Openers: Uncommon Dining

University of Massachusetts’ state-of-the-art dining hall provides a global culinary education.

By Scott Hume, Executive Managing Editor -- Restaurants & Institutions, 3/15/2007

Ken Toong, director, UMass Dining Services: “Berkshire Commons hadn’t been renovated in 45 years so we spent three years planning this. We [Toong, Executive Chef Willie Sng and architect Robert Livermore] visited 20 other colleges across the country, including University of North Carolina, University of California and Stanford, to see what works and bring back the cream of the concepts.

“We saw that with the global cuisines that students know and expect we needed flexibility. So one station may be a deli by day and switch to sushi at dinner. Or serve Vietnamese pho noodles one time, but when students return it’s a burrito bar. We do cuisines from China, Singapore, India, all over the world.

“That way it’s one surprise after another. Students eat here several times every day. We always need to have surprises, something new for them.

“Education also is part of our mission, part of how we contribute to campus life. We now have the Berkshire Room where we may teach students about fair trade [products], or Chef Sng might show them how to decorate cupcakes.

“And parents always eat free when they visit. We know who pays the bills.”

Robert Livermore, architect, Livermore Edwards & Associates, Waltham, Mass.: “The key is the differentiation of experiences now. Not only that a station may shift from noodles to burritos, but also that there are multiple seating options: tables, booths, high stools. And cooks now face the customers; there’s interaction, there’s show. It’s exciting.

“I thought [noncommercial] foodservice needed to catch up with retail in terms of display and concepts, but from what I’ve seen, it has flipped: Academic [institutions] are taking a leadership role in their approach to food and education. It’s a real change.”

Willie Sng, executive chef: “This change gives me and my staff a chance to show our skills and our knowledge. We have a lot of restaurant experience. There are no more steam tables; everything is cooked in front of our customers.”