The Paris Olympics touted climate-friendly food. Athletes demanded more meat.

PARIS – What does a city proud of its culinary reputation, but also committed to hosting a climate-conscious Olympics, serve to thousands of athletes seeking peak performance? It’s been a tricky balance at the Olympic Village, where caterers are preparing 40,000 meals a day.

Chefs with Michelin stars helped design the menus, and Paris 2024 organizers have emphasized all the plant-based and locally sourced offerings that minimize the carbon footprint of these Games. Among the options in and around the cavernous food hall for athletes are twisted artichoke-truffle croissants, lentil dal and beefless bourguignon.

But some athletes want more meat.

Sodexo Live, the French company responsible for catering in the athletes’ village and many of the Olympic competition venues, said last week that it had adjusted supplies in response to athlete feedback and consumption patterns in the early days of the Games.

“Certain products, such as eggs and grilled meats, are particularly popular among athletes, so their quantities have been immediately increased,” the company said in a statement.

Paris Olympics CEO Etienne Thobois told reporters: “There has been a reinforcement in animal proteins, with 700 kilos of eggs and a ton of meat, to meet the demands of the athletes, who we place at the heart of the Paris 2024 experience.”

That means the food served in the Olympic Village may end up being somewhat less climate-friendly than hoped – after a plan to forgo air conditioning in the village was frustrated by teams announcing they were bringing their own ACs.

The loudest food complaints came from Team Great Britain. The food “is not adequate,” the British Olympic Association’s chief executive, Andy Anson, told the Times newspaper on the eve of the Opening Ceremonies.

“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,” Anson said.

Team GB, which is among those that routinely bring their own chefs anyway, had to add a chef to support athletes not wanting to eat in the Olympic Village, he said.

Members of the German men’s hockey team also grumbled about the food.

“Basically, it just takes an insanely long time because they’re completely overwhelmed at peak times,” captain Mats Grambusch told the DPA news service. “And then the quality and quantity of the meals aren’t good, because there are simply too many people coming at the same time.”

Food has been a point of contention at past Olympics, too. Concerned over food safety, some teams brought their own supplies to Beijing in 2008. During the 2016 Olympics in Rio, athletes were put off by long lines. And in Tokyo in 2021, organizers apologized for 175 tons of food that went to waste.

Sodexo Live, headquartered in a Paris suburb, oversaw food for many spectators at the 2012 London Olympics, as well as for 15 Super Bowls. But catering the Paris Olympics – including the Olympic Village food hall, billed as the world’s largest restaurant, with seating for 3,500 people – presents more challenges.

The “Paris 2024 Food Vision” includes commitments to provide locally sourced, seasonal food, with less animal protein and more plant-based ingredients, as part of a goal to halve the carbon footprint of London 2012 and Rio 2016.

But organizers anticipated that athletes preparing for moments that could make or break their careers would prize predictability over experimentation – and nutritional needs above all else.

“They need a lot of proteins,” acknowledged Philipp Würz, who is responsible for food and beverages at the Games. “You can’t just say, OK, you go 60 or 100% vegetarian. It’s just not possible.”

So while plant-based meals account for 60% or more of what spectators can buy at Olympic venues, they represent about 30% of what’s on offer in the Olympic Village, according to the caterers. That remains true after the supply adjustments, Sodexo Live said.

The food court setup, in what was once a power plant, is designed to allow athletes to adapt their menus according to the needs of their sport – whether high protein or high carbohydrates. U.S. rugby player Ilona Maher demonstrated the carb possibilities, posting a TikTok video of her plates loaded with a bread roll, a croissant and a crepe.

Fact sheets help athletes scan the nutritional value – and environmental impact.

Charles Guilloy, the primary executive chef of the Olympic Village, said organizers wanted to showcase French cooking while remaining sensitive to cultural preferences. “It’s very important to put forward French cuisine and gastronomy,” he said in an interview. “But we’re welcoming the world at our table. We must also respect the habits and gastronomic cultures of other countries.”

The more than 500 recipes include meals as distinct as lamb moussaka and fried shrimp with chermoula sauce.

“They do a really good job of providing a variety for us, so people who are coming from far away can feel a little bit more at home,” said Casey Eichfeld, an American canoeist, adding that there was a sufficient choice of proteins.

Sha Mahmood Noor Zahi, a sprinter from Afghanistan where typical diets are meat-centric, said he appreciates the focus on plant-based food in Paris. “There are plenty of vegetables here that I like,” he said.

Guilloy said one of his favorite dishes is a lentil dal, made with green lentils from just outside Paris, that’s served with a low-fat yogurt. “It’s very high in protein,” said Guilloy, and it also contributes to the organizers’ goal of sourcing 80% of ingredients locally.

Athletes also have access to a tasting area where five renowned French chefs take turns presenting dishes they created for the Games.

Amandine Chaignot, a Paris-based chef, said her recipes are more of “a nod” to French cuisine than a full immersion for athletes.

“I started off the principle that we shouldn’t push them too hard,” she said, “and that we should still offer something that’s fairly reassuring.”

One of Chaignot’s dishes is a twisted croissant, stuffed with artichoke cream and topped with a poached egg, cheese and truffles.

Guilloy said the tasting area is primarily conceived for “moments of discovery and pleasure after the competitions.”

It is “super cool to kind of have that option and have everything in the dining hall,” said Evy Leibfarth, an American canoeist.

Still, the United States was among the nations that decided from the outset that it would bring chefs to Paris.

Brian Knutson, director of food and nutrition services for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, said in an interview that the presence of familiar chefs “is something comforting and puts the athlete at ease.”

He and his team have prepared 200 recipes, using 900 ingredients that they primarily source locally, including a special French cantaloupe. “No. 1 favorite!” he said.

The team still relies on some U.S. supplies: It shipped over 30 pallets’ worth, including 8,000 bottles of high-protein milkshakes. For the most part, however, France has “the products that we need,” Knutson said.

He said he was surprised to learn that many French bakers go on vacation for an entire month in August. But after negotiations, he said, one was willing “to stay open and exclusively supply us.”

Operating out of a U.S. training center in the outskirts of Paris, Knutson’s team feeds American athletes and support staffers on-site and prepares food boxes. Eating immediately after a competition, rather than waiting to get back to the village, is particularly important for athletes who have only short recovery periods, he said.

And when their events are all finished? “It’s game on,” he said. “That’s when the pains au chocolat really come out.”

Les Carpenter contributed to this report.