That Drunken Mac and Cheese Meltdown Inspired a Fundraiser for Food Service Workers

For a seemingly innocuous food, macaroni and cheese is pretty contentious stuff. Just this year, the Food Babe and her army forced Kraft to change its recipe for its golden stuff because it contained the food dyes Yellow 5 and 6. A bowl of that cheesy noodle nectar likewise led to the evacuation of the Iowa State Capitol back in April when some bozo microwaved a bowl of Easy Mac way too long. In Toronto, the neighborhood of Liberty Village was trashed by the more than 46,000 who showed up for a mac and cheese fest that was expecting just 5,000 macaroni fans.

And by now you've no doubt heard about the drunk bro at UConn who was arrested after he had a meltdown and berated, shoved, and spit at a cafeteria manager who wouldn't serve him "some fucking bacon-jalapeño mac and cheese." Mac and cheese, and UConn students, are now out to clear their names.

According to the AP, a group of students started an online fundraiser to give employees at the cafeteria a night out. As of today, they've raised nearly $2,000, almost double their $1,000 goal.

"A top-20 research university shouldn't have to be redeeming its name after one bad egg goes and ruins our reputation," freshman Sadie Rumsey, one of the organizers, told the AP.

The offending party was 19-year-old Luke Gatti. The New York Daily News reports that Gatti has two prior arrests relating to incidents at major ragers from his time at University of Massachusetts Amherst, where, at least today, bacon-jalapeño mac and cheese isn't on the menu, which is total BS.

In the latest incident, Gatti was refused service when he entered the cafeteria with an open container of booze. After the altercation, he was charged with criminal trespassing and breach of peace in the second degree. Gatti's moved off campus, but early reports that he was expelled were false.

In an unfortunate twist of fate, it was actually cafeteria manager Dave Robinson's last day on the night the incident occurred. He had already made plans to move out of state.

The GoFundMe campaign isn't the only good to come out of the event. A local D.P Dough, a chain that serves calzones, has devised a dish called a "Mac-Gatti Zone," a jalapeño-bacon mac and cheese calzone. The franchise owner told the AP that he "felt a little weird profiting from this situation" and decided to give the proceeds from the sale of Mac-Gatti Zone to charity. (He's given $600 already.) He went through 125 pounds of macaroni and cheese in the last week, more than six times the usual 20 pounds.

A few other charity groups have contacted UConn about fundraising campaigns, but there are issues concerning how any funds raised will be transferred to cafeteria workers as state employees; UConn policies prohibit employees receiving gifts having to do with their jobs. The GoFundMe campaign organizers say they are working with the school to get the funds to the cafeteria employees.

CTNOW went to try the infamous mac and cheese and found it to be excellent. The dish is typically served only as a late-night special, but they improvised the dish by picking up some jalapeños and bacon from the salad bar. It reports:

"Before we mixed in our toppings, we tried the macaroni on its own, and it's exceptional: soft twists of what look like gemelli pasta coated in a smooth, rich sauce and finished with a crispy, golden baked cheese crust. Though the bacon we snagged from the salad bar was a little underdone, it still added satisfying salty, fatty notes, and the peppers brought a touch of tangy heat."

Sounds pretty killer. If you're not in Connecticut, the New York Daily News has the recipe. Let us know if it's worth going to jail for.