Stepping onto French soil

Reflections from the Paris Olympic Games

July~ I’ve been feeling quite nostalgic lately. Normally I wouldn’t bat an eyelash to this cold month, but July 2024 - that was special. It’s forever etched into my memory.

Twelve months ago, all eyes were on Paris as it was getting ready to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games. I was incredibly lucky and privileged to travel with the Australian Shooting Team to the pinnacle sporting event.

Want to read about my experience? Grab a flaky croissant, and join me as I walk down memory lane in this multi-part Reflections from Paris series!

I can still taste this super light French croissant that I bought from the Saturday market for €1!

Most people think that being a sports dietitian is all about giving nutrition advice on what to eat for training and competition. Oh, and how to not end up dehydrated. But a portion of my role is also dedicated to food service - I really enjoy this part!

Sometimes it’s enquiring about food availability or menu items at hotels - behind the scenes work communicating with hotel staff. Other times I organise catering, so a bit of back and forth communicating with caterers to adapt menu items for my athlete’s preferences. It’s not just allergies and intolerances I have to consider, but also what foods they like and dislike, and having familiar meals during competition. After all, familiar foods help with performance. And on a rare occasion, I may do the shopping and cooking myself.

Here’s the back story…

• Shooting events were held in Châteauroux, not in Paris. Geographically, Châteauroux is 270km south of Paris, a 3.5-4 hour drive or 2.5 hours by train.

• The accommodation that the athletes, coaches and most of the staff stayed at - La Chapelle - only provided breakfast (catered by a chef named Robert). So I was in charge of sorting lunches and dinners. With assistance from the Australian Olympic Committee, we acquired a chef - Filippo - to help cater those meals.

• The fun part - I created a 3-week rotating menu for Filippo so he could cook based of that.

My home for 3 weeks! Châteauroux was my first step onto European soil. Cobblestone streets, old buildings and houses - it really has that historic feel.

A day in my life at the Olympic Games

5.30-6am: Up at sunrise for a daily baguette run from a nearby bakery. Can you smell the freshness? We made fresh sandwiches for lunches on the Shooting range. The Caprese sandwich spread like wild fire. It started with one request…before others caught on and asked for it too.

On high heat days (>30°C and ~70% humidity) I made Powerade Slushies for the team as a pre-cooling strategy before they stepped into the hot conditions to compete. No such thing as aircon in the athlete area on the Shooting range!

Green and Gold from head to toe! A snapshot of the Team Australia’s apparel. My favourite is #3 - tights and long coat is totally my style! Which one is your favourite?

9am - 3.30pm (4.30pm some days) was spent on the range. Apart from watching our athletes compete across rifle, shotgun and pistol events, I also met some VIPs in the world of Shooting; and observed athletes from other countries go about their routine

During the day while I was on the range, Chef Filippo would either be grocery shopping or preparing ingredients for dinner - all done out of our AirBnB domestic kitchen. You had no idea how many times the smoke alarm went off!

Around 4pm, I’d return back to the AirBnB for some down time before dinner service. I either wandered into town to explore and have some local food; or I would stay at the AirBnB to rest and talk through some things with Filippo.

5.45-6pm: Head to La Chapelle, set up the tables and decorations for dinner service. Filippo would arrive around 6.15pm with the food and together we’d transfer everything onto platters and bowls. I labelled all the food.

6.30-7.30pm - Eating and watching events on the TV. Some days I ate with the team, only after ensuring everyone had their food first. When they were done, I’d pack up the leftovers, pack down the set up and take the serving equipment back to the AirBnB for cleaning.

Some evenings Filippo and I wandered into town for dinner after dinner service was over. I got used to eating late. Escargot, prawns, salmon and mussels - seafood craving satisfied!

Daily evening walks. The sunset behind the buildings was mesmerising. It didn’t get dark until about 9.30pm but the humidity was still there.

10.30-11pm: Bed time!

Despite the long 13-14 hour days for 3 weeks, I honestly had a lot of fun. The hard part was adjusting back to reality post-Olympic Games. But at the same time, I was so ready for my actual holiday.

Robert (breakfast chef), myself and Filippo. Robert runs a exclusive private dining & catering service in Berlin. I think if the 3 of us ever got in the kitchen together, we’d cook up some pretty delicious food!

And that’s just a taste of what a typical day in Châteauroux looked like. But trust me, there’s so much more to share: the menu planning stage, what it’s like working with a chef, and the little moments that made this experience unforgettable.

So, if you’re curious for more behind-the-scenes stories, stick around for the next part of this Reflections from Paris series. I’ll be taking a deeper dive into some of those things!

Until next time, à bientôt!