"The Ram Chef program: Exploring perceptions of cooking independence and culinary abilities of young adults with disabilities and their caregivers".

Background: Persons with intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD) may struggle to achieve and manage independent living and may often require assistance from caregivers. Teaching adults with IDD to perform activities to promote independence, with the least amount of assistance, may improve their self-determination and independence.

Objective: The Ram Chefs program is a virtual culinary program designed to teach basic cooking skills to adults with IDD. The first purpose of this qualitative study was to explore differences in perception of cooking independence between young adults with IDD (N = 8) and parents/caregivers (N = 9). The second purpose was to evaluate the satisfaction and continue growth of the Ram Chefs program.

Methods: The Active Engagement Model provided the conceptual framework for this qualitative phenomenological study. To explore the shared experiences of the adults with IDD versus their parents/caregivers' perception of meal choice and independence in preparation, one-on-one interviews were conducted. Focus groups were conducted to evaluate the satisfaction of the Ram Chefs program. Data were analyzed using focused coding, significant statement formulation, and development of structural descriptions.

Results: Three themes emerged: adults with IDD can cook easy-to-prepare meals independently, adults with IDD want total meal preparation independence, and parents/caregivers thought total meal preparation independence was achievable with assistance. There were no stated discrepancies between the adults with IDD and the parents/caregivers regarding their meal choice/preparation. Results indicated the young adults with IDD benefitted from the virtual culinary program and wanted to continue improving culinary skills, offering them more cooking independence and their parents/caregivers believe that this is possible.

Conclusion: Increasing cooking independence for young adults with IDD may offer benefits including increased self-efficacy and self-determination, may improve nutrition education to support healthier eating, and increase employability in the food service arena.