The Paris Olympics promoted climate-friendly food. Athletes demanded more meat.

PARIS – What does a city proud of its culinary reputation, but also committed to hosting a climate-conscious Olympic Games, offer to thousands of athletes striving to reach peak performance? It’s a difficult balance in the Olympic Village, where caterers prepare 40,000 meals a day.

Michelin-starred chefs helped design the menu, with Paris 2024 organizers highlighting all the plant-based and locally sourced offerings that minimize the Games’ carbon footprint. Options in and around the athletes’ cave-like food hall include artichoke and truffle twists, lentil dal, and beefless bourguignon.

Some athletes, however, want to eat more meat.

Sodexo Live, the French company responsible for catering at the athletes’ village and many of the Olympic competition venues, said last week that it had adjusted its deliveries in line with athlete feedback and consumption patterns in the early days of the Games.

“Some products, such as eggs and grilled meat, are particularly popular with athletes, so their quantities were immediately increased,” the company said in a statement.

Paris Olympic Games director general Etienne Thobois told reporters: “The supply of animal proteins has been strengthened, adding 700 kilograms of eggs and a tonne of meat to meet the demands of athletes, who are at the heart of Paris 2024 for us.”

That means food served in the Olympic Village may prove less climate-friendly than expected – after a plan to ditch air conditioning in the village was scuppered when teams announced they would bring their own air conditioners.

The loudest complaints about the food came from Team Great Britain. The food was “not up to scratch”, British Olympic Association chief executive Andy Anson told the Times on the eve of the opening ceremony.

“There are not enough of certain foods: eggs, chicken, certain carbohydrates, and then there is the issue of food quality, for example athletes are fed raw meat,” Anson said.

Team GB, which is one of a number of teams that regularly bring their own chefs, had to employ a chef to help athletes who did not want to eat in the Olympic Village, he added.

Members of the German men’s national ice hockey team also complained about the food.

“Basically, it just takes an incredibly long time because they are completely overloaded during peak hours,” captain Mats Grambusch told the dpa news agency. “And then the quality and quantity of the meals are not good because there are simply too many people coming in at the same time.”

Food has also been a point of contention at previous Olympics. Food safety concerns prompted some teams to bring their own supplies to Beijing in 2008. Long lines put athletes off at the 2016 Rio Olympics. And in Tokyo 2021, organizers apologized for 175 tons of food that was wasted.

Sodexo Live, based on the outskirts of Paris, oversaw food for the 2012 London Olympics, as well as 15 Super Bowls. But catering for the Paris Games—including the Olympic Village food hall, billed as the world’s largest restaurant, with seating for 3,500—presents more challenges.

The Paris 2024 Food Vision includes commitments to provide seasonal, locally sourced food with less animal protein and more plant-based ingredients, as part of the aim to halve the carbon footprint of the Olympic Games in London in 2012 and Rio in 2016.

But organizers expected that athletes preparing for moments that could make or break their careers would value predictability over experimentation — and nutritional needs above all else.

“They need a lot of protein,” said Philipp Würz, who is responsible for food and beverages at the Games. “You can’t just say, OK, you’re going 60 percent or 100 percent vegetarian. That’s just not possible.”

So while plant-based meals make up 60% or more of what spectators can buy at Olympic venues, they make up about 30% of what is offered in the Olympic Village, according to suppliers. That remains true after supply adjustments, Sodexo Live said.

The food court, in a former power station, is designed to allow athletes to tailor their menus to their sport’s needs – whether high-protein or high-carb. American rugby player Ilona Maher showed the possibilities of carbs by posting a TikTok video of her plates full of a bun, a croissant and a pancake.

Fact sheets help athletes assess nutritional value and environmental impact.

Charles Guilloy, the Olympic Village’s executive chef, said organizers wanted to showcase French cuisine while remaining sensitive to cultural preferences. “It’s very important to promote French cuisine and gastronomy,” he said in an interview. “But we welcome the world to our table. We also have to respect the customs and gastronomic cultures of other countries.”

Among the over 500 recipes are such unique dishes as lamb moussaka and fried shrimp with chermoula sauce.

“They do a great job of giving us variety, so people who come from far away can feel at home,” said Casey Eichfeld, an American kayaker, adding that the protein selection was adequate.

Sha Mahmood Noor Zahi, a sprinter from Afghanistan, where typical diets are meat-heavy, said he appreciates the emphasis on plant-based foods in Paris. “There are a lot of vegetables here, which I like,” he said.

Guilloy said one of his favorite dishes is the lentil dal, made with green lentils from the Paris area, served with low-fat yogurt. “It’s very high in protein,” Guilloy said, and it also contributes to the organizers’ goal of sourcing 80 percent of the ingredients locally.

Athletes also have access to a tasting area where five renowned French chefs take turns presenting dishes they have created especially for the Games.

Parisian chef Amandine Chaignot said her recipes are more of a “nod” to French cuisine than a full-blown commitment to athletes.

“I started with the principle that we shouldn’t push them too hard,” she said, “and that we should still offer something that’s somewhat reassuring.”

One of Chaignot’s dishes is a twisted croissant stuffed with artichoke cream, topped with poached eggs, cheese and truffles.

Guilloy said the tasting area was created primarily for “moments of discovery and enjoyment after the competition.”

“It’s super cool to be able to have that option and have everything in the dining room,” said Evy Leibfarth, an American kayaker.

Still, the United States was among the countries that decided from the beginning that it would bring chefs to Paris.

Brian Knutson, director of food and nutrition for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, said in an interview that having celebrity chefs around “is comforting and reassuring for an athlete.”

He and his team have prepared 200 recipes using 900 ingredients, most of which they source locally, including a special French cantaloupe. “No. 1 favorite!” he said.

The team still relies on some supplies from the U.S.: It has shipped more than 30 pallets, including 8,000 bottles of high-protein milkshakes. But for the most part, France has “the products we need,” Knutson said.

He said he was surprised to learn that many French bakers were taking a full month off in August. But after negotiations, he said, one was willing to “stay open and supply us exclusively.”

Operating from a U.S. training facility on the outskirts of Paris, Knutson’s team feeds American athletes and support staff on-site and prepares food packages. Eating immediately after competition, rather than waiting to return to the village, is especially important for athletes who have only short recovery periods, he said.

And when all their events are over? “The game begins,” he said. “That’s when the pains au chocolat really comes out.”

Les Carpenter assisted in the preparation of this report.