
Saunders still found humor in the situation, as her caption read: “It’s been a struggle,” along with a laughing crying face emoji.
However, there’s been one treat that is a fan-favorite among the Olympians: a chocolate muffin. In one TikTok video shared by Team USA fencer Lee Kiefer, she had the chocolate muffin for dessert and gave it a five-star rating.
Meanwhile, Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen has also raved about the chocolate muffin, giving it an 11 out of 10 star review on TikTok. Days later, he hilariously posted another video of him in his bed, as he was caught eating another one of the desserts. The video then revealed that he stored at least four of those chocolate muffins in one of his drawers, before Christiansen jokingly held his hand up at the camera.
Aside from the Olympians, the British Olympic Association’s chief executive, Andy Anson, has also shared his honest thoughts about the food at the Olympic Village. He told The Times that the food “is not adequate,” before claiming that it needs to be improved “dramatically.”
“There are not enough of certain foods: eggs, chicken, certain carbohydrates, and then there is the quality of the food, with raw meat being served to athletes,” he said. “Our athletes have decided they would rather go and eat in our performance lodge in Clichy, so we are having to get another chef to come over as the demand is far exceeding what we thought it would be.”
