Like many culture-shaping trends, this one started on TikTok.
A post by Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen (now widely known as “Muffin Man”) showed off the chocolate muffins served in the Athletes Village during the Summer Olympics. Christensen's post highlighted his love for the rich muffin while competing in the Paris Olympics, and has garnered millions of views and inspired numerous muffin recipes to be recreated (including one published in the New York Times).
But one fan of Christiansen's post, who lives in New York City, didn't want to settle for just a replica.
Instead, 32-year-old independent designer Kerrin Carolyn Chan wondered if she could try the real thing. But there was an initial hurdle, she said, because Coup de Pates, the Olympics' famous supplier of chocolate muffins, can only fulfill wholesale orders from restaurants and businesses, not sell directly to consumers. While trying to get her hands on the real thing, Chan documented her research and quest to bring it to the U.S. on TikTok, where her connections in the restaurant industry helped her make her wish come true.
“The situation just kept escalating and it was so weird so I just carried on,” Zhang said.
What Chang calls a “highly random maze” of muffin research eventually led to the shipment of 15 cases of 300 chocolate muffins, presumably the same ones served to athletes at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, though Coup de Pâté did not respond to a request for comment. Chang says the muffins were flown overnight on dry ice from Paris' Orly airport to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. The shipment requires FDA approval, so the muffins cleared customs before being transported by van to Isshiki Matcha, a cafe in New York's East Village, where the first pop-up took place on August 17.
When the event was announced, locals went wild. The first customers lined up outside the cafe at 6 a.m., but the event didn't start until four hours later. Isshiki Matcha owner Angel Jen said the line went around the block twice and the muffins (one per person, $10) sold out in about two hours. Her friends who arrived late didn't get any.
Zheng got involved with the project after a friend tagged her in one of Zhang's TikTok posts and suggested the two work together to deliver muffins to New York City.
“I really like side quests,” Zheng said. “I like doing things for the story. I'm still very young, 24, and I don't work for a big company. I don't have a boss with 20 people under me. I've opened a restaurant and I've brought a lot of joy to people. So, I was like, hopefully it will work, and if it doesn't, at least I tried.”
Pulling off the event wasn't easy; there were many logistical hurdles along the way, which Zhang detailed on X. Coup de Pates had never exported to New York before, so there wasn't a system in place to get goods from the plane to the restaurant like Zheng was used to with other suppliers, meaning she and Zhang had to coordinate ground transportation. Zheng also bought a new refrigerator for the restaurant big enough to store all the muffins, and although customs and shipping costs were expensive, she said it was “worth doing.”
And this wasn't a one-off event: Isshiki Matcha announced that it would hold a second pop-up event during the Paralympics, starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, and this time they've placed a bulk order of 1,000 muffins, which they'll sell until they run out, Zhang said.
Zhang said he expects attendance to be lower this time around, given the late announcement and the possibility that potential customers may be out of town over the holiday weekend.
Olympic Muffins are back in New York for the Paralympics!
Sales start tomorrow (Saturday, August 31st) at 10am, one per person, first come first served @ Isshiki Matcha
This time we got 1000 muffs. The pop-up will run until Sunday while supplies last https://t.co/sPoxMoLnH2 pic.twitter.com/E26ajZAach
— Kellyn (@kelin_online) August 30, 2024
But Chan said the latest shipment has already allowed her to try out a second batch of muffins – despite all the adjustments she made for the first event, she was only able to try one due to demand.
“Can you believe it?” she said.
Chang and Jen say the fuss over the muffin is real, and Chang confirmed that it is indeed chocolate cake. Jen said she thinks it's the best muffin she's ever had, joining the chorus of positive reviews for the treat, many of which have been shared on TikTok, including by U.S. Olympians Gabby Thomas, Tara Davis-Woodhall, Abby Weitzer and Tori Huske. According to the Paralympic GamesX account, the muffins were meant to be served to athletes, so we may see more reviews during the Paralympics.
Now… we need to know if any of the Paralympians ate the chocolate muffins from the Athletes Village 🍫
Athletes, tag in and let us know…
📸 Getty Images pic.twitter.com/r8jgZ6BSwE
— Paralympics (@Paralympics) August 29, 2024
The pastries' popularity has spread beyond the Athletes' Village, and thanks to Zhang and Zheng, the muffins have reached new critics on another continent.
“I feel like the magic of these muffins is that no one except Olympians can get them,” Cheng says. “I don't think the goal is to make a chocolate muffin.”
Zheng added that the lesson learned from this endeavor is that “with the power of the Internet, anything is possible.”
Chan, who has a background in digital product design, said she had never worked in partnership with a restaurant or cafe before starting her muffin hunt. “I hope this story will inspire others to take on the problem themselves.”
“The[first]muffin pop-up itself was great,” she said. “People were lining up and having fun. Helping people have fun and come together is something I'm really proud of.”
She wasn't aware of plans for a third pop-up but highlighted related events.
“I think having it happen just around the time of the Olympics and Paralympics is very special,” she says, “and it adds to the excitement overall.”
Either way, Chan's quest had a satisfying ending: She, Zheng, and other muffin-loving folks who were willing to wait in line finally ate muffins like Olympians.
(Photo by Kerryn Carolyn Chan)
