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Steven Noble
Editor, Internal Publications
p. 403.440.5692
e-mail: snoble@mtroyal.ca

Fred Cheney
Media Relations Officer
p. 403.440.5195
e-mail: fcheney@mtroyal.ca

 

How many people can claim they have helped prepare meals for champions — more specifically, Olympic champions?

Cyndi Williams, regional catering and marketing support for Sodexo at Mount Royal University beat out stiff competition to be selected to help provide catering and housekeeping services for the Athletes Village during the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Family Olympic connection

Cyndi Williams is keeping her family's Olympic heritage alive by managing food and beverage services in Vancouver-Whistler.

Olympic involvement runs in the family — literally. Her aunt, Joan Hendry, competed in track and field events at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico.

Hendry also qualified for the 1972 Olympics and although she travelled to Munich she did not compete due to an injury.

Fast forward to 2010 and now Williams is assisting with overseeing meal preparations for Olympic athletes.

“I get to follow in my aunt’s footsteps a little bit and be part of an Olympic experience,” says Williams.

“Being in the heart of it and actually going to the Olympics is a dream come true. Not many people get to experience it so I’m most fortunate to be able to go.”

Winning a competition of her own

“Eating well is certainly one of the key things that any athlete needs to do and we’re thrilled to be there providing the best service possible,” says Williams.

After two intensive rounds of interviews Williams received word last year that she would be joining a select group of Sodexo employees from all over the world including Vancouver-Whistler to help as a Front House Manager.

“I’ve done events for hundreds of people before but nothing on this scale,” says Williams.

“To be part of a team that’s selected based on our specific skills to coordinate thousands of meals — and have a hand in all the logistics required to pull this off without a hitch — will be a great learning experience.”

Williams says she is also looking forward to using her Olympic experience as an opportunity to improve the service she provides at Mount Royal.

“The athletes are coming from all over the world and not everyone speaks English. We have to be prepared to try and interpret what they would like to have and assist in any way possible. It'll be interesting to see the fundamentals we apply here on campus at work in such a demanding environment.”

Nuts and bolts

Williams arrived at the Athletes Village in Vancouver on Jan. 28 and will remain until March 2. As a Front House Supervisor, she will work with the management team and other supervisors and employees to serve food to the athletes and monitor the various stations to ensure everything meets high quality standards.

“I’ll be right on the floor doing everything from temperature checks to ensuring that all our serving stations look great and are ready to open and making sure that our staff members are prepared on-site. As you can imagine, we will be serving quite a few meals for a lot of very hungry athletes 24/7.”

The food provided will accommodate the various athletes’ dietary needs and preferences. Canada’s Aboriginal heritage will also be highlighted in some of the food choices.

“I hear bannock (a type of bread similar to a tea biscuit, which Sodexo will enhance with nuts and raisins)is one of the key features and I’m really looking forward to trying it,” says Williams.

Olympic fever taking different forms

Williams looks forward to participating in a worldwide hobby that has become an integral part of the Olympic Games — pintrading.

As the “unofficial” sport of the Olympic spectator, pin trading creates new friendships, bridges language differences and is lots of fun, says Williams.

“I have 20 pins on my lanyard so far and I’m curious to see what sorts of pins the athletes themselves will bring from their different countries.”

To join in on this tradition, you can purchase Olympic pins at the cash register at the Herb ’n Market. Buy two pins for $9.99 and you will receive a free Olympic T-shirt, while supplies last.

“I’m truly excited to be one of the representatives from Sodexo at the Olympics,” says Williams. “I plan to bring back an awful lot of memories and great experiences.”

— Jondrea De Ruyter, Feb. 11, 2010