“It’s as if I had been selected! »Former basketball player of the France Espoir team, three Michelin stars for his restaurant AM opened in 2014, elected Chef of the year last September by his peers, Alexandre Mazzia is part, with Parisians Akrame Benallal and Amandine Chaignot, chefs chosen to prepare meals for the athletes of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. They will work with Sodexo to serve 15 million meals and snacks, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.
“I said yes with a set of specifications that respects the cultural aspects and the nutritional requirements imposed by the diets of all these athletes, while managing waste as best as possible with the most neutral environmental impact possible”, explains the former “Top Chef” tester who is already looking into future menus when his 24-seat restaurant is closed, where 26 people are busy in the southern districts of Marseille.
“We are expected at the turn”
“We are going to work with the nutritionists of each team: we are not going to feed a basketball player, a swimmer, a kayaker or a volleyball player in the same way. We must take into account the metabolism of each. “Passionate about performance in sport or in the kitchen”, Alexandre Mazzia is ready to take up the challenge of feeding “with a cuisine that has a depth of taste” all his athletes.
“Country of gastronomy, we are expected at the turn,” he explains. “I have people in my clientele who take part in the Marseille-Cassis half-marathon. We have therefore already thought about specific menus 48 hours before their race. It is sport that educated me, I share all the values in my cooking. “
