More than 500 recipes have been created by several chefs, including Frenchman with three Michelin stars Alexandre Mazzia, to feed the 15,000 athletes in the Paris 2024 Olympic village, the company Sodexo Live! announced on Tuesday.
The athletes’ village restaurant will have 3,500 seats and will be open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. On a daily basis, nearly 1,000 employees will be mobilized to provide nearly 40,000 services each day.
Among the more than 500 recipes, 120 daily specials will be offered, a third of which are entirely vegetarian.
“We will have a French part, an Asian part, a world cuisine part and an African and Caribbean part,” Nathalie Bellon-Szabo, global general manager of Sodexo Live!, explained to Reuters.
“We try to have a diversity of recipes so that these 15,000 athletes feel like they are at home.”
For this, the French company called on several chefs including Alexandre Mazzia, starred chef Akrame Benallal and Amandine Chaignot.
“It’s a pride to be able to welcome the whole world, to represent France, to represent know-how, to highlight our heritage,” Alexandre Mazzia, whose restaurant in Marseille obtained three stars at the Michelin guide in 2021.
“It is an incredible source of pride to show that we are capable of satisfying all the nutritional and energy needs of athletes around the world with a unique, different culinary style.”
In addition to the athletes’ village, Sodexo Live! will provide catering at 14 Olympic Games competition venues and 8 Paralympic Games venues. The Paris 2024 partner will also prepare 6,000 meals per day for village staff.
Concerning the offer proposed to the general public, 60% of the dishes will be vegetarian.
With the objective announced by Paris 2024 of halving its carbon footprint compared to the previous Games, 80% of products will come from France, including 25% less than 250 km from the catering location.
(Report by Antony Paone and Lucien Libert, written by Vincent Daheron, edited by Kate Entringer)