Culinary professional training: Measurement of nutrition knowledge among culinary students enrolled in a southeastern culinary arts institute.

摘要

Nutrition training for culinary students has moved to the forefront as one of the more critical elements of the curriculum for chefs. In today's market, chefs are expected to be highly skilled in the preparation of appetizing meals that also meet current nutrition and health concerns (Baskette & Mainella, 1992).; This study investigated nutrition training as a part of the Culinary Arts curriculum in the Culinary Arts Department at the Art Institute of Atlanta. During culinary training for chefs, nutrition is a required course for certification through the National Restaurant Association (NRA) and the American Culinary Federation (ACF). Determining the value of this course will be of benefit in developing more advanced nutrition curriculum for culinary students in understanding the dietary needs of their customers.; Americans are continuing to consume the majority of their meals away from home. According to the NRA annual trends report for 2001, 46% of the average American's household food budget is spent on eating out, with an expected increase to 53% in 2010. Also, 399 billion dollars was spent on eating out during 2001, while an expected 599 billion dollars are projected to be spent in 2010 (NRA, 2001).; Within the food industry, chefs are key culinary professionals in the commercial food service arena. These professional chefs are the vanguard of the restaurant industry responsible for developing, creating, and producing the foods being consumed (Kent, 1985). Their knowledge and attitudes toward the importance of good nutrition is a critical element to customers who consume meals on a regular basis in commercial eating establishments.; The culinary professional is faced with the challenges of understanding customers' dietary needs, modifying current food preparation practices relating to nutritional values of foods and implementation of healthful nutrition education messages through meal preparation. The extensive knowledge required to meet these challenges are included on the NRA nutrition examination. Results of this study indicate there is a relationship between enrollment in a nutrition course and improvement of scores on the NRA nutrition examination.