Childhood obesity continues to be a public health concern, with over 340 million children and youth ages 5 to 19 classified as overweight or obese in 2016¹. Taste and unfamiliarity with foods² have been identified as barriers to children consuming a balanced diet. On the other hand, multiple cooking and tasting sessions can help increase fruit and vegetable consumption in the short term³ and improve attitudes towards food⁴.

Project CHEF: A Cooking and Tasting Program at schools

Project CHEF is a one-week cooking and tasting program delivered in Vancouver schools by trained chefs. Students learn in 4 to 5 sessions (2.5 hours each) basic food and kitchen safety rules, knife skills, and how to read and follow a recipe. They cook in small groups after watching recipe demonstrations. At the end of each session, students, parent volunteers, and teachers sit around the table to enjoy what they cooked together.

Study Design and Participants

Grade 4 and 5 students (9-11 years old) were recruited in an intervention group (n=68) and a comparison group (n= 32) to assess the effect of the program on their food preferences. Using a 4-point scale (3— like a lot, 2— like a bit, 1—don’t like, 0— don’t know), students reported in a survey adapted from previously published questionnaires^5,6 on preferences at baseline and 2 weeks after taking Project CHEF for:

• 1 fruit (pear),
• 5 vegetables (sweet red peppers, broccoli, swiss chard, carrots),
• 1 grain (quinoa),
• 1 meat alternative (beans).

Parent surveys were sent home at the same time that students were completing their second survey.

Project CHEF improves students’ attitudes towards F&V

Students who participated in Project CHEF reported an increased familiarity and/or preference for the foods introduced through the program, compared to students in the comparison group. Increases were statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05) for broccoli (M=2.61 ±0.63 vs 2.25 ±0.62), swiss chard (M=1.96 ±0.99 vs 0.31 ±0.69), carrots (M=2.63 ±0.54 vs 2.31 ±0.69) and quinoa (M=1.67 ±1.22 vs 0.72 ±1.14).

A higher percentage of students in the intervention group also reported being very likely to try new foods, compared to students in the comparison group (47% vs. 28%). This change was confirmed by parents who observed at home that children were more willing to try new foods after participating in Project CHEF (41% after vs. 28% before exposure to the program).

Experiential School interventions: an important step to develop healthy food habits in students. The results suggest that involving students in hands-on cooking and tasting programs (such as Project CHEF) is a great way of introducing them to new foods and can positively influence their preferences (particularly for vegetables and whole grains), an important first step towards developing healthier food habits.

Based on: Zahr R, Sibeko L. Influence of a School-Based Cooking Course on Students’ Food Preferences, Cooking Skills, and Confidence. Can J Diet Pract Res. 2017;78:37–41. DOI: 10.3148/cjdpr-2016-030. Published at dcjournal.ca on 1 February 2017