Danilo Miranda

A visitation for Danilo will be held Friday, April 19, 2024 from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Hines-Rinaldi Funeral Home, 11800 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland 20904.

Danilo Miranda was born in 1951 in Quezon City Metro Manila, Philippines to Antonio Miranda and Expectacion Pavia.

Beginning as a young child, he attended San Jose Seminary and Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in the Philippines. Danilo then graduated from Ateneo de Manila University in 1974 with a BA in Philosophy and Psychology while in seminary. He later studied Economics at the University of the Philippines.

After seminary, Danilo found his way to the United States after working for Philippine Airlines. With his lifelong passion for learning, he continued his masters studies, which included a Masters of Theology at Catholic University, Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) at University of Maryland, and various studies at Georgetown and American University. In his late years, he fulfilled his quest for knowledge by completing a degree in Hotel Management at PGCC and certificates in Professional Cooking and Vegan Cuisine Rouxbe Online Culinary School.

Danilo decided to become a chef at multiple embassies while juggling night classes. He graduated from the prestigious L’Academie de Cuisine, whose alumni include White House chefs. He worked for various embassies including the Saudi Arabian Embassy in 1982 and the Canadian Embassy from 1985 to 1987.

From August 1987 to September 1991, Danilo was the Chef-in-Residence to the Embassy of Italy in Washington D.C. under Ambassador Rinaldo Petrignani during the George H. W. Bush Administration.

After his work at the Embassies, Danilo was a dedicated employee and chef at Marriott for 32 years, and always worked with a smile on his face. He won all the company’s cooking competitions that he participated in. He loved his coworkers and always willing to help and share with them his knowledge. His most famous dish was his crab cakes bar none.

Danilo also held several other positions as a sous-chef at the the University of Maryland and pastry chef Patisserie-Cafe Didier in Georgetown. He also loved to bake bagels part-time at the Bagel Place in College Park, MD, where he was famously known for his strawberry cream cheese.

A devoted husband and father, Danilo is survived by his wife Pilar, sons Dan and David, and various siblings in the US and Philippines. He worked diligently and dedicated his life to give his children the best education possible, producing Harvard University (Dan) and Case Western University graduates (David), and imparting his life’s lessons. He was passionate and a perfectionist in life, including in his work as a chef. Danilo believed in living life to fullest, always advocating to take on new opportunities for himself and children, which was shaped by his bootstrap immigrant experience.

An avid reader and life-long learner, Danilo loved reading books. He also immersed himself in online classes, improved his cooking techniques, and undertook learning new subjects including Information Technology, Automotive Engineering, Building Engineering, Bartending, Business Administration, Building Engineering, Photoshop, and Carpentry Design. He often shares his cooking experience and imparted knowledge to others on Facebook cooking groups.

Danilo loved listening to the Cascades, and going to the beach with his family in Ocean City, Assateague Island, and Bethany Beach. He loved his dog Bellini and their walks together. He always spoke fondly of his birth country of the Philippines, as well as the Mayon Volcano where his mother grew up, and dreamed of retiring there.