What it’s like to eat in the Olympic Village

When you think of the Olympics, food isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. Yet it plays a huge role in the games, as all of those top athletes need to be well-fed to compete at the highest level. So what is it like to eat in the Olympic Village? Former Olympican Michael Phelps talks to Food & Wine and provides insight into the food the athletes eat. 

As you might expect, the competitors eat a huge quantity of food. When Phelps was at the height of his swimming career, he ate between four and five times the amount of calories as an average person. He said that it was a struggle for him to maintain his weight, and he would eat an entire pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream every night. 

During the Olympics, all of the athletes are looking for plenty of calories as well. They can find almost anything they want in the Olympic cafeteria, which according to Phelps is several hundred metres long. In games past, there was always a fast food presence at the cafeteria, but not this year. That will make finding the customary celebratory cheeseburger (like the  Classic diner-style smashed cheeseburgers from The Food Lab, pictured above) that much harder. Find out what else Olympians like to eat at the Food & Wine website.