Olympic athletes: They know how to chow down.
On Jan. 30, the Milan Olympic Village officially opened, and medal hopefuls from around the globe filed in to prepare for the Milan-Cortina Olympics.
As esteemed speed skaters, figure skaters and bobsledders ready themselves to compete, they’ve also been giving fans glimpses at how they’re spending their time — including what they’re eating.
The food served by the host city has become a point of interest for Olympians and fans at home. In 2024, Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen was dubbed the “Muffin Man” after going viral at the Paris Olympics for his well-publicized love of the village’s chocolate muffins.
On Jan. 29, the swimmer posted a tongue-in-cheek video insinuating he is taking up a winter sport because he “ran out of muffins.”
Now, in Milan, winter athletes have started sampling the village’s food and posting their reviews on TikTok.
Matt C. Smith, a South African cross-country skier, plans on reviewing all the food in the Olympic Village, starting off with two beloved Italian dishes: pizza and lasagna. He says the pizza is an 8.5 out of 10 but the lasagna is just “good.”
Smith has eaten a lot since then — mostly pizza: He showed followers around the hall during breakfast, tried a quattro-formaggio pizza, and was served a South African flag pizza made with fresh herbs and cured meats.
Natalie Spooner, part of Canada’s National Hockey Team, regularly tries chocolate on the road when competing. In fact, her teammates call her “Chocolate Monster.” So, to kick off her Olympic reviews, she simply had to go for cocoa.
But she says Chocolate Monster had a “hard time” locating chocolate desserts in the food hall, only finding a pudding cup, which she calls “pretty standard” and “could have been a little creamier.”
She ultimately gave the sweet snack a 5.5 out of 10, meaning it wouldn’t make it anywhere near the podium if dessert were an Olympic event.
The next day, Spooner tried two different treats: an apple tart — which she “didn’t love” and gave a six out of 10 — and grandmother’s cake, aka torta della nonna, made with lemon, pine nuts and powdered sugar, which she gave a seven out of 10.
Spooner says she is “still looking for some chocolate desserts and maybe even a muffin” — perhaps to recapture the Muffin Man magic — but it appears another Olympian has beaten her to it.
Canadian speedskater Courtney Saurault says there’s a dessert that might actually be “better than the viral chocolate muffin.” In her Feb. 3 video, she and other athletes swoon over a chocolate dessert that looks like a lava cake.
One of them digs their spoon into molten chocolate-filled treat, and another gasps.
But a certain summer Olympian is skeptical.
“Idk man, seems sketchy,” Christiansen commented on her video.
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
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