Influence of Cooking Workshops on Cooking Skills and Knowledge among Children Attending Summer Day Camps

This study aimed to measure the influence of the Chefs in Action program (3 cooking workshops) on cooking skills, nutrition knowledge, and attitudes towards healthy eating in children attending summer day camps and compare it with a single cooking workshop. Groups of children (8-12 years) were randomly assigned to the intervention group (n = 25) or to 1 of 3 comparison groups performing a single workshop (group 1, n = 16; group 2, n = 36; group 3, n = 24). Two dietitians evaluated cooking skills during the workshops. Nutrition knowledge and attitudes towards healthy eating were assessed before and after the intervention. No improvement in cooking skills was observed in the intervention group (P = 0.25). The intervention group's cooking skills score was significantly higher than comparison group 1 (P < 0.001). Nutrition knowledge was significantly improved in the intervention group and the comparison group 3 (P < 0.0001) but no effect on attitudes towards healthy eating was observed (P_{group × time} = 0.36). In conclusion, the Chefs in Action program positively impacted nutrition knowledge in children. The results also suggest that the type of recipe may influence nutrition knowledge and cooking skills. Further studies are needed to better assess the degree of difficulty required in cooking workshop recipes to improve cooking skills in children.