Nutrition is critical for health, performance, and recovery in sport, especially in energetically demanding sports such as rowing (1) . Despite growing awareness of sport nutrition, athletes often struggle to translate nutrition knowledge into practical application which may be compounded by limited culinary skills regarding food preparation and meal planning (2,3) . This gap in knowledge is prevalent in grassroots sport, whereby access to tailored education, resources and support is limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate project MILKSHAKE (Meal preparation, Intake, Learning and Knowledge: Sports nutrition for Health and Application of Knowledge for optimising Energy) , which delivered practical sports nutrition and culinary workshops at Fulham Reach Boat Club (FRBC) in London, UK. Ethics approval was received from King’s College London (MRA-24/25-45982). Four tailored 1-hour culinary nutrition workshops were delivered with youth (16-18 y) and adult (> 18 y) recreational-level rowers. Sessions were co-led by a registered nutritionist (CVG) and two-time Olympic medallist rower (TJEG). Each workshop combined knowledge exchange regarding sports nutrition education, dietary habits and meal preparation, contextualisation of learnings within elite sport and a hands-on cooking activity (“milkshake” smoothie preparation). Pre- and post-workshop surveys were adapted from validated tools to assess sports nutrition knowledge, cooking confidence, and food behaviours (4,5) . Post-workshop feedback captured participants’ perceptions of MILKSHAKE and priority themes for future learning. A total of 72 athletes participated in MILKSHAKE, of which 47.2% (n=34) completed the pre and post workshop surveys. Adult rowers (n=12) demonstrated strong baseline culinary knowledge but limited sports nutrition literacy and expressed a preference for accessible self-paced resources rather than additional live workshops due to time availability. Accordingly, a suite of educational materials was created, including guides on training fuelling, race-day nutrition, recovery strategies, and female athlete health that were embedded within the FRBC Membership Handbook and distributed via QR codes. Youth rowers (n=22) demonstrated a weak culinary knowledge and sports nutrition literacy at baseline, but a high motivation to learn. Survey findings revealed links between nutrition, perceived performance, and independence. Post-workshop feedback was highly positive: 95% cited smoothie-making as the session highlight, 98% wanted to learn more about sports nutrition, and 92% expressed a desire to improve their cooking skills. MILKSHAKE improved sports nutrition awareness, cooking confidence, and engagement among adult and youth rowers. Embedding practical, evidence-based resources into a grassroots setting may facilitate better nutrition support for long-term dietary behaviour changes and performance optimisation. This model demonstrates the value and feasibility of integrating culinary education within grassroots sport, offering a scalable approach to enhance athlete health and development.
George et al. (Fri,) studied this question.