Tokyo Olympics: athletes’ village has 700 menu options with ramen, Wagyu beef and tempura

The athletes village opened on Tuesday and will offer daily Covid-19 tests to its 18,000 residents, along with up to 48,000 meals a day

Athletes can’t go to local restaurants, so the pressure is on village cafeteria chefs to serve tasty meals including Japanese, Indian and Vietnamese options

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The main dining hall and the “tap water station” at the Olympic Village which will be used by the athletes during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:37am, 13 Jul 2021Updated: 9:06pm, 13 Jul 2021

Even under ordinary circumstances, feeding an Olympic Village is a mammoth task, with chefs preparing tens of thousands of meals a day for elite athletes from around the world. But at Tokyo 2020, there’s an added pressure: strict coronavirus rules forbid athletes from eating at local restaurants, so it’s their only chance to sample Japan’s famous cuisine.

“I feel it’s a lot of responsibility for us,” admitted Tsutomu Yamane, senior director of Tokyo 2020’s food and beverages services department. “We want them to enjoy [Japanese food] … but it’s major pressure.”

The athletes’ village, which officially opened on Tuesday, offers daily coronavirus testing to the 18,000 athletes and officials who will stay at the 44-hectare village in Tokyo’s Harumi waterfront district. The cafeterias will serve up to 48,000 meals a day, with some open around the clock.

Anti-infection rules mean athletes can’t go anywhere but the village, training sites and competition venues. So organisers will provide 700 menu options, 3,000 seats at the main two-storey cafeteria and 2,000 staff at peak hours to meet the needs of all.

Menus are largely divided into three categories: Western, Japanese and Asian – which covers Chinese, Indian and Vietnamese options. And given Japan’s world-famous cuisine, there will be plenty of local flavour.

The focus will be on informal dishes rather than high-end dining, with ramen and udon noodles among the staples, Yamane said.