The most leftfield food moments from the 2024 Paris Olympics
Starting with THAT chocolate muffin.
Being hosted in Paris – one of the food capitals of the world with France a leader in gastronomy – it’s no surprise that food was an important aspect of the 2024 games.
(Fun fact: 13 million meals were eaten in total!)
So, we’ve compiled a list of our favourite left-field food moments from this year’s Olympic games.
1. THAT chocolate muffin
Gooey, fudgy and dense, this showstopping muffin was the talk of the Olympic Village food hall. The muffin was made famous by Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen, who’s now more famous for eating copious amounts of muffins than he is for his swimming abilities.
While we can’t get the exact ones here in Australia, you can try making our version at home.
2. The maple syrup shot
Sure we’ve all heard of glucose shots for enhancing athletic performance, but what about… maple syrup shots?! Some members of Team Canada have been seen swigging maple syrup just before they go for gold. There’s nothing more Canadian than that, eh?
3. The surprising Aussie snack
When you think of Olympic athlete snacks you probably think of fruits, nuts, veggies or anything high-protein. Well, you’d be wrong. In surprising news, Aussie athletes have been fuelled by everyone’s favourite Saturday footy snack: Four’N’Twenty meat pies. No wonder this was our best Olympics to date.
4. Martha Stewart gets Snoop Dogg to try French delicacies
An unlikely but iconic duo, Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg were seen at all kinds of Olympic events together which also included squeezing in some time to try French fine dining.
Martha took Snoop to a 3-star Michelin restaurant to try steak tartare, and France’s most controversial delicacy… escargot. “Oh hell no, uh uh,” says Snoop, as he’s faced with what he was hoping was just all-American chicken wings. Martha simply but sternly responds with: “Just put it in your mouth.”
Every picky eater needs their fantastic foodie friend.
5. Olympians fuelled by cheese, cheese and more cheese
‘When in Rome’, as they say! Or Paris. It wouldn’t be a French event without cheese. That’s why there was a whole cheese section in the Olympic Village food hall. From Brie to Roquefort, the Olympians could chow down on any cheese they desired (protein, I guess).
Special shoutout to the DEEP-FRIED camembert that we saw Rubgy 7s player Ilona Maher eating: “Yes, I’m an Olympian but I still like cheese.”
They’re just like us.
6. Post-medal winning feeds
I think we can all agree that if you win an Olympic medal, you should be entitled to any food you desire, even if the restaurant is closed. When pole vaulter Sam Kendricks was craving Popeyes fried chicken after his silver medal win, he was disappointed to find that the restaurants were closed for the evening. But, after a few calls were made, Sam was chowing down on a well-deserved Popeyes feast.
7. Athletes relaxed by… making baguettes
Sure, some athletes may have chosen to sleep, hop in an ice bath or do some stretches to wind down after a long day of competing, but why would you do that when you could make baguettes?
The Olympic Village’s on-site bakery hosted baguette-making workshops where the athletes could learn how to shape, score, bake and enjoy the greatest gift France has given the world.
I wonder what food moments Los Angeles 2028 is going to give us. Hopefully, they involve Snoop and Martha.
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