Research has indicated that teaching cooking skills to children encourages healthier food choices.  In an effort to teach these life skills, the Washington County Family and Consumer Sciences Agent, the Washington County 4-H Youth Development Agent, the Washington County Nutrition Education Program Assistant, and a UK dietetic student worked together to offer Super Star Chef, a three-day camp for students ages 9 through 12 that is designed to teach kitchen safety, food safety, nutrition concepts, and physical activity.  In addition, the students practiced food preparation skills with supervision.

Ten students participated in Super Star Chef.  Overall, pre/post comparisons of participant responses to the assessment instrument showed that the program enhanced participant understanding of the nutrition concepts covered in the program.  The average total score on the test increased from 6.9 in the pretest to 9.9 in the posttest (out of a maximum of 13).  The pre/posttest also included seven items that measured participants' total cooking efficacy, and analysis showed that this increased from 30.6 to 34.7 (out of a maximum of 36).  Additionally, the posttest included a self-assessment of participants' intentions to make healthy choices after participating in the Super Star Chef program.  All of the respondents (100%) reported that they can identify healthy foods, plan to drink more water, plan to drink less soda, and plan to try new foods.  Parents commented that kids were excited to cook at home after participating in the program.