Teaching Healthy Cooking Skills to Parents and Their Preschool ChildrenCHEF-EDNCT06940817
Cooking HEalthy and Facilitating Early Childhood Development: CHEF-ED Study
A study testing CHEF-ED + Food Delivery and Food Delivery Only in people with Teaching Healthy Cooking Skills to Parents and Their Preschool Children, run by Baylor College of Medicine at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
This study aims to test a new online program we developed for parents and their preschool children, called CHEF-ED. CHEF-ED focuses on healthy cooking, parental feeding practices, and involving children in home food preparation. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 64 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Teaching Healthy Cooking Skills to Parents and Their Preschool Children
- What is being tested?
- CHEF-ED + Food Delivery and Food Delivery Only
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 300 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 19 Jun 2025to 31 Aug 2027
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 64 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult
Who may be able to join
- Parents/caregivers of preschooler children ages 3 to 5 living in the greater Houston area.
- Must have access to the Internet through a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer.
- Should be able to read, write, and communicate in English or Spanish.
Who cannot join
- Parents/caregivers and children who have any kind of food allergies, medical conditions, or dietary restrictions that may affect participation in the program.
- Parents/caregivers under the age of 18.
- Parents/caregivers of children with severe developmental delays.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
United States1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas, 77030
Arely Y. Balderas, BA, 713-798-9175, arely.balderas@bcm.edu
Nilda Micheli, BS, 713-798-6737, nildam@bcm.edu
About this study
Official title: Re-establishing Inter-generational Cooking Education and Improving Diet Quality Through an Integrated Parenting and Healthy Cooking Program for Low-income Families With Young Children
This study aims to test a new online program we developed for parents and their preschool children, called CHEF-ED. CHEF-ED focuses on healthy cooking, parental feeding practices, and involving children in home food preparation.
Read the detailed description
All study activities take place online over a 3-month period, and participants are randomly assigned to one of three groups: the CHEF-ED + Food Delivery group, the Food Delivery Only group, or the control group. Participants will not know to which group they are assigned until after they complete the time point 1 surveys. The assignment will be determined randomly using a computer program (equivalent to flipping a coin).
To test how well the program works, regardless of group assignment, participants are asked to complete surveys at two different time points: Time point 1 = pre-program, shortly after enrollment, and Time point 2 = post-program, about 8-10 weeks later. The surveys take about 2 hours to complete online at each time point and will include questions about the participant's and their child's dietary intake, their cooking frequency/quality, food parenting practices, and program content retention. Surveys will also include questions about family's demographics (such as participant's and their child's date of birth, ethnicity, race, sex, etc.), and household food access.
The CHEF-ED + Food Delivery group receives a one-time home food delivery of healthy cooking ingredients and kitchen utensils, such as cooking oil, spices, whole wheat pasta, low sodium soy sauce, bowls, and recipe books. Participants in this group also receive links to weekly CHEF-ED online lessons via text /email message for 7 weeks. Each weekly lesson will include a short video, infographics, and recipes.
The Food Delivery Only group receives a one-time home food delivery of healthy cooking ingredients and kitchen utensils, but no other program materials.
The control group receives no program materials or food delivery.
About 8-10 weeks after completing the time point 1 surveys, participants will receive links to complete the time point 2 surveys. After completing the post-program surveys, participants who were in the Food Delivery Only or control group will receive additional program materials that were not previously provided due to their group assignment. This means that the Food Delivery Only group, after completing the time point 2 surveys, will receive links to all of the CHEF-ED program materials (videos, infographics, recipes) and, the control group, after completing the time point 2 surveys, will receive the one-time healthy ingredients and kitchen utensils delivery and links to all of the CHEF-ED program materials.
Additionally, participants in the CHEF-ED + Food Delivery group, after the post-program surveys, may be invited to take part in an interview to share their experience with the program. This interview will be conducted over the phone or a video conference platform. The information participants share during the interview, such as suggestions and insights on materials accessibility, will help us improve the program.
- Being tested
- CHEF-ED + Food Delivery, Food Delivery Only
- Keywords
- Food security, Nutrition education, Cooking practices, Feeding practices, Chronic disease
- Medical subject headings
- Chronic Disease
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
CHEF-ED + Food DeliveryBehavioural
CHEF-ED is a 7-week, digital, video-based parental intervention that teaches healthy cooking practices and an optimal way to involve children in home cooking. Each week features a video, infographics, and recipe content. The content is designed to be integrated into the home food environment without major changes to shopping habits. However, some basic culinary ingredients that are featured may not already be part of participating family pantry stocks. To support participants in effectively learning the healthy cooking strategies, participating families are provided a one-time home food delivery of non-perishable basic culinary ingredients and kitchen utensils, such as cooking oil, spices, whole wheat pasta, low sodium soy sauce, bowls.
