“I prepared my own carrots”. The effect of participation in an out-of-home cooking session on Dutch 4–6-year-old children’s vegetable consumption

•The effect of an interactive cooking session was experimentally investigated.•One vegetable preparation session did not increase children’s vegetable intake.•A small positive effect on involvement in food-related activities at home was found.•Based on children’s vegetable eating patterns, four different clusters were identified. Involvement in vegetable preparation is thought to be an effective strategy to increase children’s vegetable intake, but the evidence from experimental studies is scarce. A between-subject experiment was executed in a restaurant setting to investigate the effect of participation in vegetable preparation on 4–6-year-old children’s vegetable intake. After a baseline evening meal, intervention children (N = 50) participated in a vegetable preparation session together with an enthusiastic chef. Control children (N = 51) participated in small groups in a book-reading activity. Subsequently, they ate an evening meal. Follow-up sessions at one month and three months were included to assess possible longer-term effects. Vegetable intake was the main outcome. Secondary outcomes were vegetable choice and involvement in food-related activities at home. For all four sessions, children’s vegetable intake ranged between 50 and 60 g in both conditions (p > 0.05). Participation in carrot preparation did not increase children’s vegetable intake. Involvement in food-related activities at home remained stable in the intervention group, whereas it decreased slightly in the control group (p = 0.01). A cluster analysis identified four distinct vegetable eating patterns over time, suggesting that there are different segments of children. To conclude, participating once in an out-of-home vegetable preparation session with an enthusiastic chef did not influence children’s intake of a familiar vegetable, but it may support their general involvement in food-related activities at home.