As a derivative of the core concept of literacy, food literacy can similarly either empower or disempower people. For example, the meaning of food literacy can be narrowed down to knowing how to grocery shop and prepare a meal, resulting in obedient neoliberal consumers who never challenge the food system. However, given the problems associated…

"'Who's Gonna Water My Tomatoes?': School Gardens, Kitchens, and the Search for Educational Authenticity" updates an old concept for our modern age, utilizing school gardens and culinary kitchens where students grow, prepare, and eat their own food. Over a century ago, the educational philosopher John Dewey proposed reforming education…

Nowadays, unhealthy dietary habits, insufficient food knowledge, and lack of manual skills are typical issues among primary and secondary school students in China. To help students build up a strong constitution and life wisdom, Weifang Hansheng School of Shandong developed a food education course. This paper expounds on the course framework,…

Computational creativity, the generation of new, unimagined ideas or artifacts by a machine that are deemed creative by people, can be applied in the culinary domain to create novel and flavorful dishes. In fact, we have done so successfully using a combinatorial algorithm for recipe generation combined with statistical models for recipe ranking…

We live in the most complex food environment in human history. Our global food system, which rose over the course of the 20th and early 21st centuries, has had an enormous impact on what and how we eat. This arrangement, currently dominated by a small number of "agri-food" companies, has produced an abundance of inexpensive, readily…

Creating meaningful professional development opportunities for general education faculty can be particularly challenging at professionally-focused institutions where teaching liberal arts courses is sometimes viewed merely as a service requirement. Committing to sustained professional development for general education faculty can lead to…

Several years ago, a new nonscience majors course, The Science of Food and Cooking, was developed at our institution. The course covered basic scientific concepts that would normally be discussed in a typical introductory chemistry course, in the context of food and food preparation. Recently, the course has been revamped in three major ways: (1)…

Culinary Arts training at the associates level presents a set of challenges to the instructor. It has been my experience that as the work environment is changing, students face new challenges in the kitchen, including a new mix of skills, both technical and social in nature. In this piece, I reflect on a promising learning community model at our…

Partnerships between community colleges and employers to create apprenticeships have been around for decades. These traditionally have covered fields like the building trades--electrical, construction and others--as well as heavy manufacturing like the automobile industry. Inspired partly by a new federal apprenticeship consortium--and $175…

Baking can be intimidating. Just ask all those contestants on "Top Chef" who would rather prepare Beef Wellington than bake a cake. But libraries can take the fear factor out of baking by putting together a solid collection of cookbooks that can help anyone master the sweeter side of the culinary arts or even serve as delicious armchair reading…

Food preparation skills are needed to prepare low-cost, nutritious meals that meet current dietary recommendations. Research indicates that many youth and adults can read a recipe for ingredients, but they often do not know basic food preparation techniques such as how to broil, fold, dredge, baste and other cooking methods. To address the need to…

Provided are recipes (with accompanying questions and activities) designed to help teachers and parents as they explore science and cooking with children. Recipes include those for orange soup, orange milk shakes, and yogurt. (JN)

A new preschool teacher centers her class' curriculum on cooking. She is surprised to learn that not only are cooking options limited by children's health concerns, but young children do not embrace new foods and flavors. Respecting the children's preferences, the teacher adapts the cooking theme to the children's differences and needs.

This article describes the growth and popularity of Newport Harbor's culinary arts program, which reflects a nationwide trend. The trend is occurring in part, because more Americans are eating out. As the number of people eating out increases, their appetite for learning about food also increases. Over the past few years, Dukes has expanded…

Here is a book that invites teachers to the table--even those of us who don't see ourselves as cooks--to create tasty, wholesome projects with children. Young children certainly love to cook, and cooking experiences give them a chance to see a task through to completion and take pride in a product. As they prepare food, children learn social…