Memorable Cooking Class Experience in Third-Generation Gastronomy Forms

Cooking classes offer a wide range of experiential benefits for individuals as a third-generation gastronomy form. However, despite some research on the cooking class experience, no study has covered the overall memorable cooking class experience. To bridge this gap, this paper aims to explore the components that represent memorable cooking class experiences in a leisure gastronomy context. To address the objective of this study, we adopted a qualitative research approach and interviewed 16 participants. We content-analyzed the gathered data. Our analysis identified five main themes that contribute to memorable cooking class experiences: cooking-companionship, socializing, cooking knowledge, involvement, and sense of taste (tastescape). Moreover, these components were found to contribute to overall participation satisfaction, affective and behavioral outcomes. The research outputs provide a theoretical understanding of a holistic picture of memorable cooking class experiences and meaningful implications for practitioners. This paper is the first to examine the cooking class from the perspective of the memorable experience concept. Therefore, the outputs of this article are believed to contribute to the literature on food-related experiences.