UMass students nosh on 6,700-pound seafood stew

The University of Massachusetts has again welcomed students back to campus with a world record-breaking culinary treat.

A year after starting the semester with a two-ton stir fry, staff and students at the Amherst campus on Monday made and chowed down on a nearly 6,700-pound seafood stew.

The stew was prepared in the same custom-built, 14-foot pan used to make the stir fry last year. The stew included 1,000 pounds of mussels, lobster, clams, haddock and salmon from sustainable sources in New England and Alaska.

It also contained 1,725 pounds of half and half, 1,137 pounds of potatoes, 575 pounds of onions and 145 pounds of bacon, among other ingredients.

Ken Toong, executive director of auxiliary services, says only vegetables from local farmers and the school's student-run garden were used.