<![CDATA[The high unemployment rate among vocational high school graduates and their low soft skills proficiency pose serious obstacles to employment in the culinary industry. The main problem lies in students' reliance on teacher instructions during practical work, indicating a lack of independent decision-making skills. This quantitative research with an explanatory design aims to analyze the influence of creativity and self-efficacy on decision-making skills through the mediation of problem-solving skills. The research location included three public vocational high schools in the Kediri area, involving one hundred and sixty tenth-grade students as a purposive sample. The research stages included the distribution of Likert-scale questionnaires and data analysis using Structural Equation Modeling–Partial Least Squares through SmartPLS software. The results of the quantitative analysis indicate that creativity significantly influences decision-making (p=0.000) and problem-solving skills (p=0.000). Likewise, self-efficacy is proven to significantly influence problem-solving (p=0.000). The mediation findings confirm that problem-solving skills indirectly link creativity (p=0.003) and self-efficacy (p=0.002) to the quality of final decisions. The main conclusion confirms that culinary students' decision-making does not emerge instantly but rather through a complex cognitive process fueled by self-confidence and flexible creative thinking. Therefore, the Basic Culinary Theory curriculum must integrate problem-based learning methods to train students' independence and prepare them for the dynamics of the modern, competitive, global workplace. ABSTRAK Angka pengangguran lulusan SMK yang tinggi serta rendahnya penguasaan soft skill menjadi kendala serius dalam penyerapan tenaga kerja di industri kuliner. Permasalahan utama terletak pada ketergantungan siswa terhadap instruksi guru saat praktikum yang mengindikasikan lemahnya kemampuan pengambilan keputusan mandiri. Penelitian kuantitatif dengan desain eksplanatori ini bertujuan menganalisis pengaruh kreativitas dan self-efficacy terhadap kemampuan pengambilan keputusan melalui mediasi kemampuan memecahkan masalah. Lokasi penelitian mencakup tiga SMK Negeri di wilayah Kediri dengan melibatkan seratus enam puluh siswa kelas sepuluh sebagai sampel purposive. Tahapan penelitian meliputi penyebaran kuesioner skala Likert dan analisis data menggunakan Structural Equation Modeling–Partial Least Squares melalui software SmartPLS. Hasil analisis kuantitatif menunjukkan bahwa kreativitas berpengaruh signifikan terhadap pengambilan keputusan (p=0,000) dan kemampuan memecahkan masalah (p=0,000). Begitu pula self-efficacy terbukti memengaruhi pemecahan masalah (p=0,000) secara nyata. Temuan mediasi mengonfirmasi bahwa kemampuan memecahkan masalah menghubungkan kreativitas (p=0,003) dan self-efficacy (p=0,002) terhadap kualitas keputusan akhir secara tidak langsung. Simpulan utama menegaskan bahwa pengambilan keputusan siswa kuliner tidak muncul secara instan melainkan melalui proses kognitif kompleks yang dipicu oleh keyakinan diri dan fleksibilitas berpikir kreatif. Oleh karena itu, kurikulum Teori Dasar Kuliner wajib mengintegrasikan metode pembelajaran berbasis masalah guna melatih kemandirian serta kesiapan siswa dalam menghadapi dinamika dunia kerja modern global yang kompetitif. ]]>
