Hunger Games? Olympic Athletes Unimpressed By Food

The athletes participating in this year’s Olympics may be billeted in Paris, the city of the finest cuisine in the world—but it turns out they’re not getting the delicious French cuisine they might have been anticiipating. On the contrary, a recent spate of TikTok posts reviewing the food served at the Olympic Vilage dining hall have shared the same, rather underwhelmed, tone. The verdict seems to be that generally, the food has been meh. Except for the chocolate muffins. 

Filipino gymnast Aleah Finnegan shared a TikTok post of the dining hall, adding that while the food was not bad, it wasn't seasoned enough.

Other athletes were not so diplomatic. When Simone Biles was asked if they were enjoying French cuisine, she replied: “Here's the thing. I don't think we're having proper French cuisine in the village like you guys might be eating because you're outside the village.” 

A British athlete, who asked to be kept anonymous, told The Times that "food is a challenge at the moment." 

But the chocolate muffins were a certified hit! The dessert was such a favorite that it went viral. Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen loved the muffins so much he posted eight TikTok videos about them, gave them an "11 out of ten stars" and started calling himself the "Olympic muffin man"

The food served at the Olympic Village dining hall was managed by French company Sodexo Live, and was touted for its emphasis on locally-sourced, plant-based and climate-friendly options.