‘What would you serve as a cook in your kindergarten?’ Children’s taste perceptions and experiences across seven dimensions – a qualitative study in Norwegian kindergartens

This study aims to explore how children aged 3–6 years perceive and make meaning of taste experiences in everyday kindergarten contexts to better understand how taste and its dimensions are interpreted by young children. A qualitative design with a child-centred approach was employed, using drawing activities and semi-structured focus group interviews. Twenty-six children from four Norwegian kindergartens participated, drawing foods they would serve as a cook and discussing taste experiences. Data were thematically analysed using the Wistoft’s seven dimensions of taste as a theoretical and analytical framework. Results showed that shared meals, cultural traditions, favourite foods, and sensory experiences dominated children’s narratives. They identified unhealthy and restricted foods, and some expressed limited control over mealtime decisions. Overall, children’s taste understandings are multidimensional and embedded in a broader social and cultural taste community. The study contributes to taste perception theory and informs practitioners on supporting children’s experiences and meaning-making of taste in educational practices.