Publication date and time: July 30, 2024 20:15
Sarah Kim kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr
Chefs and nutritionists prepare lunches for the Korean table tennis and gymnastics teams at Team Korea Paris Platform in Fontainebleau, France, on July 21 during pre-Olympic training. [NEWS1]
During the ongoing Summer Olympics in Paris, reports of hungry athletes not being satisfied by the meat-free meals provided to them in the Olympic Village have been making headlines around the world.
But food won’t be an issue for South Korean athletes competing in the 2024 Summer Olympics, as their culinary and nutritional needs will be perfectly catered for by a team of 15 Korean chefs who have been deployed to France for the duration of the Games.
Even before Friday’s opening ceremony, complaints by British athletes about shortages of eggs, chicken and meat have become an international topic of conversation, drawing attention to the pitfalls of Paris’ attempts to reduce the carbon footprint of Olympic food.
Andy Anson, chief executive of the British Olympic Association, told The Times last Thursday that food in the Olympic Village was “inadequate” and needed “dramatic improvement”.
As well as a lack of protein and “certain carbohydrates”, the report also raised concerns about the “quality of the food” provided to players, including raw meat.
Korean chefs prepare healthy lunch boxes for athletes in the Olympic Village at the Food Service Center set up inside the Team Korea Paris Platform in Fontainebleau, France, in July. [YONHAP]
Unlike other countries who are belatedly rushing to hire their own chefs and caterers amid the food shortage catastrophe, the Korea Sports and Olympic Committee (KSOC) had already ensured that its athletes were well-fed, thanks to the food service centre of the Korea Team Paris Platform at the French National Centre for Sports of the Defence in Fontainebleau.
KSOC set up a Korean camp on the outskirts of Paris to support the athletes, with training facilities, a canteen and a medical and treatment center.
The Korean Olympic Committee has been delivering Korean-style bento boxes to the Olympic Village in Paris since July 21, one week before the opening ceremony.
A banner in the Korean team’s cafeteria reads, “Taegeuk Warriors who eat well carry the hopes of the Republic of Korea.”
The catering team’s first dosirak (packaged meals) featured familiar, hearty dishes like fried egg, stir-fried anchovies, spicy stir-fried pork, braised black beans, and broccoli. These banchan (rice and side dishes) were served on metal trays with removable lids that snap shut to create spill-proof, reusable containers.
The lunches were sent for the South Korean gymnastics and table tennis teams, who arrived at the Olympic Village before the other athletes.
The meals will be prepared by a team of culinary experts and nutritionists who have flown in from the Jincheon National Training Center in North Chungcheong Province, South Korea, to Fontainebleau’s temporary kitchens to provide delicious and healthy dishes.
Korean chefs and nutritionists prepare lunch boxes for the national table tennis and gymnastics teams at the Team Korea Paris Platform in Fontainebleau, France, on July 21 during pre-Olympic training for the Paris Olympics. [NEWS1]
Korean chefs and nutritionists arrange side dishes into lunch boxes at the Team Korea Paris Platform in Fontainebleau, France, on July 21. [NEWS1]
During the Olympics, the feeding center will provide 4,000 meals to athletes, including boxed lunches as well as convenient, nutritious snacks tailored to the needs of each sport.
The culinary team sourced meat, vegetables and fruit from France, and also airlifted 1.5 tonnes of rice and grains, 500ml of kimchi and other condiments from South Korea.
A KSOC official described the culinary team as “elite members” and “veteran chefs at the Athletes’ Village cafeteria” in Jincheon.
South Korean fencers have responded positively to the catered meals so far. “When I arrived at the pre-tournament training camp, it literally felt like we had transported Jincheon to Paris,” veteran South Korean fencer Koo Bon-gil of the men’s sabre team told reporters.
“When I competed in Europe before, I struggled with food,” South Korean freestyle swimming star Hwang Seong-woo said, “but the Korean food here is delicious, so I had no problem adjusting.”
The Korean team’s players’ lounge in their temporary home in the Olympic Village is stocked with sweets, and is said to be the envy of other athletes.
On July 23, the Korean team’s players’ lounge at the Paris Olympic Village in Saint-Denis, France, is filled with ramen and other snacks and instant foods.
A view of the Korean athletes’ lounge terrace in the Olympic Village in Saint-Denis, France. [NEWS1]
These outlets act as convenience stores selling a variety of Korean instant foods such as ramen, kimchi, canned tuna, and microwaveable rice and side dishes. The Korea Food Safety Commission flies in food from local Korean supermarkets.
One of the five lounges has a terrace overlooking the Seine, making it a popular photo spot where athletes can relax and have snacks.
South Korean players say other teams are particularly enthralled by the spiciness of Samyang’s Buldak ramen, which contrasts with bland cafeteria fare.
A photo provided by the Korean Sports Association shows take-out bento boxes filled with rice balls, side dishes and fruit that will be provided to South Korean athletes at the Paris Olympics. [YONHAP]
Concerns about food quality and quantity have been raised after the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games organisers announced plans to drastically reduce the proportion of meat in the diet and double the amount of plant-based foods.
This is part of an effort to reduce the carbon footprint of the approximately 13 million meals that will be served to athletes, volunteers and spectators during the Olympics, and as such, some of the meals served in the Olympic Village will be 100% vegetarian.
However, it is not uncommon for Korean teams to bring their own catering to international sporting events.
For the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics, the Korean Olympic Committee also plans to set up a food service center in a hotel on the outskirts of Tokyo to provide boxed lunches to Korean athletes in the athletes’ village.
This comes amid concerns that produce from Fukushima, site of the nuclear power plant meltdown caused by the March 2011 tsunami and earthquake, would be offered.
At the time, Tokyo balked at Seoul’s decision to drop the food program, but the Korean Olympic Committee has followed a similar practice in past Olympics, including the 2012 London Games, to accommodate athletes’ requests to eat Korean food.
After all, Koreans often say that the food they eat gives them energy, and if they suspect they can’t find local cuisine abroad, they’re notorious for traveling with comforting Korean instant foods.
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach toured the Athletes’ Village ahead of the Paris Summer Olympics on July 22 and sampled food from the salad bar. [AP/YONHAP]
Paris now faces the immediate challenge of preventing potential culinary disasters and providing proper meals for some 15,000 international athletes from 208 regions and countries during the Olympics.
As dissatisfaction grows over the meals served to international athletes in Paris, one of the world’s leading gourmet capitals, other countries are following the South Korean team’s example and rushing to prepare alternatives.
So was Germany, with a member of the country’s men’s ice hockey team saying in an interview with German news agency dpa on Sunday that the food at the Olympics was “terrible.”
Meanwhile, Great Britain has decided to hire an extra chef to prepare meals for the players.
Sarah Kim [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]
