Taiwanese athletes in Paris can get a taste of home with the “Cuisine Apartment”, which prepares special food each day for the Taiwan delegation.
Video script:
Athletes need a full stomach before they can compete in the Olympics– but traveling doesn’t always agree. That’s why the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee (CTOC) and Taiwan's Han Dian food company set up a special “Cuisine Apartment” in Paris, where they serve all the athletes’ favorite home-cooking, from beef noodles to steamed dumplings.
To achieve this, the Taiwanese delegation rented a Parisian apartment and coordinated with a team of chefs to customize and deliver healthy, nutritious meals. All the meals are made with Taiwanese ingredients, and the menu is changed on a daily basis to meet the athletes’ needs.
The day before the Olympics began, for example, the menu served soup dumplings, ham fried rice, a beef rice or noodle bowl, and a pork rice bowl. The chefs get the menu each morning and prepare it to send for lunch or dinner.
The first patrons to the apartment were the women's archery team, who stopped by for a special dinner, including braised pork ribs, stewed chicken with tomato, roasted pork with ginger, chicken soup with pork ribs, and rice. Lei Chien-ying (雷千瑩) says the familiar taste also helps them to feel at-home and regain their strength faster.
Of course, in addition to making sure all meals served are healthy, the chefs carefully screen the food for any banned substances, and food products such as cloves or lotus seeds, which could cause trouble in a drug test.
Thanks to their hard efforts, Taiwan’s olympic team is competing on full stomachs and full hearts.
Amanda Stephens for RTI News