Eat like a champion: French restaurants seek Olympic-level performance

If cooking was an Olympic sport, France would win gold. 

The hosts of this year's Games have more Michelin star-restaurants than any other country. Food is a way of life in this part of the world. But there's also a burning desire to test the limits of performance. 

Perhaps it's no surprise, then, that a former international athlete opened one of the hottest new restaurants in Paris. Manon Fleury represented France at fencing before starting Datil in the heart of the city. She says her sports career taught her to flex some muscle in the kitchen. 

"I think I've brought some of those ideas from sport with me into the restaurant," says Fleury. "The ideas of collective spirit, involvement and effort."

A taste of a better future 

The Olympics have put Datil in the spotlight, and Fleury is aiming to score some points with 'foodies' while they're in town.  

"It is certainly a moment for us," says Fleury. "We can show what Paris is able to do." 

Fleury also wants to show what food can do, if people think about it differently. Datil's website explores the need to make food political, using it as a weapon in the fight against climate change and animal cruelty. 

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‌The restaurant is also giving guests a taste of gender equality. Fleury says she never planned to fill her kitchen with female chefs - they were simply the best candidates. Now, she's hoping other restaurants will follow suit. 

"I think we need to change this idea that men should dominate the sector," says Fleury. "We need to put women in this industry and they should be in big positions. We have to fight for this equality we speak about."

Never afraid of getting involved in the name of journalism, CGTN got a taste of Datil's delights, trying a tomato and fish soup delicately decorated with edible petals. There was also courgette and tuna in the mix - all rather sophisticated fare for a humble reporter… but it went down in Olympic-record time. 

The Games are all about going faster, higher, stronger. But when you walk into restaurants like Datil, it's clear that there's another goal‌‌ in Paris - making it tastier.  

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