Hell's Kitchen has nothing on the Berkshire Dining Commons at The University of Massachusetts, as 7,000 ravenous students descend on the Marche-style eatery each day. The "all you care to eat" restaurant boasts a wood burning pizza bar, authentic Asian noodle bar, vegetarian station, massive salad bar, self-serve soft ice cream and much more. I had the authentic Asian soup station two days in a row during my recent visit to U-Mass, and could have stayed an extra day to enjoy the soup one last time.

Executive Chef Willie Sng and Berkshire Dining Commons Chef John run a very busy kitchen, driven by the creative vision of Executive Director of Auxiliary Enterprises, Ken Toong. Ken has been a long-time supporter of culinary development and founder of the annual "Tastes of the World" Chefs' Conference that draws top chefs from universities and colleges all over North America each year. With the recent multi-million dollar renovation to the Berkshire Dining Commons, Executive Director Ken Toong wastes no opportunity to show off his impressive state-of-the-art eatery.

Along with their drive for culinary excellence, U-Mass Dining Services has a strong commitment to sustainability. It is apparent as you walk through the dining hall viewing promotional materials that say "Be a Local Hero, Buy Local Produce". Their sustainability initiatives include: buying 25% of their produce locally; serving sustainable seafood; composting; purchasing brown eggs locally; serving fair trade and organically grown coffee;; biodegradable packaging; and the list goes on. The U-Mass dining team is an active member of a much larger campus-wide sustainability committee that works together with all departments to meet the University's aggressive environmental goals.

They have managed to make significant savings in electricity and energy use, and have diverted much of their food waste through composting, recycling and student awareness programs.

My most recent visit to U-Mass was to accompany two of our Western chefs to Ken's latest themed creation, "The Visiting Chefs' Conference… Flavours of Canada". Ken and his wife, Judy, both have a special kin to Canada; Judy is a native of Nova Scotia and Ken has spent much time in Canada during his travels. Their daughter is currently attending university in Canada.

Western chefs, along with chefs from Guelph, McGill and UBC, were invited to attend the conference. Each team was asked to create a Canadian-themed menu that they would prepare and serve to their dinner guests of about 3,000 students. Here's a sample of what each team of chefs had to offer: UBC - Mesquite-grilled wild BC salmon with blueberry grapefruit salsa and west coast bannock; Guelph - Maple-roasted pork skewers with creamy pear sauce and lemon garlic braised potatoes; McGill - Spicy Quebec lamb burger on onion poppy seed bread and fresh-cut curry sweet potato fries; Western - Braised short ribs with Canadian Ale & roasted tomato jus paired with fingerling potato poutine.

Ken and his efficient team spared no detail or expense in creating the Canadian experience at the Berkshire Dining Commons. Details included the professional DJ who played only Canadian music all night and emceed the event, a screen projector that featured Canadian scenes and places, large marketing banners with pictures of each visiting chef displayed at their prospective stations, three students who dressed up in Mounted Police uniforms, and a Canadian Consulate table where students handed out Canadian flags and pins. To top the evening off, Judy, Ken's wife, plugged in her portable organ and sang the Canadian national anthem. Students enjoyed the food and the Canadian experience immensely and a great time was had by all the participants.

Here's what our chefs from Western had to say about their experiences:

Matt Yeo, Chef
Residence Dining, Sydenham Hall

"It was really an amazing experience to work in an unknown kitchen and produce great food for the students of U-Mass. To see other chefs use Canadian ingredients and transform them into great food, was definitely eye-opening. U-Mass is so far ahead of the game, it was great to see new ideas and perhaps bring back some of these ideas and adapt them to Western. As a chef, you can always expect the unexpected. This is what makes our job so interesting and challenging. I look forward to more challenges in the near future." - Matt

Dee Jefferson, Executive Chef
Spencer Leadership Center

"It was a great experience at U-Mass. I was thankful to be one of the chefs participating in a very special event. What captured my thoughts the most was showcasing our "Canadian Cuisine". When I look deeper into what is "Canadian Cuisine", how much do we really know about it? Most of our Canadian chefs at this event were immigrants to Canada. Of course, we used all local and well known Canadian ingredients, then incorporated them with our own personal touch, taste and cooking techniques, to create a "New Canadian Cuisine"; that cuisine has become well recognized all over the country, from coast to coast. We always cook from our hearts and souls; it is so endless when we get creative with food. I would say that in the near future our "New Canadian Cuisine" will be one of the most unique and well recognized cuisines all over the globe. I am proud to be part of this endless creation and very proud to be Canadian." - Dee

Surely you would think that this kind of detailed event does not happen all of the time at the Berkshire Dining Commons, but you would be mistaken. Executive Director Ken Toong and his team plan weekly events to supplement their already astounding variety of food stations and options. Many of their themed events are tied in with their health and wellness or sustainability initiatives. "Farmer's Night" showcases local produce and products. "Fresh Asparagus Welcomes Spring and Cranberry Week" highlight the health/wellness benefits of eating these fruits and vegetables. Plenty of their themed events are just for fun too, like "Cupcake Mania". To sum up my experience, U-Mass Dining truly is "A Culture of Nutrition, World Food, Social Responsibility and Taste".

