Legume beliefs among culinary art students: A cluster analysis based on meat attachment

Despite their health and environmental benefits, the share of legumes in the diets of many developed countries remains low. To support eaters towards rebalancing animal and plant proteins in their diet, catering professionals have an important role to play. The project's objective is to explore culinary students' beliefs toward legumes, taking into account their attachment to meat, which is still the reference source of protein. For this purpose, a quantitative survey was conducted on 102 culinary students. Overall, culinary students have a favourable view of legumes in terms of the environment, nutrition, restaurant operations, or consumer expectations. Two groups of students were identified based on their level of attachment to meat. Positive beliefs toward legumes are more strongly present among students with a weaker attachment to meat (36 % of the sample) than among students with a stronger attachment to meat (64 % of the sample). The results shed light on the profiles of future actors in the restaurant industry and their representations of legumes in relation to their psychological relationship with meat. • Culinary students hold positive beliefs toward legumes. • Two clusters of students stand out based on their level of attachment to meat. • Low attachment to meat is associated with stronger positive beliefs toward legumes.