Olympic athletes give their diets as much attention as the rest of their training, but even Olympians need to splurge now and then.
For some top U.S. athletes, their “cheat foods” are pizza, ice cream and even “sleeves of Oreos.” [Watch the video to see who said that]
But during their stay at the athletes’ village in Rio de Janeiro, athletes will have more traditional and healthy options served in a dining room as big as two American football fields.
Athletes will be able to choose from five different buffets: Brazilian, Asian, international, pasta and pizza, and halal and kosher, depending on preferences and dietary needs.
Korean athletes will have a taste of home with kimchi — the nation’s famous fermented cabbage, scallions and assorted veggies — shipped in.
In the Brazilian buffet, in addition to staples like rice, black beans, farofa (flour from toasted cassava often sprinkled on top of food) and meat, the hall will feature regional specialties and 40 varieties of the country’s fruits, such as caju (cashew apple), açai, carambola (starfruit), caqui (Japanese persimmon), goiaba (guava) and maracuja (passion fruit).
The kitchen has ordered 4 million biodegradable plates to serve up to 60,000 meals per day for athletes participating in the August 5–21 Olympic Games.
The September 7–18 Paralympic Games will offer the same variety of food.
In addition to the communal dining hall, athletes will have the option to eat at training areas set up by their national teams.
“We are confident our Brazilian food is going to be a success,” says Marcello Cordeiro, Rio’s director of food and beverages. “We are doing our best to bring the world to Brazil.”
This article draws on reports from the Associated Press.
