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.
The college culinary capitol of the country houses more than just great dining hall food.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst campus nabbed the top spot again this year for Best Campus Food in the Princeton Review “Best Colleges” guidebook. But perhaps the campus has one of the best food entertainers as well.
Paul MacGregor serves as the Retail Manager for UMass Amherst, operating out of Franklin Dining Commons. He first came to UMass in 1996 as a Sports Management Major. As a freshman, he started as a cashier in the Mullins Center. By his senior year, he was an assistant manager. Upon graduation, he was offered a full time position to run the concessions for UMass events, eventually working his way up to where he is now.
In his 27 years, MacGregor has worked in almost every building on campus at some point, he told MassLive in an interview.
“It’s a feeling of pride to say I work for UMass Dining,” he said, “and people just right away give you some sort of respect and credibility because they know you’re coming from an award winning program.”
Besides the feeling of fulfillment, MacGregor takes his role a step further, becoming an outlet of entertainment to the campus.
Serving under the alias Paul E Mac, MacGregor started writing and performing songs after his father passed away in 2014. His dad was a “true storyteller” he explained, who inspired and entertained his family. Wanting to carry a piece of his father with him, MacGregor decided to write his own raps.
“I said ‘you know what? I’m going to write a rap song making fun of everyone at this table.’ And so I did it and everyone was like ‘that’s great, do more of that.’ And I started writing songs that were really focused around family, friends, poker, things that I know and things that I enjoy,” he said.
So when an opportunity from work came to come up with a fun way to present a food dish, MacGregor immediately jumped on the opportunity to write a rap.
He came back the next day with a full song about the dish. He rapped in front of about a thousand kids in the dining hall. Thus, Paul E Mac was born.
Some of his raps include lyrics about winning the Princeton Review, other awards, UMass sponsors and staff, and more. Whatever comes MacGregor’s way, there’s probably a rap about it.
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“I say this to my family all the time. They’re like ‘don’t you worry about people laughing at you?’ I said ‘they’re laughing with me or they’re laughing at me, but they’re laughing.’ You know, they’re having fun. I’m trying to have some fun at work.
Plus, MacGregor said everyone can find some way appreciate a guy in a tie rapping about lentils, citrus, pomegranates, pretzels and whatever else he can come up with. See his lentil rap here.
