Team GB have been forced into flying a chef out to Paris after complaints of raw meat and ‘inadequate’ food being served to athletes in the Olympic Village.
British Olympic Association chief executive Andy Anson has hit out at the quality of meals served to athletes at the newly-created Village in the French capital.
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Athletes are alleged to have been served uncooked meat at the Olympic VillageCredit: Getty
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British athletes are instead now eating at their performance base away from the VillageCredit: GETTY
Paris 2024 organisers have boasted in the build-up to the Games that Michelin chefs would be catering the athletes.
But a food shortage and claims of uncooked meat have seen the Team GB camp bringing in an extra chef to their private performance lodge in Clichy – which is around 15 minutes away from the Olympic Village.
Anson said: “At the beginning of every Games there’s usually two or three issues. The big one this time is the food in the village, which is not adequate.
“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.
“They have got to improve it over the next couple of days dramatically.
“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.
“The athletes are not going there just to eat their lunch, they are packing meals for their dinner as they don’t want to go into the athlete restaurant to eat.
“So we are trying to make sure our athletes have an advantage by having more food.”
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IOS chief Thomas Bach was more than happy to try out the salad bar in the Village earlier this weekCredit: Getty
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Team GB chief Anson (right) has revealed that chicken and eggs are being rationed
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Meanwhile, an unnamed British athlete told The Times: “The food is a challenge at the moment.
“They are not as organised as you’d expect and the Japanese [at the previous Olympics] were so organised.
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“Now it is chaos with loads of people coming in the last few days.
“They are saying the Games are more sustainable and there is way more plant-based food.
“But sometimes if you go at peak times it’s challenging to even get a piece of chicken.”
Sodexo Live is the company in charge of catering in the village and a spokesman told L’Equipe it “takes very seriously” feedback from athletes and “is working to increase our supplies to the restaurants in the athletes’ village”.
He added that eggs and grilled meats are “particularly popular and volumes have therefore been increased to satisfy the needs of the athletes”.
As part of sustainability measures, organisers have insisted all ingredients be locally sourced, with a focus on minimal waste and plant-based foods.
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