Certainly, American athletes will not remain hungry in Tokyo if they go to their base in an area called Setagaya. Americans who don’t want to take advantage of the opportunities the Olympic Village offers can live well here.
| Americans make a lot of food in Tokyo. (Photo: AFP) |
Brian Knutson has a lot of responsibility and work to do, as he’s the number one person in charge of feeding the US Olympic and Paralympic team, and he’s the one who ensures runners get their favorite food. Connecting to local nutritionists and producers, he prepared the grounds in the Chitagaya district of Tokyo, where one of the American centers is located.
This place is of great importance since there are very strict rules for the participants in the Olympiad, and they were dictated precisely when and where they could go. Part of this precision also covers what to do when you don’t want to eat the food that the Olympic Village offers. An article on eu.usatoday.com suggests that US competitors often take advantage of the opportunity presented by their position.
Knutson and his team calculated that they would have to serve about 7,000 servings of food to passengers and attendees in the US in 27 days.
We eat lunch and dinner every day while we are here – Tell Knutson. “The team mainly eats lean meat, chicken breast, fish, plant foods, and of course a lot of pasta and meatballs.”
The team shipped more than 32 tons of food from the US Olympic and Paralympic headquarters in Colorado Springs to Tokyo, including products from sponsors such as Coca-Cola.
But this was not enough. The Knutsons also contacted a Japanese chef and Japanese producers who also added their own products. Various protein foods were also ordered, 160 lbs of salmon. They bring separate cutlery, and they also take care of things like gas stove and refrigerator parts that are donated to locals after the Olympics.
The goal, Knutson added, is to provide the food the jockeys used to eat in Colorado Springs, wherever possible, and savor a bit of Japanese flavors, too.
Due to the viral situation, takeaway will be served in a buffet system, but it will be possible to order it wrapped.
National Sports reports on the venue: Erica Smith, Nedelikoff Tamas Andras Zucks (text), Stephen Mirko, Heidi Tombach (photo)
