Forget the Peking duck. When the Beijing Olympics kick off next week, Canadian athletes will be dining on quinoa and summer vegetable salad, baked salmon and organic chickpeas - dished out by premier Canadian chefs imported to the Games.
For the first time, the Canadian Olympic Committee has hired two chefs who will cater low-fat meals at a Canadian performance centre. Some teams, such as Canada's triathletes, have also packed personal cooks, while other teams will dine in hotels outside the athletes' village on tailor-made Western menus hammered out through delicate negotiations with Chinese kitchen staff.
Canadian officials say these elaborate meal plans will accomplish two things: Ease fears about food-borne illnesses in China, and give athletes a taste of home.
But now, afraid of offending their Olympic hosts by pooh-poohing their culinary efforts on the eve of the Games, some Canadian teams are keeping mum about their culinary plans.
One has asked a chef to travel as a pseudo coach, his pots hidden in his bags.
"[The Beijing Olympic organizing committee] is getting paranoid about all these gunslingers coming to town, trying to teach the Chinese how to cook," said Daryle Nagata, one of the chefs selected to cook at the Canadian performance centre, a building located minutes from the athletes' village, which will house most of the Canadian teams' 125 support staff, including massage therapists and communications officers.
Added Tom Patrick, chairman of Triathlon Canada: "The Canadian Olympic Committee has instructed me that we really just can't afford to have any other press on the issue of cooking."
The heightened sensitivity came after an article was published in The New York Times in February, quoting a Staten Island caterer who reportedly worked for the United States Olympic Committee, saying he had found a dinner- plate-sized chicken breast at a supermarket in China.
Frank Puleo said the chicken was tested and "was so full of steroids that we never could have given it to athletes. They all would have tested positive."
The story caused U.S. officials to quickly backtrack, saying they hadn't heard of the test and were confident about the food quality in Beijing. Still, caterers will feed U.S. athletes three meals a day at their own training centre at Beijing Normal University.
Robert McCormack, the Canadian team's chief medical officer, says he has confidence in the food safety at the athletes' village, which will accommodate multicultural taste buds. (There's even a McDonald's.) The Americans, he says, are overzealous.
"There's a lot of games that go on around the Games," he said. "And to be honest, sometimes it's a combination of snobbery or elitism. Sometimes it's trying to make it look like you're doing more than other countries for the psychological advantage."
Unlike the Americans, who have shipped 11,000 kilograms of lean protein to Beijing, Canadians won't be brown bagging their groceries beyond a few comfort items, such as granola bars and coffee. Instead, the COC chefs travelled to Beijing in April and sourced reputable vendors of fruit, vegetables and lean protein.
"We were committed to using Chinese products," said Robert Le Crom, executive chef at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, who will dish up buffet dinners using the Scottish salmon, bok choy and organic Mongolian beef he has scouted out at local markets.
Athletes are welcome to eat at the performance centre, but most will dine at the athletes' village operated by Chinese officials. A Canadian nutritionist will make sure everything is safe and nutritious, Dr. McCormack said.
Athletes staying offsite to be closer to their venue, such as the rowers, kayakers and triathletes, have either hired their own chefs or made arrangements with local hotels.
Adam Parfitt, team manager for the rowing team, said it has taken two visits to Beijing and almost a weekly e-mail dialogue with hotel staff to come up with a menu that both sides are happy with.
