No French fries, lots of lentils for Paris Olympic athletes

PARIS – There will be no French fries but plenty of lentils offered to athletes at the Paris Olympics, with the organisers unveiling their food offerings on June 25 that combine eco-minded recipes with French gastronomy.

The giant 3,500-seater restaurant at the Olympic Village, which will welcome athletes in July, was given its first test run by a hungry crowd of sports figures, officials and journalists.

Based in a vast former power station, the food hall includes six different dining areas offering meals from around the globe, with half of the 50 dishes available each day being 100 per cent vegetarian.

“People are going to meet here in France, with its culture, its heritage but also its gastronomy and so there are expectations,” chief Paris 2024 organiser Tony Estanguet said.

Although many athletes would stick to their usual nutrition before competing, they will also be offered the chance to discover France’s famed food, with several Michelin-starred chefs taken on as advisers.

“We’ve allowed ourselves to put French gastronomy in pride of place so that curious athletes from around the world can try French culinary excellence,” Estanguet added.

The giant warm-food buffets will not include French fries, however.

McDonalds, a long-time sponsor of the Olympics, had its own fast-food restaurant in the Olympic Village until the Rio Games in 2016, but athletes wanting a hit of junk food will have to look elsewhere in Paris.

“For technical reasons, we can’t offer fries,” said Estelle Lamotte, deputy director of village catering at food group Sodexo, explaining that deep-fat fryers were not allowed in the temporary kitchens at the site, which is usually used as a film studio.

Gregoire Bechu, head of sustainable food at the Paris organising committee, stressed the quality of the “delicious” lentil dal recipe that has been developed for athletes.

“One of the major commitments by Paris 2024 was offering vegetarian meals in order to halve the carbon footprint of each meal on average. We wanted vegetarian meals everywhere,” he said.

At sports venues, 60 per cent of food offered to fans will be vegetarian and the temporary stadium hosting skateboarding, BMX and breakdancing at the Place de la Concorde in central Paris will be entirely meat-free.

In a further bid to lower carbon emissions, only two of the six restaurant areas at the village will be air-conditioned, with the rest in outdoor courtyards sheltered by fabric sun shades and ventilated with overhead fans. The June 25 test event, held under fierce sunshine and in 27 deg C heat, saw some people visibly sweating.

“I think we’ve found a good compromise between offering the right temperature but also reducing our carbon emissions. It’s one of the main challenges of the Paris 2024 edition,” Estanguet said.

In a break from Olympic tradition, the 2,800 apartments at the village do not come with air-conditioning as standard. However, many Olympic teams have decided to install portable coolers at their own cost.

Paris has suffered a series of record heatwaves in recent years with temperatures peaking above 40 deg C in July and August, but 2024 has so far been wet and cool.

The Paris Olympics run from July 26 to Aug 11 followed by the Paralympics from Aug 28 to Sept 8. AFP