There’s no better way to bring a campus together than doling out the most stereotypically “student” meal you can think of — mac and cheese. But this isn’t your roommate’s Kraft Dinner Easy Mac.

How about a pan-seared squid ink pasta topped with salmon and Sriracha pearls? Crushed chestnuts over three varieties of blue cheese? Or five kinds of mushrooms on asiago cheese?

These were just three of the options at the University of Toronto’s Mac ‘N Cheese Smackdown last month. Five campus chefs faced off in the heart of U of T with 500 students sampling the dishes at lunch.

It was the fourth annual Smackdown and the biggest turnout yet, with all proceeds from the $5 entry fee going to the university food bank.