Tessa Maud's love of food at the Winter Olympic village comes as a Russian athlete reportedly said she cries "every day" at the dining options.
Carl Court/Getty Images, Wang Zhao - Pool/Getty Images
Team USA snowboarder Tessa Maud told Insider she's loving the dining experience at the Winter Olympics in Beijing, after other athletes and staff complained about a lack of food options.
Maud, who competed in her first-ever Olympics in Beijing, told Insider she's personally got no complaints about the food served at either the cafeteria or the restaurants within the Winter Olympics bubble since it started on February 4.
"I haven't been finding any issues," 18-year-old Maud said. "The food might be tricky for some people, but there's always something you can eat, something you can find that's gonna be better than the cafeteria."
"I've been going to the restaurants that you take the bus to and they're like a 10-minute drive. So I've been eating food there as well and that food is insane," she said. "The best Chinese food I've ever had, hands down."
Maud said Chinese food culture in Beijing has been a totally unique and enjoyable culinary experience and has even posted videos showing off her meals on TikTok on her account, @tessamaud. In Chinese culture, she said, "they utilize using most parts of each animal," which she thinks is "really cool."
"You're not wasting anything, you're utilizing the whole part of each animal. So I think that's really important in cuisine as well," she said. "You don't see that in American food culture."
"Being here it's really refreshing and just nice to see the appreciation for the animal that you're eating and like the appreciation for the food," Maud added.
Not everyone has given such positive reviews of the dining experience within the Olympic bubble, however. Maud's comments are a stark contrast to those of a hotel manager at the Winter Olympics in Beijing, who told CNN the food they serve is "disgusting."
The publication went on to report that fresh fruit has been difficult to find and no snacks or hot food are permitted to be delivered from outside to athletes within the bubble.
Sergei Bobylev\TASS via Getty Images
Meanwhile, CBS Sports reported on Tuesday that Russian biathlete Valeria Vasnetsova posted an unappealing photo of food she'd been served at a quarantine hotel in Beijing after testing positive for COVID-19. The image of her plate included pasta, red sauce, and chicken, it added.
According to the publication, Vasnetsova said the same meal had been served for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for five days in a row.
"I want all this to end. I cry every day. I'm very tired," she added, according to the publication.
When asked about athletes who have criticized the food within the Winter Olympics bubble, Maud said that she's the type of person who tried to find the best out of every situation.
"You can always just try and find the best of each situation," she said. "Some people don't do that and that's probably why they're having that reaction."
The International Olympic Committee did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
