Blend of Kids, Cooking Season New Career to Woman's Taste

People have jobs. People have passions. If you could mix the two, you'd have a delicious combination.

Tessy Santos-Medley says she’s done it by mixing just the right ingredients: food and kids. The finished dish for her is a cooking school for kids in her own Johnston County kitchen, Classy Kids Cook.

“I'm very excited. Are you excited?” she asks a group of teens—boys and girls—as a session begins.

“We're going to preheat the oven,” she tells them.“ Then it’s time for the ingredients. “The exact measurements are critical.”

The lessons include how to eat as well as how to cook, which she says parents love.

“The parents are much more excited about my teaching good manners,” she notes with a chuckle.

“This is what I'm passionate about,” she says of having traded travel and financial planning for a white jacket, measuring cups, beaters, spoons and spatulas.