Editor’s Note: How can a dining program that serves tens of thousands of students and staff each day churn out award-winning cuisine that has been recognized by Princeton Review for having the best campus food for seven years in a row? MassLive visited the UMass Amherst campus, interviewed chefs, tasted the food and toured the kitchens to find out how the UMass Dining program became a dining dynasty.
What once started as one of the oldest buildings on the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus has now transformed into the face of UMass Dining, living up to its prestigious reputation.
Housing the best college dining in the country for the seventh time, UMass Amherst nabbed the top spot for Best Campus Food in the Princeton Review “Best Colleges” guidebook.
The rankings are determined from student reports of their experiences at the schools, and are based off of 165,000 student answers to the survey question “How do you rate the food on campus?”
Arguably, one of the dining treasures of the near 30,000 student body campus is Worcester Commons.
Six years ago, the dining hall lacked air conditioning with limited seating. In 2018, the campus began to totally transform the building, demolishing its original structure and building from the ground up, all in the name of excellence.
In October 2020, the newly remolded dining hall began offering a full-service restaurant and bar, grab-n-go options, a cafe and international cuisine like Mediterranean, authentic street food, tandoor Indian kitchen, hand rolled sushi, noodle bowls and more.
Caleb Pham is the executive sous chef oversees the team within Worcester Dining Commons at UMass Amherst. (Hoang ‘Leon’ Nguyen / The Republican)Leon Nguyen
But to go through such an immense metamorphosis required a team of professionals dedicated to quality. One of the faces responsible for keeping its cooking operation flourishing today is Executive Sous Chef Caleb Pham.
A native to Vietnam, Pham moved to Hawaii for college. She quickly found herself across the country, cooking for a Vietnamese restaurant in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
“That’s when I found out that this is my passion and something I can do,” she told MassLive.
After receiving a recommendation and invitation from a former Chef de Cuisine at UMass who was looking for a culinary intern, things all fell into place for Pham.
She explained that after working in the restaurant industry for a while, she wanted to try something new, cooking for institutions like UMass. So, she joined the college in 2017.
“It’s been a humbling experience working here with everybody, with all the amazing chefs and our very diverse dining staff here,” she said, also explaining what goes into working with a production of a large quantity of food, while still retaining flavor and keeping things safe.
But Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was Worcester Commons.
Pham shared that the dining hall opened in the midst of the 2020 pandemic, calling the unprecedented timing “a blessing in disguise,” as that year served as almost a “test run” of the building to see what worked and what didn’t for guests.
Present day, it’s conceivably the go-to dining hall on campus.
Worcester Commons has a strong emphasis on international food due to the large population of international students. Since it’s opening, Pham has watched the dining scene she spearheads turn into a melting pot of flavor and culture.
“I love international cuisine so it feels like this is like my dream job here,” she said.
Overseeing about 70 to 100 staff members, Pham runs a tight ship. The dining hall operates from 7 a.m. to 12 a.m. Monday through Sunday, making all hands on deck necessary.
She credits student workers who help the newly renovated operations, who are involved in prep work and event planning.
“They are the backbones of service here,” she praised.
MassLive had the opportunity to tour the dining hall itself. Check MassLive’s TikTok to see what you can expect to find in Worcester Commons.
More information about the renovations to the dining hall can be found here.
