Edge: Cultivating a Learning Culture in Your Kitchen

This Management Connection CE article appeared in the January/February 2026 issue of Nutrition & Foodservice Edge magazine. To view a PDF of this article click HERE.

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Cultivating a Learning Culture in Your Kitchen

By: Chrissy Carroll, MPH, RD

In any work environment, a team that embraces learning can be a valuable asset. As a CDM, CFPP, you can help to cultivate this learning culture in your kitchen. This can be done by creating an environment where staff can grow in their knowledge and skills, participate in training opportunities, ask questions, and feel supported along the way.

WHY CONTINUED LEARNING IS BENEFICIAL

Regulations, best practices, nutrition science…these all evolve over time. Remember the era in the ‘90s when much of the public believed fat-free cookies were a healthy option simply because they said “fat-free”? Or how the “top 8” allergens have now shifted to the “big 9” (with the addition of sesame)? Did you know resident rights were not federally guaranteed until legislation was passed in the late 1980s?

As science, psychology, and laws progress, so do the ways we approach nutrition, cooking, resident relations, and teamwork. It’s not only essential for you to stay up to date on these, but for your team as well. This can improve patient care outcomes and reduce the risk of costly regulatory mistakes.

Lifelong learning opportunities also help staff feel valued and invested in their work. It provides a pathway for growth. Even if there are no current opportunities for promotions in 18 your organization, training and skill development can help them in future career paths.

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE WORKPLACE DEVELOPMENT

Multiple factors which influence the success of workplace learning interventions were outlined in an excellent study in the Journal of Workplace Learning. Some are individual antecedents that influence participation and engagement which are not easily modified. These include factors like your employee’s educational level (increased education is linked to more learning engagement), age (mid-career employees tend to engage most in workplace learning), and baseline intrinsic motivation (higher motivation is linked to more engagement).

However, there are also contextual antecedents that influence learning. You have far more control over these as a foodservice manager, and adjusting them can help influence the learning culture in your kitchen. These contextual factors include:

• Regular learning opportunities. Sounds obvious, but bears repeating! Providing regular training and coaching opportunities enhances employee skills and knowledge.
• Task variety. More variety in daily tasks drives an increased demand for learning opportunities.
• Reduced time pressure. Overwhelming workloads act as a barrier to learning. This can be a challenge in a busy kitchen, but can be managed with proper scheduling, task prioritization, and time management strategies.
• Clearly outlined job expectations. These stimulate learning by providing transparent benchmarks for employee performance.
• Job autonomy. This enhances engagement in workforce development as employees develop their own solution-focused mindset.
• Active leadership. Supportive leaders who are involved in the kitchen can facilitate learning opportunities through feedback and skill development.
• Positive workplace culture. Good relationships with management and peers support the desire to further engage in educational and teambuilding activities.
• Psychological safety. Employees should feel safe to admit mistakes or knowledge gaps, knowing that management will work in tandem on problem-solving.
• Regular feedback. This includes both formal feedback and casual conversations (both positive and constructive) which help employees refine skills.

STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE LEARNING

Building on the factors above, as well as other research on learning and best practices in the field, here are some helpful strategies to enhance your employees’ knowledge and skills.

Use multiple learning formats.

This approach can improve conceptual understanding, particularly for complex topics, when compared to any single form of instruction. In fact, there is some evidence that learning using multiple senses – like seeing, hearing, and physically performing a task – can influence how the brain stores that information. Multisensory learning may create a stronger and more accessible brain pattern that helps connect new concepts to what is already known, making that information more easily integrated into work.

Strive to use a variety of formats in longer educational programs, and mix up the types of formats for regular, shorter training sessions. Multisensory learning could include combinations of the following formats:

• In-person lecturing
• Demonstrations of behaviors
• Case studies
• Hands-on cooking activities
• Virtual learning options
• Peer-to-peer mentorship
• Small group learning
• Applied practice
• One-on-one coaching
• Posters or flyers with proper procedures
• Reading materials

Be an active role model.

In the context of both general workplace learning and specifically food safety behaviors, good management practices are linked to enhanced learning. Actively involved managers can emphasize food safety importance, role model proper practices, and address critical issues promptly. All of these are linked to better food safety practices in your kitchen (and less worries for you about critical resident or student safety issues).

Try “microlearning.”

While there is no standard definition for this term, most experts agree that microlearning involves short, bite-sized pieces of educational content that are focused on a single objective. These trainings are often just a few minutes long and are typically delivered asynchronously via mobile or web-based applications.

Unfortunately, there is little research on this in workplace settings. However, research in educational settings (including adult learners) is promising, linking microlearning to better educational outcomes, improved knowledge and skill acquisition, and increased learner confidence. It is certainly plausible that these benefits found in educational settings could extend to workplace settings too.

