Yelpers might recognize Chef Mayra from the Yelp Helps event, where she set up a table and served lots of yummy food in a crockpot.
Chef Mayra is every kind of awesome. I went to one of her free classes at Whole Foods today. She was funny, charming and entertaining for two straight hours of vegan cooking. On the menu was salad, dressing and jambalaya. You might think learning about how to make salad would be a snoozefest, but Mayra knows how to make it fun and delicious. She doesn't measure ingredients, adds whatever she (or her audience) wants and throws in all sorts of tips during the session. She encourages everyone to try vegan food (or go vegan) by being passionate and excited, but not preaching.
She and her team made every effort to ensure their guests were fed, able to ask questions and had a good time. She said she's opening a restaurant downtown in July--looking forward to that! Chef Mayra definitely cooks with lots of yummy ingredients and love.