Increasing intention to eat seaweeds through culinary workshops with a chef: A randomized controlled study on Quebec consumers

Abstract

Quebec's seaweeds are an abundant resource and are considered a healthy food with multiple gastronomic qualities but remained largely unconsumed by Quebecers. To increase seaweed consumption, culinary interventions could be developed. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of a seaweed-focused culinary workshop on changes in Seaweeds Cooking Skills (SCS), Seaweeds Attitude (SAT), Seaweeds Self-Efficacy (SSE), Seaweeds Acceptance (SAC) and Seaweeds Introduction Into Food Habits (SIIFH). For that purpose, n = 98 participants were recruited and randomly assigned to a Control Group (CG), who received seaweed products and recipes, and a Culinary Workshop Group (CWG), who took part in a three-hour, chef-supervised culinary workshop in addition to receiving seaweed products and recipes. A series of online self-administered questionnaires were completed by participants at the beginning of the study (T1) and approximately one month after the culinary workshops ended (T2). Statistical analyses were performed to assess changes in outcomes between groups and at the level of all participants over time. Findings revealed that SCS, SAT and SSE increased significantly more (p-value < 0.05) for the CWG than for the CG. However, some significant improvements were observed in SSE (p-value = < 0.001) for the CG. SAC, which was very high at T1, did not change at T2 for either group, but SIIFH increased (p-value = 0.001) in both groups, probably due to exposure to seaweed. In conclusion, with only one culinary workshop, the CWG produced encouraging results, suggesting that this is a promising intervention to further develop seaweed consumption by Quebec consumers.