Food Delivery OnlyBehavioural
The Food Delivery Only intervention involves participants receiving a one-time home food delivery of non-perishable basic culinary ingredients and kitchen utensils, such as cooking oil, spices, whole wheat pasta, low sodium soy sauce, bowls.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| CHEF-ED + Food Delivery group | Experimental | Participants in this arm will receive a one-time delivery of non-perishable basic culinary ingredients and kitchen utensils and access to the CHEF-ED program, which includes weekly online program materials, such as videos, infographics, and recipes sent via text or email over 7 weeks. Receives: Behavioral: CHEF-ED + Food Delivery |
| Food Delivery Only group | Active comparator | Participants in this arm receive a one-time delivery of non-perishable basic culinary ingredients and kitchen utensils but will not have access to the CHEF-ED program during the study period. Receives: Behavioral: Food Delivery Only |
| Control group | No intervention | Participants in this arm will not receive the healthy cooking ingredients delivery nor will they have access to the CHEF-ED program during the study period. |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Child diet quality
Parent report of child dietary intake using a validated food frequency survey.
Measured: From baseline assessment to the post-intervention assessment. The intervention program is 7 weeks.
Secondary outcomes (4)
Parent diet quality
Self-report of diet quality using a validated diet history questionnaire.
Measured: From baseline assessment to the post-intervention assessment. The intervention program is 7 weeks.
Parent cooking frequency/quality
Self-report of healthy cooking using a validated questionnaire.
Measured: From baseline assessment to the post-intervention assessment. The intervention program is 7 weeks.
Food parenting practices
Second order constructs from a validated food parenting questionnaire - encourage trying new foods; structure; external control.
Measured: From baseline assessment to the post-intervention assessment. The intervention program is 7 weeks.
Knowledge of best feeding practices
Six items related to child eating behaviors reported by parents.
Measured: From baseline assessment to the post-intervention assessment. The intervention program is 7 weeks.
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted23 Apr 2025
- Study start19 Jun 2025
- Primary completion31 Aug 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion31 Aug 2027 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Teaching Healthy Cooking Skills to Parents and Their Preschool ChildrenStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Baylor College of MedicineThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 300 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Baylor College of Medicine
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Sheryl Hughes, Baylor College of Medicine
- Investigators
- Sheryl O. Hughes, PhD, Principal investigator, Baylor College of Medicine
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06940817
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- H-53855
- Other IDs
- 2023-68015-40967, 2023
- Acronym
- CHEF-ED
- Status last verified
- Sep 2026
- First submitted
- 16 Apr 2025
- Last updated
- 30 Sep 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Undecided
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 30 Sep 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Re-establishing Inter-generational Cooking Education and Improving Diet Quality Through an Integrated Parenting and Healthy Cooking Program for Low-income Families With Young Children
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06940817
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- CHEF-ED / H-53855
- Keywords
- Food security, Nutrition education, Cooking practices, Feeding practices, Chronic disease
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 300 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Baylor College of MedicineUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
- Study start
- 19 Jun 2025 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 31 Aug 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 31 Aug 2027 (estimated)
- First posted
- 23 Apr 2025 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This study aims to test a new online program we developed for parents and their preschool children, called CHEF-ED. CHEF-ED focuses on healthy cooking, parental feeding practices, and involving children in home food preparation.
Detailed description
All study activities take place online over a 3-month period, and participants are randomly assigned to one of three groups: the CHEF-ED + Food Delivery group, the Food Delivery Only group, or the control group. Participants will not know to which group they are assigned until after they complete the time point 1 surveys. The assignment will be determined randomly using a computer program (equivalent to flipping a coin).
To test how well the program works, regardless of group assignment, participants are asked to complete surveys at two different time points: Time point 1 = pre-program, shortly after enrollment, and Time point 2 = post-program, about 8-10 weeks later. The surveys take about 2 hours to complete online at each time point and will include questions about the participant's and their child's dietary intake, their cooking frequency/quality, food parenting practices, and program content retention. Surveys will also include questions about family's demographics (such as participant's and their child's date of birth, ethnicity, race, sex, etc.), and household food access.
