Team USA snowboarder Tessa Maud says Chinese food in the Winter Olympic bubble is 'hands down' the best she's ever had

• A Team USA snowboarder said the Chinese food at the Winter Olympics was the best she'd had.
• Tessa Maud told Insider she had found no issues and loved learning about Chinese cuisine.

The Team USA snowboarder Tessa Maud told Insider she was loving the dining experience at the Winter Olympics in Beijing after another athlete and a staffer complained about a lack of options.

Maud, who competed in her first Olympics in Beijing, told Insider she personally had no complaints about the food served at either the cafeteria or the restaurants within the Olympic bubble since the Games started on February 4.

"I haven't been finding any issues," the 18-year-old said. "The food might be tricky for some people, but there's always something you can eat, something you can find that's going to 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 — the best Chinese food I've ever had, hands down."

@tessamaud_ i tried sweet and sour pork, pork dumplings, spicy tofu, and dan dan noodlespls tell me more things to try. #winterolympics #olympictiktok #teamusa ♬ Ginseng Strip 2002 - Yung Lean

Maud said Chinese food culture in Beijing had been a totally new and enjoyable culinary experience and 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."

Maud added: "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."

Another athlete and a staffer inside the Olympic bubble have complained about the food

Not everyone has given such positive reviews of the dining experience within the Olympic bubble. Maud's comments are in stark contrast to those of a hotel manager at the Olympics who told CNN the food they served was "disgusting."

The publication added that fresh fruit had been difficult to find and no snacks or hot food were permitted to be delivered from outside to athletes within the bubble.

Meanwhile, CBS Sports reported on Tuesday that the Russian biathlete Valeria Vasnetsova posted an unappealing photo of food she was served at a quarantine hotel in Beijing after testing positive for COVID-19. The image of her plate included pasta, red sauce, and chicken.

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 had criticized the food within the bubble, Maud said that she was 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.