Blended Learning in Culinary Arts: A Case Study in Learning and Perception

Abstract

There is great need for skillful culinary employees for a wide variety of positions in the hospitality, hotel, and restaurant industry. Culinary school provides a baseline educational experience for students looking to pursue this career field. Culinary instructors find themselves obligated to discover ways to promote student learning in classic culinary competencies while evolving with a population that is tech-savvy and requires more than the standard lecture and rote memorization of materials. This paper describes an exploratory study that incorporated videos as part of a blended learning model in a traditional face-to-face culinary arts class at the University of Alaska Anchorage. The curriculum was on poultry fabrication, and data collection focused on students’ skills and their perceptions of the blended learning activities. Initial feedback suggest that including videos in the culinary arts classroom facilitates learning, and though they cannot replace in-class live demonstrations, are beneficial educational accompaniments. Recommendations for practice and implications are discussed.