ST. CROIX — It was a sight made for happy stories.\u00a0Chef Jamal Miranda, an experienced and ubiquitous cook here, engaging Lew Muckle Elementary School children as he taught them how to cook, in this case,\u00a0veggie quesadilla. Above, Mr. Miranda hands a plate of quesadillas to children.<\/p>\n
Mr. Miranda was invited by the school as part of its health and wellness program, which aims to educate students on the importance of healthy eating. But if the children learned anything on Saturday morning — and they did — it was because of Mr. Miranda’s ability to capture their attention for well over an hour, as he mixed learning with a fun presentation, animating his already passionate personality<\/a><\/span> with an infusion of jokes, dancing and other engaging expressions.<\/p>\n “Anything for the kids,” Mr. Miranda told The Consortium in an interview following the cooking session.<\/p>\n Mr. Miranda hosts teaching classes regularly, albeit in a different setting with adults. However, he told The Consortium yesterday that he intends to do more cooking classes in the schools, and recalled his own training at the junior high level.<\/p>\n