The Illinois Junior Chefs Program: Demographic Associations with Dietary Attitudes and Behaviors at Baseline
Authors: Metcalfe Jessica Jarick , Emberton Emilie , Liu Ruyu , Fiese Barbara , McCaffrey Jennifer 
Published: June 2021

Background

American children fall far short of meeting national nutrition recommendations for daily intake of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains (Krebs‐Smith et al., 2010), and many researchers claim that hands‐on culinary education for youth could help address this public health concern (Nelson, Corbin, & Nickols‐Richardson, 2013). Illinois Junior Chefs (IJC) is a culinary education program implemented throughout Illinois designed to improve participants' dietary attitudes and habits through hands‐on cooking lessons.

Objective

This study sought to describe IJC baseline sample characteristics and investigate differences in baseline survey scores based on demographics.

Method

IJC is a culinary education program typically taught over five two‐hour lessons. Each lesson has a food group focus (i.e., fruit) paired with a recipe (i.e., fruit salsa) that utilizes the specific cooking skill (i.e., knife skills) taught during that lesson. Participants (n = 1194) were 41.1% male and 59.2% female, ranging in age from 6 – 18 (mean age = 9.6). Approximately 29% of students had participated in a cooking program in the past. The average number of students per class was 17, with an average student to teacher ratio of 13:1. Program evaluations assessed IJC impact and fidelity. Researchers conducted observations at selected sites and instructors provided self‐reports of fidelity through lesson checklists. Participants filled out pre‐ and post‐intervention surveys that included the following subscales: cooking self‐efficacy, fruit and vegetable preferences, cooking attitudes, healthy eating behaviors, cooking behaviors, and self‐efficacy for selecting and eating healthy foods.

Results

Baseline survey scores were significantly correlated with age for the following subscales: cooking self‐efficacy (r(1142) = .074, p = .013), fruit and vegetable preferences (r(1138) = −.063, p = .034), cooking attitudes (r(1136) = −.078, p = .008), and self‐efficacy for selecting and eating healthy foods (r(1122) = −.157, p < .001). Additionally, baseline survey scores were significantly higher for females than males for the subscales: cooking self‐efficacy (t(718) = 7.93, p < .001), cooking attitudes (t(605) = 7.97, p < .001), healthy eating behaviors (t(1126) = 4.30, p < .001), cooking behaviors (t(1124) = 7.01, p < .001), and self‐efficacy for selecting and eating healthy foods (t(796) = 3.52, p < .001).

Conclusions

Older children tended to score higher on the cooking self‐efficacy subscale, while younger children had stronger preferences for fruits and vegetables, more positive attitudes towards cooking, and higher self‐efficacy for selecting and eating healthy foods. Female participants had higher scores for most survey subscales, indicating that our participants were not immune to gender norms surrounding cooking (Inness, 2001). Future research with the Illinois Junior Chefs Program will investigate whether gender differences and age effects persist post‐intervention.

Support or Funding Information

This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under award number 2011‐67001‐30101.

Sample Characteristics

Participant Characteristics
Mean (SD) or %

Age
9.6 (1.7)

Gender

Male
41.1%

Female
59.2%

Race

Caucasian
83.1%

African American
15.2%

Asian
0.7%

Other
1.0%

Ethnicity

Hispanic
21.2%

Non‐Hispanic
78.7%

Participated in Cooking Program in Past

Yes
29.0%

No
71.0%

Program Characteristics
Mean (SD)or %

Taught by Teen Teachers

Yes
61.5%

No
38.5%

Student to Teacher Ratio
13:1 (7.1)

Class Size
17 (8.0)