The UMass Boston Dining Commons in the East Residence Hall recently underwent an upgrade to include the new “UCook Kitchen” and a permanent spot for the Beacon Scoop Shoppe.
The UCook Kitchen is a new station that will allow students to create their own meals using induction burners, rice cookers and ingredients from cold wells. A trained attendant is available to guide students while they cook, and QR codes with visual instructions walk students through various recipes.
Kevin Kesterson, the director of resident dining services, said he is hopeful that the new station will be more safe and convenient for students with food sensitivities and dietary restrictions.
“We’ve designed UCook to be inclusive,” Kesterson wrote in an email. “Every ingredient is clearly labeled, so students can easily spot what works for their dietary needs or avoid allergens. The setup lets students pick and choose exactly what goes into their dish, and since everyone uses their own pan, there’s less worry about cross-contact.”
The renovation also gave the Beacon Scoop Shoppe ice cream station a new permanent home. The station now serves eight flavors of ice cream every night during dinner hours, and there are now blenders available to make smoothies from 7 to 10 a.m. Monday-Friday.
The UCook Kitchen was open for prospective and current students to create their own pancake art during an accepted students day even April 5. Students could distribute batter in different colors onto a personal induction burner to create pancakes with any shape or design. Dining services said it hopes to have other similar events at the station in the future.
“We’ve got ‘Chef it Up!’ in collaboration with our Off-Campus Housing office, where commuter students learn to make quick, apartment-friendly dishes — perfect for building kitchen confidence,” Kesterson wrote. “We’re also rolling out Kitchen Academy, with a dedicated video screen and tracking camera for chefs to give live cooking demos. These events are all about hands-on fun and learning, much like pancake art, where students can get creative and engage with food in a new way.”
“As with any renovation, we’re still working through the final details, but we’re aiming to do a soft opening of UCook before the end of the semester,” Kesterson wrote. The station was open for a few days toward the end of April.
Said Kesterson, “We’ve got big plans for the fall semester launch, and we’re excited for students to dive into everything this station will offer.”