The CHEF-ED + Food Delivery group receives a one-time home food delivery of healthy cooking ingredients and kitchen utensils, such as cooking oil, spices, whole wheat pasta, low sodium soy sauce, bowls, and recipe books. Participants in this group also receive links to weekly CHEF-ED online lessons via text /email message for 7 weeks. Each weekly lesson will include a short video, infographics, and recipes.
The Food Delivery Only group receives a one-time home food delivery of healthy cooking ingredients and kitchen utensils, but no other program materials.
The control group receives no program materials or food delivery.
About 8-10 weeks after completing the time point 1 surveys, participants will receive links to complete the time point 2 surveys. After completing the post-program surveys, participants who were in the Food Delivery Only or control group will receive additional program materials that were not previously provided due to their group assignment. This means that the Food Delivery Only group, after completing the time point 2 surveys, will receive links to all of the CHEF-ED program materials (videos, infographics, recipes) and, the control group, after completing the time point 2 surveys, will receive the one-time healthy ingredients and kitchen utensils delivery and links to all of the CHEF-ED program materials.
Additionally, participants in the CHEF-ED + Food Delivery group, after the post-program surveys, may be invited to take part in an interview to share their experience with the program. This interview will be conducted over the phone or a video conference platform. The information participants share during the interview, such as suggestions and insights on materials accessibility, will help us improve the program.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 3
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| CHEF-ED + Food Delivery group | Experimental | Behavioral: CHEF-ED + Food DeliveryParticipants in this arm will receive a one-time delivery of non-perishable basic culinary ingredients and kitchen utensils and access to the CHEF-ED program, which includes weekly online program materials, such as videos, infographics, and recipes sent via text or email over 7 weeks. |
| Food Delivery Only group | Active comparator | Behavioral: Food Delivery OnlyParticipants in this arm receive a one-time delivery of non-perishable basic culinary ingredients and kitchen utensils but will not have access to the CHEF-ED program during the study period. |
| Control group | No intervention | –Participants in this arm will not receive the healthy cooking ingredients delivery nor will they have access to the CHEF-ED program during the study period. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 64 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult
Key inclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Parents/caregivers of preschooler children ages 3 to 5 living in the greater Houston area.
- Must have access to the Internet through a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer.
- Should be able to read, write, and communicate in English or Spanish.
Key exclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Parents/caregivers and children who have any kind of food allergies, medical conditions, or dietary restrictions that may affect participation in the program.
- Parents/caregivers under the age of 18.
- Parents/caregivers of children with severe developmental delays.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| CHEF-ED + Food DeliveryCHEF-ED is a 7-week, digital, video-based parental intervention that teaches healthy cooking practices and an optimal way to involve children in home cooking. Each week features a video, infographics, and recipe content. The content is designed to be integrated into the home food environment without major changes to shopping habits. However, some basic culinary ingredients that are featured may not already be part of participating family pantry stocks. To support participants in effectively learning the healthy cooking strategies, participating families are provided a one-time home food delivery of non-perishable basic culinary ingredients and kitchen utensils, such as cooking oil, spices, whole wheat pasta, low sodium soy sauce, bowls. | Behavioural | CHEF-ED + Food Delivery group |
| Food Delivery OnlyThe Food Delivery Only intervention involves participants receiving a one-time home food delivery of non-perishable basic culinary ingredients and kitchen utensils, such as cooking oil, spices, whole wheat pasta, low sodium soy sauce, bowls. | Behavioural | Food Delivery Only group |
Primary outcome
Child diet quality
Time frame: From baseline assessment to the post-intervention assessment. The intervention program is 7 weeks.
Parent report of child dietary intake using a validated food frequency survey.
4 secondary outcomes
Parent diet quality
Time frame: From baseline assessment to the post-intervention assessment. The intervention program is 7 weeks.
Parent cooking frequency/quality
Time frame: From baseline assessment to the post-intervention assessment. The intervention program is 7 weeks.
Food parenting practices
Time frame: From baseline assessment to the post-intervention assessment. The intervention program is 7 weeks.
Knowledge of best feeding practices
Time frame: From baseline assessment to the post-intervention assessment. The intervention program is 7 weeks.
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 30 Sep 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Undecided
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
Sheryl O. Hughes, PhD principal investigator
Baylor College of Medicine
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing CHEF-ED + Food Delivery and Food Delivery Only in people with Teaching Healthy Cooking Skills to Parents and Their Preschool Children, run by Baylor College of Medicine at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 3 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 30 Sep 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Sheryl O. Hughes, PhD (713-798-7095, shughes@bcm.edu), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Child diet quality (time frame: From baseline assessment to the post-intervention assessment. The intervention program is 7 weeks.). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 30 Sep 2026.