Research Information System
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GASTRONOMY AND FOOD SCIENCE, vol.40, 2025 (SCI-Expanded)
This study aimed to determine the effects of culinary creativity levels of chef candidates who study in undergraduate programs of gastronomy and culinary arts department on their intention to reuse food waste and food waste behaviours. While food waste has become a growing global problem, the creativity of chefs is considered critical to solving it. The study group consisted of undergraduate students in the Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts for the spring and fall semesters of the academic year 2023-2024. 524 volunteer chef candidates who were selected through convenience sampling, one of the improbable sampling types, were included in the study. In this study, the reliability of the "Culinary Creativity Level Scale" was .92, the reliability of the "Food Waste Behaviour Scale" was .66, and the reliability of the "Intention to Reuse Food Waste Scale" was .73. The significance values of the scales were found to be p < 0.05. The findings were analysed using SPSS and AMOS software. Culinary creativity levels of the chef candidates were found to increase the intention to reuse food waste by 55.0% and to lower the waste behaviour level in the kitchens by 13.0%. Moreover, the intention to reuse food waste reduced food waste behaviour by 13.0%. This study emphasised that the creativity levels of chef candidates can play an effective role in managing food waste, and future educational programs should be strengthened in this area. As a result, it demonstrates the importance of integrating the creative thinking skills of chef candidates into the educational processes in order to reduce food waste.