Vaulerand Farm set to feed the world's greatest athletes at Paris 2024
With less than 90 days to go until the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games, Olympics.com visited the Vaulerand Farm with Paris 2024 president Tony Estanguet, double Olympic fencing gold medallist and former sports minister Laura Flessel-Colovic, and Groupe Carrefour CEO Alexandre Bompard.
Paris 2024 and Carrefour are partnering with French farmers to feed over 10,000 athletes for the Olympic Games. Among them is potato farmer Lionel Plasmas, owner of the 1,200-acre Vaulerand Farm (Ferme de Vaulerand) which is located just a couple of miles away from the Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport.
“It is a once in a lifetime opportunity for us to be part of the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics”, said Plasmas.
“The potatoes that will be served during the competition are growing in this field behind us. We are about to plant them. About 18 tons-worth of potatoes are to be grown for the Olympics.”
But what does it take to serve an estimated 40,000 meals every day?
Tony Estanguet: "French cuisine will be under the spotlight at the Olympic Games"
For international athletes, the quality of the food they consume is as important as sleep and mental health, especially during an Olympic Games.
As Paris 2024 premium partner, Carrefour is ready to take on the catering challenge and deliver about 600 tonnes of food to the Olympic Village.
“The catering challenge is huge," Tony Estanguet said when visiting Vaulerand Farm. "We will serve 13 million meals during the Paris 2024 Olympics, which is about 15,000 athletes to be fed every day."
As well as quantity, the extra challenge will be to ensure French cuisine served during the Games lives up to their reputation.
“French cuisine will be under the spotlight at the Olympics. Food is a whole part of the French art-de-vivre”, Estanguet added.
Not only does Paris 2024 aims to serve high quality food, it also seeks to promote French farmers by serving 80 per cent local produce, as well as sticking to a restricted travel perimeter around Paris to reduce its carbon footprint.
“We are proud that 15,000 athletes from more than 200 countries will eat French, local food." Estanguet said. "It is very important to us”.
Laura Flessel-Colovic: "Athletes need to feel like they are in a cocoon"
Laura Flessel-Colovic paid close attention to what the farmers said about the specifics of farming vegetables and herbs, including leeks, thyme, coriander, that will be served at the Olympic Village during Paris 2024.
Flessel-Colovic competed at five Olympic Games with the French fencing team and knows how important the Olympic Village canteen is.
“Athletes need to feel like they are in a cocoon, a bubble in which they can revitalise and perform. Amateur and professional athletes as well as random people blend in the Olympic Village. They all want a neutral place to hang out and this is what the canteen is about.”
A bronze medallist at Sydney 2000, Laura Flessel-Colovic recalls a favourite moment from when she was having lunch at the canteen during her time at the Olympic Games in Australia.
“There was Roger Federer, having lunch on his own, the Williams sisters and Gustavo Kuerten who was hanging around wearing his Brazil football shirt, with the four stars above the crest.
"We had a chat, I told him I was from France and that I saw him play at the French Open. Then, he showed me the four stars. So, I reminded him that we beat them 3-0,” she said, in reference to the FIFA World Cup final 1998 when France famously beat Brazil.
“We stayed there talking for 15, 20 minutes, though we did not know each other. That’s what sport and the Village are about. And it all happened in the canteen.”
The two-time Olympic gold medallist insisted that food is not just about performance but also about pleasure.
“Food at the Olympic village is also there to create nice cultural memories that counterbalance the pressure of performance.”
Facts and figures on food at the Olympic and Paralympic village
- 15,000 athletes
- Up to 40,000 meals per day
- Over 600 tonnes of food delivered by Carrefour
- 80 per cent grown in France
- 30 per cent organic
- 100 per cent of the French territory represented