b'Cabana Pantry and the Joy of CookingCrystal Lyons will, very humbly, refuse to declare herself a chef, but you are unlikely to meet anyone who derives more happiness from cookingex-cept perhaps the happiness she enjoys through sharing her food, and her cooking skills, with oth-ers. So much so, that she created Cabana Pantry on Padre Island, a home for curious and slightly ambitious amateur chefs. CabanaPantrysmonthlyprogramofcooking classes, which seems to be expanding on an on-going basis, now includes popular themes that includeCookingwithCactus,Micro-Greensfor Summer, Pasta (Making) Party, Chocolate, Cheese and Spice, Gulf Coast Seafood, and Salsa Making. Ongoing programs on Building Cooking Skills, for example, and Kids Spice Camps, guide aspiring culinary artists through the process of developing skills, while expanding their cooking repertoire.CabanaPantryscookingclassesaccommodate eight to twelve guests, who each participate in the learning-by-doing education process in the theme of the classand best of all, everyone gets to enjoy the fruits or their combined labor and the divine enjoyment of the entire experience.At the core of the joy of cooking, is the joy of shar-ing the experience with family and new friends in the one discipline that brings us all together! Crys-tal should be celebrated for bringingthis wonder-fully unique concept to The Island.Offered at Cabana Pantry, and on it website, is a unique array of cooking rubs, spice blends, acces-sories, and even a monthly Brunch Box subscrip-tion. 14493 S. Padre Island Dr.CabanaPantry.com82THE COASTAL BEND MAGAZINE TheCoastalBend.com'