Abstract
Intervention
The Professional Cooking (PC) course is an optional 18-week experiential learning course offered in francophone high schools in New Brunswick, Canada. Students are taught how to measure ingredients, read and follow recipes, prepare and cook various foods using different culinary techniques, and apply food safety practices.
Research question
What is the effectiveness of the PC course on high school girls’ and boys’ cooking and food skills, vegetable and fruit consumption, and other eating behaviours?
Methods
Students enrolled in the PC course (n = 124) or a mandatory Personal and Social Development (PSD) course (n = 202) in five high schools were recruited. Students’ food and cooking skills, vegetable and fruit consumption, and other eating behaviours were collected through a self-administered, pre-post questionnaire. Group differences were assessed with mixed-effect regression models, and separate gender analyses were conducted.
Results
Students in the PC course reported greater increases in food (β=5.74, 95% CI 1.65, 9.83) and cooking skills (β=10.33, 95% CI 5.59, 15.06) than students in the PSD course. Girls and boys in the PC course reported greater improvements in cooking skills (β=8.68, 95% CI 2.57, 14.80; β=11.97, 95% CI 4.39, 19.57, respectively) than those in the PSD course. No effect was found for vegetable and fruit consumption or other eating behaviours (all p values > 0.05).
Conclusion
The PC course effectively improved students’ cooking skills. Curriculum-integrated high school cooking courses provide a foundation for healthier eating by helping students develop food literacy skills and should be mandatory in schools.
Résumé
Intervention
Le cours de Cuisine professionnelle (CP) est un cours d’apprentissage expérientiel optionnel, d’une durée de 18 semaines, offert dans les écoles secondaires francophones au Nouveau-Brunswick, Canada. Les élèves sont enseignés comment mesurer des ingrédients, lire et suivre des recettes, préparer et cuire une variété d’aliments en utilisant différentes techniques culinaires et appliquer des pratiques d’hygiène et de salubrité alimentaire.
Question de recherche
Quelle est l’efficacité du cours de CP sur les habiletés culinaires et alimentaires, la consommation de légumes et fruits et les autres comportements alimentaires des filles et des garçons?
Méthodes
Les élèves inscrits dans un cours à option de CP (n = 124) ou d’un cours obligatoire de Formation personnelle et sociale (FPS) (n = 202) livrés dans cinq écoles secondaires ont été recrutés. Les habiletés culinaires et alimentaires, la consommation de légumes et fruits et les autres comportements alimentaires des élèves ont été recueillis par un questionnaire auto-rapporté pré- et post. Des modèles de régression à effets mixtes ont été utilisés pour évaluer les différences entre les groupes et des analyses stratifiées par genre ont été effectuées.
Résultats
Les élèves inscrits au cours de CP ont rapporté des améliorations plus grandes de leurs habiletés alimentaires (β=5,74, 95% CI 1,65, 9,83) et culinaires (β=10,33, 95% CI 5,59, 15,06) en comparaison avec les élèves du cours de FPS. Les filles et les garçons inscrits au cours de CP ont amélioré davantage leurs habiletés culinaires (β=8,68, 95% CI 2,57, 14,80; β=11,97, 95% CI 4,39, 19,57, respectivement) que ceux qui étaient inscrits au cours de FPS. Aucune différence significative n’a été notée entre les deux groupes quant à la consommation en légumes et fruits et aux autres comportements alimentaires (toutes les valeurs de p > 0,05).
Conclusion
Le cours de CP a permis d’améliorer les habiletés culinaires des élèves. Les cours culinaires intégrés dans le curriculum des écoles secondaires permettent d’établir une base nécessaire pour une saine alimentation en aidant les élèves à développer leurs habiletés et devraient donc être des cours obligatoires dans les écoles.
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Availability of data and material
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
This study was conducted as part of a Master’s research project and the findings are reported in the following thesis: LeBlanc J. (2021) Efficacité des cours de cuisine professionnelle sur la littératie alimentaire, les comportements alimentaires et la consommation de légumes et fruits des adolescents et adolescentes du District scolaire francophone Sud au Nouveau-Brunswick. [Master’s thesis, Université de Moncton].
Thank you to Professors Bradley Harding and Jeremy Noble for their time and expertise in revising the statistical analyses.
Funding
This study received funding from the Faculté des études supérieures et de la recherche at the Université de Moncton.
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All authors contributed to the study conception, design and material preparation. Jasmine LeBlanc completed data collection and analysis and the first draft of the manuscript. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript and approved the final version.
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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee (Comité d’éthique de la recherche sur les êtres humains at the Université de Moncton, #CER-190923) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
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LeBlanc, J., Ward, S. & LeBlanc, C.P. An elective high school cooking course improves students’ cooking and food skills: a quasi-experimental study. Can J Public Health 113, 764–775 (2022). https://doi.org/10.17269/s41997-022-00660-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.17269/s41997-022-00660-6