Virtual microlearning could include quick mobile modules that staff complete as part of onboarding or on an ongoing basis. Vendors may have microlearning modules available to license to your organization. With the advent of AI and some tech-savvy experimentation, you may also be able to develop and customize your own microlearning lessons specific to your organization.

However, in the foodservice realm, there is a major role for in-person microlearning as well, even if this is not the “true” definition in the research sense. In-person microlearning could include:

• Quick single concept training as part of the morning huddle
• A safety spotlight mid-shift that identifies a best practice or highlights a problematic issue with a solution
• A quick refresher on a single regulation, piece of equipment, or dietary concern
• Quick temperature check pop-quiz – pull an item or point to a food holding location and ask what the proper temperature should be
• Review of a new menu item, asking staff to identify the top allergens in the ingredients
• Ask a staff member to demonstrate the proper procedure for one simple task (i.e., changing gloves, washing hands, labeling and dating a product)

Consider the “KAP” framework when designing training activities.

KAP stands for knowledge, attitude, and practice. Training in food service often focuses on the first part of this framework – knowledge. While improving knowledge is valuable, research suggests that this alone does not always translate to better practices in the kitchen. Ideally, the goal of learning is to successfully change the last piece of the framework, which is what is actually performed at work.

How does this translate to structuring your training? Consider learning opportunities that address not only the knowledge, but also the attitude and practice portions of the framework. Enhancing attitude surrounding a behavior may lead to an increased intention to perform the behavior correctly. Opportunities to successfully practice a behavior may lead to increased implementation on an everyday basis.

Here are some examples to consider:

• Utilize a Glo-Germ kit to visually demonstrate “bacteria” on the hands. Ask employees what would happen if the bacteria were transmitted to food. How would they feel if they were served food from someone whose hands were covered in germs? Emphasize the importance of regular handwashing to reduce this risk, and have employees practice proper handwashing techniques with a pre-/post-washing Glo-Germ experiment.
• Share guest speakers or news articles of foodborne illness or allergic reactions. Hearing real-life stories can help enhance employee perception of the risk of improper food safety behaviors. Practice one key preventative factor as part of the training (for example, checking a tray card for allergens).
• Create role play scenarios, such as a resident being served food that doesn’t correspond to their proper IDDSI level. Employees should identify why this is problematic. Discuss how they might feel if it were a family member (emotions can connect to attitudes towards behavior change). Employees can describe or actively depict the corrective actions, depending on the scenario.
• Ask employees to develop their own 5-minute teaching opportunity on a task in which they feel confident. Teaching peers will help increase their own self-efficacy, gives an opportunity to practice and demonstrate skills, and showcases an organizational culture where everyone can be an expert.
• Channel your inner John Quiñones with a “What Would You Do?” learning activity. Showcase a video clip of a problematic foodservice issue, whether from a news segment or from a virtual learning platform. Ask employees what they would do in this scenario, and why it matters. Practice one concept that goes along with the issue in the video clip.

Provide frequent educational opportunities.

Learning is not just limited to onboarding; it should be a lifelong process in the kitchen. Research suggests that frequency of training is key to behavior implementation. Knowledge and attitudes can erode over time without ongoing educational opportunities.

Ongoing opportunities can include the microlearning ideas previously discussed, regular in-services, team huddles, more intensive educational trainings (for example, supporting employees that want to pursue their CDM, CFPP credential), weekly skill spotlights, peer-led mini trainings, visual learning aids, monthly themes, question-of-the-day activities, staff meetings, and more. Spend a little time at the beginning of each month planning your ongoing trainings to help make the process seem less overwhelming and easier to implement.

Overcome barriers.

Studies have identified many barriers to learning and implementation of workplace behaviors. Lack of training is an obvious one, but others include lack of time, competing tasks, literacy levels, managerial attitudes, lack of staff motivation, absence of reminders about training, or lack of clarity in educational messaging.

It can feel overwhelming to try to address all the barriers at once, so take a few minutes to think about your staff and what you feel is the biggest barrier to their learning. For example, if you have a lot of non-native English speakers and you currently deliver all your training in English, perhaps language and literacy is the best place to start. Could you have an educator that speaks the predominant language in the kitchen conduct an in-service? Could you break down concepts into simpler words, both spoken and on paper? Could you demonstrate hands-on techniques and visuals that transcend the spoken word? These would all be ways to help overcome that potential barrier.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Cultivating a learning culture is one of the best ways to develop a stellar team and improve client outcomes. No kitchen is too busy to learn! Planning regular educational opportunities that consider factors known to influence learning will help enhance your staff’s knowledge, attitude, and practice.

About the Author

Chrissy Carroll, MPH, RD

Chrissy Carroll is a registered dietitian, freelance writer, and brand consultant based in central Massachusetts.