This Tuesday, March 5, at the end of the morning, we are busy in the kitchens of the Aube sports center (CSA).
Nothing extraordinary so far.
If you listen closely, you can detect a few sentences in Portuguese.
Saura Scarabotta is one of the cooks for the Brazilian Paralympic team.
With several of his colleagues, he set down in Troyes from Monday March 4 to Wednesday March 6.
The Brazilian selection has chosen the prefectural city of Aube as a base camp for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, scheduled from August 28 to September 8.
No less than 400 people, including 300 athletes, will follow one another in the department throughout the competitions and will be accommodated at the CSA and in various hotels in Troyes.
That’s so many mouths to (well) feed.
One of the keys to success is obviously diet.
Even more so when you arrive in a country with different eating habits.
“The stakes are paramount”
A former professional footballer in Ligues 1 and 2, Frédéric Adam, the director of the CSA, knows the subject well.
“Accommodation and catering are two essential points for athletes when they go on a trip.
The Brazilian delegation may have specific requests.
» Hence these scoutings for a few days.
“The stakes are essential,” breathes the director.
We are playing for the next fifteen years.
After the Games, there will be other national and international competitions in the years to come.
We want to show our ability to adapt.
» It is an understatement to say that the strong forces of the department are bending over backwards for the Brazilian selection.
Next Monday (March 11), Frédéric Adam and his partner from the Troyes Aube 24 brand, who praises the merits of the preparation centers for the Aube Games, Stéphane Van de Gehugte, will fly to Sao Paulo.
There they will meet all the DTNs (national technical directors) of the Brazilian Paralympic movement and will debrief the kitchen tests for possible adjustments.
500 kg of black beans consumed
At first glance, the experience was conclusive and there will only be details to resolve.
“All meals, that is to say breakfasts, lunches and dinners, will be produced at the CSA,” says Frédéric Adam.
For members of the delegation who will be accommodated in hotels in the city, there will be a delivery system.
» The 400 members of the Brazilian delegation will not all stay in Troyes simultaneously but there will still be 250 people to feed daily at the height of activity.
Read alsoHow Troyes and Aube seduce the Olympic and Paralympic delegations
Most of the food will be purchased on site from local producers, with the exception of foods specific to Brazilian cuisine, such as black beans.
“For that, we will try to find Portuguese suppliers,” underlines Monique Moreira, the nutritionist for the Brazilian selection.
This week's scouting is one of the stages of the rocket that should send Brazilian athletes onto the podiums.
“It was important to find out where the meals will be prepared and what ingredients we will have on site,” emphasizes the young woman.
Also read All the news from the Paris 2024 Olympics on parisien.fr
Athletes, who consume between 2,000 and 3,500 calories daily depending on the disciplines, will be like roosters in dough near the capital.
In all, nearly 10,000 meals will be served to the Brazilian delegation, including 500 kg of black beans, 4 tonnes of white meat and as much red meat, as well as a tonne of rice.
The first arrivals are expected around August 12.
For the quantity of Champagne needed, it will be proportional to the medals!