Best College Food in the Nation, Anyone?
This past week was one “heck of a week” for UMass Dining. I mean it was busy and demanding, but fulfilling, as well.
We were thrilled and honored to be one of the best campus food services in the nation, as mentioned in her website. Kathleen Kingsbury, an editor which covers education for The Daily Beast (a popular news reporting and opinion website published by Tina Brown, former editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker), named UMass Dining as one of the top 15 of the country’s award-winning college dining services and what they do to stand out. They mentioned about our student mystery shopper program, visiting chef series and culinary excellence that separates us from the rest. Kathleen interviewed me several days before it was published. We had a good conversation and she was thorough and professional as I tried to tell her what indeed has happened at UMass Dining over the past ten years. I had no idea what she would write about and hoped it would turn out as something positive for UMass, not just UMass Dining.
It is great to be recognized as we strive for continuous improvement. I have informed and thanked my staff for their efforts and also remind them that there is still so much we can do – and be humble. It is the second month in the row that we have received rave reviews from the media; Tracy Jan of Boston Globe wrote in her blog about how much she enjoyed her food experience at UMass Dining.
Food business is a dynamic business and every day is different. With over 14,000 students on the meal plan and many of them eating with us several times a day, we need to have great food and weekly special theme events to build excitement and to create a cravable experience.
I think the “Wild Alaska Seafood Week” special last week was a great example. As you know, UMass Dining only serves sustainable seafood since we became a member of the Seafood Watch organization three years ago. But our mission of supporting sustainability continues. To further promote seafood sustainability and build awareness, we bought in a Chef Naomi from the University of Alaska and a former fisherman/marketing specialist of Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, based in Seattle; to talk about sustainable seafood and its health benefits.
To enhance the effect of the special, we also ordered fresh whole fish from Alaska, which was put on display at the DC entrance, where he spoke. We also hired a DJ to help create a festive atmosphere. Lastly, to add an element of fun, we hosted a Sarah Palin look-like contest.…..and thus the fun began. We had some trouble getting a whole fresh fish from the vendors but it finally did arrive in time. Guest Chef Naomi caught a red eye flight from Anchorage and arrived with our speaker Karl, in the nic of time. NBC 22 of Springfield was at Berkshire DC to interview us about the event. The food was delicious and students were able to sample several species of salmon, including king salmon and sockeye salmon. The lecture at The Berkshire Room was almost packed to capacity and Karl was very passionate about being a former fisherman and he reminded everyone that Alaska seafood management is a model of sustainability. We had four students enter the Sarah Palin look-like contest and it was a tough call, because they all did such a good job.
At the end of night, one of the students who attended the event told me later there is always something new at the DCs. Besides the good food, you can learn something and have fun while eating at the DCs. Maybe it’s one of the reasons we have been chosen as one of the best in the nation. Well, it was just another busy week for us; Apple Week is next and former White House Pastry Chef will be here in just two more weeks. Keep tuned for more from UMass Dining.
This is Ken Toong and thank you for keeping UMass Dining at the top.
Ken Toong
Director
Contact Ken at ktoong@mail.aux.umass.edu
You can follow Ken Toong on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/KenToong