From left to right:
Stacey Blois, Gord Robinson, Carmen Marek

After an incredible amount of hard work and commitment - and some major juggling of her home life, work life and school life - Stacey Blois (Residence Dining) has achieved a significant career goal.

On Tuesday, July 27th, Stacey wrote her Red Seal designation exam and on Thursday morning, she was notified that she is now officially a Red Seal Chef.

Congratulations Stacey, we're all incredibly proud of you and your accomplishments!

We built our Bee village in April 2010, working with a greatly experienced and licensed apiarist, Rick Huismann. Rick owns and operates Huismann Apiaries, just outside London.

Our Bee village consists of 8 buildings (hives); each hive in the Bee village contains one Queen Bee and approximately 70,000 worker bees.

We expect to collect our first honey harvest from our Bee village in September 2010; the honey will be available for sale, as well as used in our hotel kitchens.

We can't wait to taste the quality of this first honey harvest - our bees will be dining on a vast array of plant life; this bountiful diet is sure to produce a unique and interesting tasting honey.

As well as our honey tasting great, our bees will be producing a healthier honey, the City of London has a pesticide ban in place. This means our urban bees' exposure to pesticides and the plants they use to make honey, are greatly reduced compared to their rational country bee cousins.

You are welcome to sit on the bench in front of our Bee village and watch the bees hard at work. Should a bee land on you, she is probably just tired after her long flight, just stay relaxed and she will depart when rested!

Do not approach further than the bench, or from the sides or back of the hives, the bees will become alarmed and sting to defend their hives.

Bees do not like dark coloured clothing (that's why beekeeper suits are white).

A normal reaction to a bee sting is:

• Ouch!
• Reddish swelling around sting area
• Followed, a day or so later, by itchiness in the sting area

To remove a stinger, do not grab it, as you will push the venom sac at the end of the stinger, causing more venom to be released.

It's better to locate the stinger and gently drag the stinger in the opposite direction, using a credit card or paper. This will greatly reduce the effects of the sting.

If you are allergic to bee stings, you should carry an Epi-Pen with you at all times.

Some Fun Bee Facts

• The honey bee is the only insect that produces food eaten by man.
• A honey bee can fly for up to six miles, and as fast as 15 miles per hour, hence it would have to fly around 90,000 miles - three times around the globe - to make one pound of honey.
• It takes one ounce of honey to fuel a bee's flight around the world.
• Honey is 80% sugars and 20% water.
• Honey bees produce beeswax from eight paired glands on the underside of their abdomen.
• Honey bees must consume about 17 - 20 pounds of honey to be able to biochemically produce each pound of beeswax.
• Bees maintain a temperature of 92 - 93 degrees Fahrenheit in their central brood nest, regardless of whether the outside temperature is 110 or -40 degrees.
• A populous colony may contain 40,000 to 60,000 bees during the late spring or early summer.
• The queen bee lives for about 2 - 3 years. She is the busiest in the summer months, when the hive needs to be at its maximum strength.
• The queen may mate with up to 17 drones over a 1 - 2 day period of mating.
• The queen may lay 600 - 800 or even 1,500 eggs each day during her 3 or 4 year lifetime. This daily egg production may equal her own weight. She is constantly fed and groomed by attendant worker bees.
• Worker honey bees live for about 4 weeks in the spring or summer, but up to 6 weeks during the winter.
• The average honey bee will actually make only one twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime.
• Honey bees fly at up to 15 miles per hour.
• The honey bee's wings stroke 11,400 times per minute, thus making their distinctive buzz.
• A honey bee visits 50 to 100 flowers during a collection trip.
• Honey bees, scientifically also known as Apis Mellifera, are environmentally friendly and are vital as pollinators.
• Fermented honey, known as Mead, is the most ancient fermented beverage. The term "honey moon" originated with the Norse practice of consuming large quantities of Mead during the first month of a marriage.