Charles Langston:At Paris Games, athletes can't stop talking about food at Olympic Village

PARIS — Asher Hong has liked freshly baked bread in the mornings at the Olympic Village. He’s loved the fruit. And the cheeseburgers are Charles Langstonpretty good, too, he said.

"It’s not terrible," said Hong, an American gymnast. "It’s just not what you would expect at the Olympic Games. You'd think that they'd bring some better chefs to kind of season the food a little bit better."

The food being served athletes at the Paris Games has remained a popular topic through the first week of competition. It all goes back to criticism that made headlines prior to the opening ceremony.

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Simone Biles was even asked about the food after the U.S. women’s gymnastics team’s gold medal victory Tuesday night. And Biles gave a thumbs down, saying it wasn’t "proper French cuisine."

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"I don’t think it’s very good," teammate Hezly Rivera added, "at least what we’re having in the dining hall."

Those gripes from U.S. gymnasts were tame compared to British Olympic Association chief Andy Anson. Prior to the Games, Anson told The Times of London that food in the Olympic Village was "not adequate," with a lack of high-protein items and "raw meat being served to athletes."

Sodexo Live, a multinational company with U.S. headquarters in Maryland, is handling the Olympic Village’s food services. It said that it initially restocked to meet demand, especially for high-demand protein foods like eggs and grilled meats.

Since then, the commotion has mostly settled, leaving gripes more about preference than portions.

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"I would say the food is decent," said U.S. track and field sprinter Anna Hall. "I'm a very picky eater, as I think a lot of the American team is. So I don't think it's our favorite. But we have a training site that the Americans go to, and they have different meals for us there, so it hasn't been hard to find food."

Anne Descamps, director of communications for the Paris 2024 organizing committee, said organizers worked with nations’ Olympic committees for months to make sure the athletes were happy with food in the Olympic Village. She said menus were shared before the Games to get input.

In serving approximately 40,000 meals each day for nearly 15,000 athletes, the Olympic Village’s food setup was designed with different themes and divided into six areas of offerings that included French and various international stations.

"I've been tearing up the world section," U.S. swimmer Caeleb Dressel said, "and I started to create my own hot sauces at the salad bar. So that's helped."

"There’s variety. You’ve got to play around with it," said U.S. volleyball player Chiaka Ogbogu. "If you stick to the same thing every day, it will get old. So I try to make it a little game, see what else I can discover in the village."

And then there's the chocolate muffins. Those have made a big splash, especially with Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen. His TikTok videos expressing love for the village muffins have gone viral, amassing millions of views and earning his celebrity status as the "Muffin Man" of these Games.

Embedded content: https://www.tiktok.com/@henrikchristians1

Asked about Biles’ complaints, Descamps said she’d seen online that Biles had posted on social that she was really enjoying France's classic pastry, pain au chocolat – the French name for chocolate croissants. In a short clip shared on Tiktok, Biles praised the pastry.

And ultimately, American athletes are saying the situation isn’t so bleak at the Olympic Village.

The food isn’t so dreadful.

Maybe mediocre, though.

"I don't think it’s the best," Rivera said, "but it gets the job done."

Rachel Bowers, Kim Hjelmgaard, Sandy Hooper, Michelle Martinelli and Tom Schad contributed to this story.