The effect of the mindfulness-based mindful eating exercise and sensory analysis training on the permanence of the practice lesson learning for gastronomy students

In this thesis, it is aimed to increase the efficiency and learning permanence of hands- on cooking lessons in gastronomy education. In this respect, a long-term training plan that includes mindfulness-based mindful eating exercises and sensory analysis has been presented as a solution proposal. Thirty students participated in a three-phase, repeated-measures design consisting of pre-test, post-test, and permenance-test semi-structured individual interviews. This three-staged data collection model was chosen to rigorously assess both the immediate contributions of the interventions and the persistence of learning overtime. Following the mindfulness training, students reported a marked reduction in attentional lapses during class and improved management of stress-inducing emotions such as anxiety and excitement. Notably, it was also determined that students' thoughts about the past and future during the lesson did not affect their ability to refocus on the lesson. Comparing to prior to the training which many students relied on idiosyncratic strategies to regain concentration, after training students stated that they benefited from structured breathing exercises superiorly. Student feedback and study data indicate that the mindfulness-based training component largely met its intended objectives. In the mindful-eating and mindfulness-focused cooking sessions, participants demonstrated smaller bite sizes and slower eating speed. Within the five sensory modalities, hearing—which initially showed the lowest baseline awareness and recall—emerged as sense that dramatically paid more attention during measures and remembered after the sensory analysis. The research findings reveal that the students' examples of sensory examinations during the preparation, cooking and tasting stages of hands-on cooking lessons throughout the education process are increasingly diversified and enriched. After sensory analysis training, students were observed to have improved their sensitivity to umami and bitter tastes, which they had difficulty perceiving. In smell tests, while no high-level of positive development was observed in the detection of rare smells such as fruit and flower aromas, the increase in their in identifying smells frequently used in the kitchen such as spices is remarkable. These findings show that sensory awareness studies in culinary education can be effective in increasing students' professional competencies based on taste analysis by strengthening taste-smell memory. In sum, this it has been determined that the multifaceted trainings are effective in increasing the memorability of the lessons contents by consciously focusing on the senses of the students in the cooking and tasting stages of the hands-on lessons. It is recommended that the training programs outlined in the thesis be implemented, either in their entirety or in relevant sections, for students and kitchen staff, with the goal of enhancing the effectiveness of kitchen practice courses and improving sensory awareness among industry professionals. Additionally, it is suggested that these programs be evaluated using various research methodologies by applying them to different sample groups, in order to validate the findings of the thesis and assess the applicability of gastronomic education at various stages. Keywords: Gastronomy Education, Mindfulness, Mindful Cooking, Mindful Eating, Sensory Analysis.