Olympic Athletes Dining On Sustainable Delicacies

Thought Question: If you were the chef for a big event, how would you make the food delicious and eco-friendly at the same time?

France expects to serve up more than 13 million meals as it hosts the 2024 Olympic Games , now underway in Paris. As it keeps fans fed and athletes fueled, its chefs have three goals in mind: Be regional. Be tasty. And be sustainable.

“Serving 13 million meals in four weeks at over 40 sites is going to be the largest event catering operation in the world,” Etienne Thobois said in a statement. He's the Paris 2024 Chief Executive Officer. “It’s an immense operational challenge.” 

France hopes to limit Games-related emissions to 1.75 million tonnes. The average for the previous three Olympics has been 3.5 million tonnes. To achieve their goal, French officials took a hard look at what foods they’re serving and where the food comes from.  

“French fries are too risky because of fire-hazard concerns over deep-fat fryers,” Charles Guilloy told The New York Times (NYT). He's one of the Olympics’ head chefs. They did not include foie gras on any menus. That's because people are concerned about animal well-being, he says. And he also pointed out that they did not include avocados. That's because they consume a lot of water and come from far away. 

Foodies at the Games can expect to chow down on foods like vegetarian shawarma or za’atar-spiced sweet potatoes with hummus. They can also enjoy cabbage pickles, beetroot falafel, and grilled eggplant, the NYT reports. There will still be staples like freshly baked bread and cheese. Every dish served will be a symbol for a region of France. And 80% of the ingredients will be sourced locally, officials say.  

Photo of healthy foods from Unsplash courtesy of Alexandr Podvalny.