2023-05-11 07:00:42
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Responsible for feeding the 15,000 athletes in the Olympic Village during the Paris 2024 Games, Sodexo is preparing with the desire to offer rich and varied, quality food, with 80% ingredients produced in France. Athletes will also be able to taste the best of French gastronomy with creations from three French chefs.
“Immense” logistical challenge and great expectation in the country whose gastronomy is listed as a UNESCO cultural heritage : the Sodexo group, in charge of restoring the 15 000 athletes in the Olympic village during the Paris-2024 Olympics, sharpens his knives and refines some 500 receipts.
The group, through its subsidiary Sodexo Live ! already experienced in catering for major sporting events (Super Bowl, Roland-Garros, Tour de France), will indeed provide 40 000 services per day at the athletes’ village located in Saint-Denis for two months during the Olympic Games (July 26-August 11) and Paralympic Games (August 28-September 8).
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A total of 6 000 workers – including 15 % remote from employment or from priority areas – will be mobilized to also feed spectators, volunteers, sponsors and the media, explained Nathalie Bellon-Szabo, CEO of Sodexo Live !, Tuesday, May 9, during a press conference.
In addition to the iconic Olympic Village, 14 Olympic sites in France (Versailles, Marseille, Lyon, Arena Champs de Mars, Invalides, etc.) out of 41 and eight Paralympic sites out of 20 are also supplied by Sodexo.
“500 recipes” under development
The organizers of the Olympics had already announced the color a year ago : there will be twice as much vegetable as usual and more local on the plates. Of the 13 million meals consumed in total during events, ranging from snacks to dishes signed by a great chef, the objective is to have 80 % of ingredients produced in France.
This is a “huge logistical challenge,” said Philipp Würz, catering manager at the Olympic Organizing Committee. Avoid queues, provide a rich and varied, quality diet, a quarter of which will come from “under 250 km” from each site represents a challenge.
“We are used to managing this type of event, but not for such a long time,” explained Stéphane Chicheri, executive chef of Sodexo Live. !, which requires a “big mobilization”.
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However, it will be necessary to remain flexible and “adapt” the offer to possible production hazards and soaring prices of certain foodstuffs, slips to AFP Maxime Jacob, food project manager at the Organizing Committee.
Athletes will have the choice between “500 recipes” being developed for the end of 2023.
It will be difficult to make 100 % local : “The athletes will consume about three million bananas, it does not grow in Île-de-France !”, Nor will exotic fruits and rice, which will be “certified organic or fair trade”, said Philipp Würz. Meat and dairy products will be 100 % French, and fish from sustainable fishing.
Gastronomic creations
The recipes were developed in consultation with athletes and nutritionists, including Olympic medalist and nutritionist Hélène Defrance. “There is no specific menu” because you have to adapt to everyone’s habits : some have a “very thin” diet, others eat “less balanced and need pizza and pasta”, she said.
During their stay in the village, the athletes will also be able to taste the best of French gastronomy with creations from three French chefs, in a dedicated space adjoining the main Olympic restaurant. Among them, the guinea fowl with langoustines, chicken sauce with gnocchi signed by chef Amandine Chaignot, a “mueslinoa” – crispy quinoa muesli – by chef Akrame Benallal, or even a “herbaceous chickpea ointment” signed Alexandre Mazzia, presented Thursday to the press.
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The main restaurant of the Olympic Village, installed in the nave of the Cité du Cinéma, will include 3 600 seats, and will offer Asian, French, Hallal and world cuisine dishes, Maxime Jacob told AFP.
In order to meet the objective of sustainable Games desired by the organizers, water fountains will be installed to reduce the use of plastic, and the equipment (ovens, planchas, etc.) as well as the plates and cutlery will be reused after the Games. OJ. The goal is to halve the carbon footprint of meals.
With AFP
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