A popular local chef had a sure-fire recipe for getting kids in the kitchen and cooking their own meals.

Owner of three restaurants and Iron Chef America winner Michelle Bernstein has her plate full. But she always leaves room for another passion of hers, serving underprivileged kids through a Chicago-based program called Common Threads.

"I fell in love with it, and I fell in love with what they were doing, and I asked if we could open a Miami branch of Common Threads here," said Bernstein.

Common Threads is a nonprofit created in 2003 to teach low-income kids the value of healthy eating.

Partnering with Johnson & Wales University, where she’s given access to a kitchen, Bernstein sets aside four hours every Monday to teach about 15 kids how to cut, whip, and grind their way to creating delectable international dishes.

When Local Ten reporter Mayte Padron caught up with her, she was teaching the kids how to prepare a traditional Jamaican meal, which featured spinach, shellfish and a whole lot of spice.

"I think it's going to let me be a chef when I grow up," said 11-year-old student Alissa Lopez.

"Do you think you're going to like the food you're making today?” asked Padron.

“Yes,” replied 11-year-old Yvon St-Loius.

St-Loius said he enjoyed the food, along with the rest of his classmates, who pleased their palettes with Jamaican calaloo, conch fritters and jerk shrimp.

The kids sat together at specially decorated tables with their new friend and master chef.

"I always wanted a family on my own and I just created one,” said Bernstein.