Athletes Are Reviewing Olympic Village Food, And A Norwegian Swimmer Has Fallen In Love With This 1 Dessert

BuzzFeed
·3 min read

If you, like me, have been watching the Olympics multiscreen with a bag of pretzels in hand, you might be wondering what the food is like at the Olympic Village.

Yuzuru Hanyu serves drinks in a cafeteria while Emmanuel Macron and others wait in line with food trays
Michel Euler / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MICHEL EULER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Fortunately, Team Australia boxer Tina Rahimi gave a comprehensive tour of the dining hall on TikTok, starting with the entrance:

Three people walking by a building entrance displaying
Three people walking by a building entrance displaying
People walking through a large, open indoor space resembling a convention or exhibition hall, with booths and Paris 2024 signage in the background
People walking through a large, open indoor space resembling a convention or exhibition hall, with booths and Paris 2024 signage in the background

Tina Rahimi / Via tiktok.com

That screen you see at the entrance is detailed in Team USA fencers and married couple Lee Kiefer and Gerek Meinhardt's joint TikTok. There are four different food categories on offer: World, Halal, Asian, and French. Subsequently, the screens show which stations are open and how busy they are.

Status board showing the availability of four cuisine categories at a dining hall: Monde, Halal, Asie, and France, with indicators for open, closed, and crowd levels
oldmarriedolympians / Via tiktok.com

Back to Tina's tour. By all of the cuisine halls, there are huge salad bars with similar options at all of them:

Salad bar with various greens and vegetables. Text reads:
Salad bar with various greens and vegetables. Text reads:
Buffet-style food station with trays of mixed vegetables, including green beans, kidney beans, pineapple chunks, and squash cubes
Buffet-style food station with trays of mixed vegetables, including green beans, kidney beans, pineapple chunks, and squash cubes

Tina Rahimi / Via tiktok.com

Going into detail in the halal section, Tina showed lots of stations, including pasta, grill, sides, and daily specials. One of her teammates surmised in the video that the chicken was "delicious."

Two employees work at a food counter labeled 'Pasta' and 'Grill' inside a modern building with large windows
Two employees work at a food counter labeled 'Pasta' and 'Grill' inside a modern building with large windows
A white bowl containing skewered meat, shrimp, quinoa, mixed greens, shredded carrots, and grains. The plate is held over a tiled floor and wooden table
A white bowl containing skewered meat, shrimp, quinoa, mixed greens, shredded carrots, and grains. The plate is held over a tiled floor and wooden table

Tina Rahimi / Via tiktok.com

There's also a ton of places to sit, including this spot which features interesting...tube art:

People dining in a brightly decorated restaurant with large colorful cartoon-like inflatable sculptures in the background
Tina Rahimi / Via tiktok.com

As for the quality of the food, reviews have been...mixed. Andy Anson, the British Olympic Association's chief executive, told the Times last week, “There are not enough of certain foods: eggs, chicken, certain carbohydrates, and then there is the quality of the food, with raw meat being served to athletes. They have got to improve it over the next couple of days dramatically." One Olympics employee suggested the vibes were actively bad on TikTok, "i have not finished a single meal since starting."

A container filled with a mix of food, labeled "pov: olympic food."

Team USA track and field athlete Rachel Glenn echoed these sentiments, uploading a TikTok of her eating with the audio, "Baby, can you help me?" Raven Saunders, a shot put and discus throw USA athlete, posted a TikTok lip-synching to the words, "You disappointed me."

A person wearing a Team USA jacket is taking a bite of food. Text on the image reads,
A person wearing a Team USA jacket is taking a bite of food. Text on the image reads,
Olympic athlete eating meat on a stick in the Olympic Village cafeteria. Text on image:
Olympic athlete eating meat on a stick in the Olympic Village cafeteria. Text on image:

rxchelglenn_ / Via tiktok.com, veme1shot / Via tiktok.com

In her review of the canteen, Filipino American gymnast Aleah Finnegan — who is representing Team Philippines — said, "Honestly, the food here, it's good. It's not really seasoned. There is a seasoning station over there, it's not bad, it's pretty basic, but there's also so many people here now, so it's a lot more crowded."

A woman in a navy shirt with "CHIP" partially visible on it, sitting at a table with food in front of her, gesturing with her hands
Aleah Finnegan / Via tiktok.com

But it's not all bad! According to fencers Lee and Gerek, the curry and breakfast hits.

Person wearing a blue shirt eating a meal. They rated the food: Sticky rice 5 stars, Chicken tikka 5 stars, Curry beef 4 stars, Leeks 3 stars, Cauliflower 2 stars
Person wearing a blue shirt eating a meal. They rated the food: Sticky rice 5 stars, Chicken tikka 5 stars, Curry beef 4 stars, Leeks 3 stars, Cauliflower 2 stars
Plate with fried eggs, bacon, mushrooms, Greek yogurt, and fresh mango with star reviews for each item. A cup with Paris 2024 logo is visible in the background
Plate with fried eggs, bacon, mushrooms, Greek yogurt, and fresh mango with star reviews for each item. A cup with Paris 2024 logo is visible in the background

oldmarriedolympians / Via tiktok.com, oldmarriedolympians / Via tiktok.com

The chocolate muffins are also apparently so good that Team Norway swimmer Henrik Christiansen has dedicated multiple TikToks to his love of them:

Person in casual athletic clothing, wearing a cap and ID badge, holds two bouquets of flowers. Buildings and greenery are in the background
Henrik Christiansen / Via tiktok.com

There's also a boulangerie in the village, where people can get free baked goods and even take a baguette-making class.

People standing outside Boulangerie du village, a bakery, with outdoor seating and a wooden deck
Caméliablk / Via tiktok.com

If anyone wants to send me to the buffet for some SERIOUS REPORTING, I am available...

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