By now, 10 days into these Summer Games, you’ve probably heard of the Olympic Village’s most popular treat: the gooey chocolate muffin.
Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen first posted a TikTok video of the treat on July 25, a day before the opening ceremony. It exploded from there, and Christiansen was even called the “muffin man”.
In fact, Sodexo Live!, the company responsible for feeding the 15,000 athletes living in the Olympic Village in Paris, told PEOPLE they expect to serve 100,000 chocolate muffins during the Olympics and Paralympics. They estimated that around 2,000 muffins – which are filled and covered with dark chocolate and contain dark chocolate and milk chocolate pieces – are consumed daily.
But are they really? that good? The Team USA athletes that PEOPLE spoke to these Games aren’t as enamored as Christiansen.
“I know Henrik overplayed them,” teases Ryan Held. “Like, astronomical popularity.”
Held’s U.S. swimming teammate Erin Gemmell is a little more impressed: “I had one. It was pretty good, I’ll say. So whatever they have in the middle could change lives.”
A viral chocolate muffin from the Olympic village.
Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Olympic Village Serves 2,000 Chocolate Muffins a Day Since Treats Go Viral (Exclusive)
Laughs Gemmell, “I think if you give it as a medieval peasant, I think they might like it, explode. But it’s definitely great, like, when you finish the race, a little treat.”
Team USA rower Liam Corrigan is also on a muffin trip, with his men’s foursome teammate Justin Best joking that Corrigan is also the “hype man” for pastries.
“So my first day experience was seeing the muffins. It was breakfast, I was like, ‘Oh, a muffin. It’s not the healthiest, but it’s not too bad,'” Corrigan tells PEOPLE. “And then I opened it and saw it was more than a molten lava cake-slash-muffin. And at that point I felt a little bad, like, ‘I probably shouldn’t be eating this before the race.’ So he stayed away from muffins.”
The rowers, after winning the gold, indulged themselves again, calling them “celebratory muffins”.
The U.S. women’s foil fencers weren’t too keen on them: “I was following the TikToks. It’s like a big deal,” says Jackie Dubrovich. “I think it’s a good muffin. I’m not crazy like…it’s okay.”
Olympian Ilona Maher posted a funny video of herself eating a giant croissant while wearing a bronze medal: ‘Just a little treat’
And Maia Weintraub definitely won’t try: “I don’t like chocolate.”
However, the popularity of the muffins has not waned, and the closing ceremony is in seven days. On a TikTok posted on August 5, Christiansen unsuccessfully posted a video of himself searching for cookies in the cafeteria. “Guys, I think I’m going through withdrawal,” he wrote.
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Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education