What's On The Menu At The Winter Olympics

Athletes are posting their impressions of the food they're being served

Happy Middle of February and a Belated Happy Valentine’s Day! And, Happy Deep Gras to everyone in New Orleans.

We’re just beginning to see our snow melt in Michigan, and we’ve been promised slightly warmer weather this week. I wish I could take a blow torch to the gritty looking snow piles that line our curbs and sidewalks.

One cool distraction has been the Winter Olympics, and as happens with every games, people always wonder about the logistics of housing and feeding all those athletes. This year, we have more insight than ever.

Behind The Scenes In The Olympic Canteens

This year, the Winter Olympics are taking place in four different locations across Italy: Milan, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Valtellina, and Val di Fiemme. If you watched the opening ceremony, you might have noticed the camera switching between the sites.

There are 2,900 athletes taking part in 16 different disciplines from figure skating and hockey to snowboarding and curling.

That means an enormous challenge for the organizers in taking care of everyone’s hospitality needs. Unlike a traditional Olympics, there are three separate Olympic villages, and 16 supporting hotels.

Food is available 24 hours a day. Each day, up to 4,500 meals are prepared in the Milano Olympic Village, nearly 4,000 in the Cortina Olympic Village, and around 2,300 in the Predazzo Village.

Some of those athletes are posting their impressions of the food that’s been offered.

Reviews from the canteen

Danish athlete Viktor Thorup offered this video tour, pointing out the different stations. He noted that there’s some effort to offer some international foods, but that the emphasis is on Italian specialties.

There are 10 different yogurts, multiple types of cheese, a number of cold offerings, and a variety of beverages, including products from Coca-Cola, a sponsor of the games. There are coffee stations inside and outside, allowing the athletes to grab an espresso without going inside.

There are usually eight different stations offering cooked foods, says Viktor, who has been to three Olympics. His favorite by far is the foccacia bread, which is next to the pizza station.

Matt Smith, the first-ever cross country skier from South Africa, gave his Instagram followers a look at the pizza on his Instagram. He complimented Martino, the pizza maker, and the kitchen team.

Matt tried out a bacon and mushroom slice which he described as crispy and cheesy, and gave it 9.5 out of 10. The staff reciprocated by baking him a pie decorated like the South African flag.

Chocolate Lava cake sees a revival

During the Paris Olympics in 2024, a number of athletes raved about a chocolate doughnut, studded with chocolate chips, that quickly went viral. I tried one from a local bakery, and it was a delicious treat.

This time, the most popular dessert seems to be the chocolate lava cake, which marks a revival for a dish that was invented around 1980.

Several chefs claim credit for coming up with the idea, which is essentially a cupcake sized chocolate cake with a gooey center. The center collapses when the cake is cut open, creating the lava effect.

“I’m going to give this a 9.1 out of 10,” declared Canadian hockey player Natalie Spooner. “This is what I’ve been waiting for. It’s gooey, it’s chocolatey, the middle is delicious.”

It’s interesting that a ubiquitous cake might be in the spotlight, since you can find it for sale in many places, including Trader Joe’s.

But it might be the combination of Italian chocolate as well as the cold temperatures that make a warm dessert seem luxurious.

Regular reports

On her Instagram, Natalie calls herself the “chocolate monster” and specializes in reviewing desserts on her Instagram feed. Her reports also looked at chocolate cake, pudding, a chocolate souffle and an apple tart.

Ben Richardson, a member of the U.S. Men’s curling team, also has been posting daily food reviews to his Instagram Reels. He tried the pizza, declared it “quite good” and gave it a solid 8 out of 10.

Another notable food name at the Games is Stanley Tucci, who is there as a special correspondent for NBC Sports. He and a veteran Olympics colleague, Snoop Dogg, shared cocktails and conversation - Stanley a martini, Snoop gin and juice — in one Instagram post.

“I never even dreamed of being at the Olympics,” Snopp told Stanley. “The Olympics were something on television.”

Said Stanley, “Now that I’m here, it’s amazing.”

Taking care of their own

While the canteens have focused on Italian specialties, the food hasn’t always sat well with every Olympic team. According to the Chosun Daily, some Korean athletes complained about a lack of the food they were used to eating.

Luckily, the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee is operating a meal support center for the Korean team during the Milan games. It is providing lunchboxes with white rice, stir-fried pork, beef bulgogi, and radish kimchi.

During the Lunar New Year holiday, which begins Tuesday, they plan to offer holiday foods such as ox bone soup and jeon (Korean pancakes).

The Japanese athletes, meanwhile, can eat at Japan House. It has a chef from a Michelin starred restaurant, sushi and ramen stations, and a buffet serving other Japanese cuisine. The Japanese Olympic Committee shipped over six tons of ingredients before the games started.

It is also where Japan holds its press conference when an athlete wins a medal, turning it into an attractive PR tool.

Dining Ideas For Bridgerton Fans

Bridgerton is back on Netflix for its fourth season. As with a sister show, Emily in Paris, brands have jumped on the Bridgerton bandwagon with all kinds of food collaborations. Among them:

Williams-Sonoma offers a variety of Bridgerton items, from a teapot, to toile macarons, a calendar, scone mixes, vanilla Earl Grey tea, orange blossom champagne cocktail mix, and more. You can buy a gift crate filled with Bridgerton items for $99.95.

The Republic of Tea, which has partnered with shows including Downton Abbey, is selling a tea latte set that includes tea and edible flower blooms. There is Bridgerton honey, passionfruit curd and an assortment of tea bags.

Betty Crocker has joined the party with a Bridgerton Cream Puff baking kit as well as a petite strawberry scone kit, and a sponge cake baking it.

Last but not least, there is The Official Bridgerton Cookbook and a guide to entertaining. There’s still time to whip up these recipes if you haven’t already binged the season.

A Philly Bar Sets A Higher Minimum Age

All over the U.S., it’s common to see signs posted in bars and restaurants saying that you must be 21 to drink there. But a bar in Philadelphia has raised the minimum age for its patrons.

Dirty Franks, one of the city’s beloved dive bars, set a new minimum age at 25, according to KYW News. It wants to combat underage drinking and disruptive behavior.

Bar owner Jody Sweitzer said she set the new house rule after a group of underage patrons with fake IDs caused commotion in the bar. She said they brought their own booze, were vaping and were being obnoxious.

“It just kind of made us understand that there’s something wrong,” she told the station.

For now, the rule is relatively rare, but another spot in San Antonio has done so, and bars always have the option to evict patrons who cause disruptions.

Robot Delivery Gets A Mixed Reaction in Chicago

In the past few years, food delivery robotic vehicles have become more common across the country. Ann Arbor briefly tried them, but the idea did not last for long.

Now, Chicago has two companies that are using food delivery robots, and there has been some pushback, as WGN-TV reports.

The robots, which travel up to 5 mph on sidewalks, eliminate the need for bicycle or car delivery. But the robots can get stuck, and might get in the way of pedestrians.

Keeping Up With CulinaryWoman

Last week, Food & Wine published a story that I worked on for a while. How effective are social justice movements when it comes to the restaurant and grocery industry?

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But, customers also can find reasons to privately ignore boycotts, especially if they affect businesses where they regularly dine and shop.

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Have a great week, and see you next Sunday.