The chefs slicing roast beef were only part of the allure of dinner at the Freshman Union last night.

Yesterday, dozens of students and guests attended the first of two Freshman-Faculty dinners this year.

"This is the menu the dean likes, so we're having it," said John O'Neill, the Union's manager. "We'll have cooks slicing outside on the line. It looks nicer, and the meat is more tender when cooked in large servings."

The Freshman Dean's Office, which sponsors the dinner, paid for flowers and other decorations, according to O'Neill.

Students and guests said they were pleased with the dinner.

"I had fabulous company," said Lamont Professor of Divinity Paul D. Hanson.

"This was much better than what I usually eat in Dunster," said Michael P. McGarry '88, a senior course assistant in Math 22.

Others said they thought the dinner could have been improved.

"It could be nicer," said H. Scott Roy '88, head section leader of Computer Science 150. "You could take a lesson from the houses on how to make it classier."

Although the ostensible purpose of the dinner was for Yardlings to eat with professors, dining hall worker Glen N. Debarros had a different theory.

"Put it like this. All these professors and all these kids, I think almost everybody's trying to get a grade," said Debarros.