IOC President Thomas Bach tries food from a salad bar while touring at the Olympic Village. GETTY IMAGES

Paris 2024 Olympians are in for a treat with four Michelin-starred chefs preparing their meals in the athletes’ village. Organisers said that the star chefs’ menus have been developed with sports nutritionists and even include plant-based meat alternatives.

A 3,500-seat restaurant has been built from scratch to serve meals from all over the globe,1,200 out of the 40,000 daily meals will be Michelin-starred dishes. There are also six “grab and go” areas, where athletes can find snacks and a bakery that will bake 800 baguettes a day. Philipp Wurz, Paris 2024’s head of food, confirmed that around 30% of the menu at the Games would also be plant-based. 



"The athletes are coming into the biggest restaurant in the world," Wurz told The Guardian. "They are amazed by both the architectural setup of the main dining hall, but also by the quality of the recipes and the food. We tried to come up with a very specific plan to harness the French knowhow, the savoir faire of the French cuisine, which of course, has a reputation all over the planet."

Dishes on offer include croissant, poached egg, artichoke cream, shavings of sheep’s cheese topped with truffle, which the two-starred Michelin chef Amandine Chaignot suggests should be eaten by hand.

Chicken skewers or chicken fillet is very popular, and so is salmon," said Wurz. "So for nowadays, a lot of proteins are consumed in rather impressive quantities by the athletes."

"Of course, the meat is 100% French origin," he added. Aside from the meat, Wurz said that around 80% of the food in the village would be from France including the selection of cheese and pastries. 

"The cheeses are high-level and well-known French cheeses such as comte and brie de meaux. The same goes for pastries, a large variety of French pastries are offered to the athletes," he said.

Paris 2024 head Tony Estanguet at a test event of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Village Restaurant. GETTY IMAGES
Paris 2024 head Tony Estanguet at a test event of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Village Restaurant. GETTY IMAGES

Paris organisers have allowed delegations to make specific requests, with Team GB asking for porridge to be added to the menu and the South Koreans, kimchi. Wurz added that appetites and tastes differ wildly between athletes in different sports. Beach volleyball and taekwondo teams request cold meat, sandwiches and salads, while the rowing teams require "hot buffets". Badminton teams predominantly from Asia, he added, are "not big fans of bread".

"We have already had so much positive feedback because this is definitely something that the athletes are not used to when compared to past editions. There is a huge variety of very special and French items that we offer," Wurz concluded.