Meet the chefs behind the world’s greatest restaurant

At the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, more than 200 chefs will be tasked with preparing more than 13 million meals. Here’s what the athletes will be looking forward to.

Feeding 15,000 international athletes from 208 territories and nations is a mammoth task, with 200 chefs preparing more than 40,000 meals each day, both in the Olympic Village restaurant and at 14 competition venues across the city. Over the two 15-day Olympic and Paralympic Games, more than 13 million meals will be served – the equivalent of the amount of food provided at 10 FIFA World Cups.

The Cité du Cinéma in Saint-Denis, a suburb of Paris, will be the venue for this culinary feat. Athletes will have access to six large spaces dedicated to French, Asian, Afro-Caribbean and world cuisine, with 500 different recipes to satisfy a wide variety of tastes. The menus have been developed in collaboration with the former French sailor and bronze medalist Helen Defrance (now a nutritionist), who focused her expertise on creating a “pleasant and nourishing overall offering that would satisfy any type of diner,” she said. She paid particular attention to the quality and transparency of ingredients, but also to the flavors and aesthetic appeal of recipes.

A strict one quality chart The concept of “food food” was also implemented during the Paris Olympics. It was developed over four years of work with the aim of halving the carbon footprint of meals produced during the Games, compared to London 2012. Thus, a quarter of the ingredients will come from a 250 km radius around Paris, and 20% will be certified organic. Meat, milk and eggs will come from France, and a third of the food will be plant-based. Two hundred water, juice and soda fountains have been installed in the Olympic Village, and only reusable cups and tableware will be offered.

“Our commitments to social and environmental progress will enable us to help Paris 2024 meet the important challenge of delivering the most sustainable Games,” said Nathalie Bellon-Szabo, Global CEO of Sodexo Live!, official partner of the Olympic Village.

With all eyes on Paris, the French terroir is in the spotlight. In addition to offering a variety of international menus, Sodexo Live! has called upon Michelin-starred chefs Amandine Chaignot, Alexandre Mazzia And Akram Benallaleach of them having developed a signature dish combining the best of French tradition and local ingredients while taking into account the nutritional needs of the world’s best athletes.

“I believe that French gastronomy has an important health aspect,” Defrance said, noting that in France, the love of good food is found everywhere, from the village bakery to the gourmet restaurant to the “quality takeaway.” “The whole culinary approach of French chefs will be infused, in small touches, into the overall offering. And the athletes will be able to benefit from it.”

To deliver on this promise, the chefs will also benefit from the assistance of Charles Guilloy, Executive Chef of the Olympic and Paralympic Village – the “Chef of Chefs” – throughout the Games.

“We’re going to be a little bit like athletes,” Guilloy said of his job. “It’s kind of my way of participating in the Olympics.”

Meet the chefs behind the world’s greatest restaurant.

For months, the chief Charles Guilloy and his team have worked hard to develop meals that will satisfy and fuel athletes. “A meal of more than 100 kg judoka “He’s not going to eat the same way a 100-pound gymnast would eat,” he said, noting that he and his team also considered other factors, like cultural norms, when developing the recipes.

For Guilloy, the Games’ sustainable initiatives were not restrictive, but inspiring. “Working with fresh, French, seasonal, local, labeled, certified products… for a chef, it’s the best,” he said.

His signature dish takes full advantage of local green lentils from Yvelines, just outside Paris. Lentils have won A lot of attention Lentils have become very popular in nutrition circles lately, due to their sustainability and high-quality protein content. “What I love about lentils is that they never go out of style,” he said.

In Guilloy’s expert hands, the legume is transformed into lentil dal and is combined with cream turn awaya fermented Icelandic yogurt-like cheese that’s rich not only in protein but also in gut-healthy probiotics. Dal is seasoned with bright lime and fresh coriander and topped with a crispy corn crust tile (a French-style baked waffle), for a dish that promises to be as delicious as it is nutritious.

A name known to all since her appearance as a judge during the 2013/2014 season of MasterChef France, Chef Amandine Chaignot worked with some of France’s greatest chefs, from Alain Ducasse to Éric Frechon, before opening his own Parisian restaurant Filly in 2019.

The mindset she upholds at Pouliche, dominated by her values ​​of “warmth, happiness, (and) buttery cooking,” will be adapted to the needs of athletes thanks to her great technical acuity. For her signature dish, she chose to highlight roasted French poultry, not just because it is, as she says, “an athlete’s meat.” par excellence,“but for its “reassuring” familiarity which makes it likely to appeal to a large number of athletes around the world.

“I wanted to create something that would speak to these athletes, who are young and not necessarily foodies,” she explains. “I wanted to create recipes that were fairly accessible.”

It will accompany the poultry with a rich langoustine bisque, a sauce that takes full advantage of the French terroir and technique. By reducing the broth considerably, the sauce will become ultra-rich without relying too much on butter or cream.

“It’s this langoustine bisque that will bring France back,” she said. “This generous quality, this power of flavor.”

Alexandre Mazzia already knows the challenges of nutrition for athletes: after all, before winning three Michelin stars in his restaurant AM In Marseille, Mazzia was a professional basketball player. And while he would love to watch the games, between carrying the Olympic torch through Marseille, keeping his restaurant open Tuesday through Saturday as usual, and spending Sundays and Mondays in the Olympic Village feeding athletes from around the world, he will probably have his hands full.

“If I have the chance (to see the basketball final), it will be with pleasure,” he said. “But I am here above all for the athletes.”

His signature dish is built around the same plant- and seafood-centric philosophy he espouses at AM. Chickpeas, a staple of southern French cuisine, will be whipped into a creamy pomade with verbena. Served with beets, peas, and a smoky seafood broth made with haddock and coalfish, the dish marries the ingredients he loves and the elegance he’s become known for with a healthy dose of creativity.

“There are preconceived ideas about French cuisine,” he said. “We think we’re going to eat a pie (pastry-coated pâté) or a rich sauce or fried potatoes.” But while there’s no denying these elements of culinary heritage, for Mazzia, it’s essential to rise to the challenge.

“French culinary know-how is also hospitality,” he said. “When we welcome athletes, it is at the service of the athletes.”

From his Manila steakhouse to his Silk Road-inspired restaurant Shirvan a few steps from the Eiffel Tower, Chef Akram Benallal, Born in France but raised in Algeria, the Michelin-starred chef has long been fascinated by international flavors and approaches. And when it comes to the Olympics, he combines his international palate with the palette of ingredients and techniques at his disposal.

“What I always say about French cuisine is that it’s the most diverse in the world in terms of techniques,” he said. “You can find Italian techniques in a French dish. You can find Japanese techniques in a French dish. And that’s very interesting, because in the end, it makes things so much easier.”

One of Benallal’s signature projects was Atelier Vivanda, which allowed him to focus on premium beef, pairing it with the best French potato recipes. But this summer, he’ll be forgoing steak and fries. Not only is frying banned in the Olympic Village, but Benallal has chosen to leverage a more sustainable plant-based protein to craft his signature recipe. Quinoa sourced from Orléans, less than 150km from Paris, will be transformed into a risotto-style dish enriched with parmesan and smoked fermented yoghurt to add even more protein and richness.

“For many, this is their first time in France,” he said. “We want to show them what we can do.”

BBC.com World table “breaks the kitchen ceiling” by changing the way the world views food, through the past, present and future.