This randomized controlled trial compared the effectiveness of traditional lecture (C), face‐to‐face demonstration (DP), on‐line lecture capture (OP), and the combination of the last two (OP+DP) to enhance culinary arts students' application skills related to sodium usage in food preparation. Objectives were to compare relative effectiveness of the four instructional methods with respect to knowledge about dietary sodium, ease of use of sodium reduction techniques, strategies to reduce sodium and attitudes about use of dietary sodium in cooking; and to compare student satisfaction with the instructional methods. A convenience sample of n = 139 students was randomized to receive the C, DP, OP, or OP+DP intervention. To measure effectiveness of each instructional method, a nutrition survey was administered as a pre‐test, post‐test, and an eight‐week follow‐up. There was no statistically significant difference in performance between DP, OP, and OP+DP groups on each subscale. However, each of these methods performed significantly better than the control group (C). DP, OP, and OP+DP methods were superior to the control group (C). In general, OP+DP resulted in the largest effect sizes, suggesting that this intervention was possibly more effective as compared to the OP or DP. Future culinarians can benefit from learning about health‐conscious sodium reduction cooking practices as seen in the nutrition education sector to improve population health.