The holidays are all about rest, laughter, and making memories with those you love. Cannabis (you may be all too aware) can help with that.
And yes, it’s always fun to light up after eating your weight in turkey or spinning the dreidel, but if you’re looking for a way to really impress this holiday season, you might consider preparing a cannabis-infused feast.
With over one in three Americans living in states where cannabis is legal, there are an innumerable number of cannabis recipes at your fingertips. But cooking with cannabis – and, especially, cooking correctly with cannabis – is no easy task. In order for your weed-infused meal to deliver its desired effects, its helpful to have an expert guide you along the way.
Enter: the canna-food influencers.
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Just as @halfbakedharvest and @jamieoliver have blessed our kitchens with quick, easy recipes through Instagram, several talented canna-chefs are sharing their marijuana-infused recipes on social media – and they’re seriously good.
Check out these popular influencers for cannabis cooking tips, tricks, food porn and recipes – whether you’re dreaming of a green Christmas, Danksgiving, high Hanukkah (which, incidentally, falls just days after Thanksgiving this year,) or anything in between.
1. Monica Lo @sousweed
For those looking for wholesome comfort foods infused with something higher (and, might we add, an aesthetic good enough to make your mouth water,) Monica Lo’s account Sous Weed is a must-follow.
The photographer and “sous vide” culinary expert was introduced to cannabis when she had a herniated disc and found it helped her manage the pain. Since then, she’s made her passion for cannabis into a career, regularly posting recipes for original and wildly creative treats perfect for entertaining, such as her cannabis-infused brown sugar milk tea cake and butternut squash korokke.
Being a member of the Asian American community, Lo also uses her platform to demonstrate how cannabis pairs with traditional Asian cuisine, and spotlight other Asian Americans in the cannabis industry. Together with Ophelia Chong, she helped found Asian Americans for Cannabis Education, an organization providing a network for Asian Americans in the business.
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Her latest post featured a “smoking pumpkin smash cocktail” made with cannabis-infused honey. We’re not sure what that would taste like, but we are 110% sure we want it STAT.
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2. Jamie Evans @theherbsomm
Want to show off for your friends by preparing a gourmet cannabis feast? Look to none other than Jamie Evans, founder of The Herb Somm.
Evans discovered cannabis in 2017, when she used it as a sleep aid while suffering from trauma-induced insomnia. After attending a “Women in Weed” conference, she decided to turn her interest in cannabis into a business.
A wine expert with a degree in viticulture (hence the name “Herb Somm”) she shares recipes for the gourmet side of the canna-culinary world, while also providing expert-approved cannabis wine pairing ideas on her account.
Evans has released two books: “The Ultimate Guide to CBD: Explore the World of Cannabidiol” and “Cannabis Drinks: Secrets to Crafting CBD and THC Beverages at Home.” You can join her for “’High Noon’ Happy Hour” on Instagram Live for cannabis-infused drink tutorials.
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3. Jeff the 420 Chef
This YouTube sensation has been dubbed the “Julia Child of Weed,” and we think that title is pretty well deserved. “Jeff the 420 Chef” (who does not disclose his real name) has made a career as one of the first chefs in the United States to privately cater cannabis-infused meals, sometimes for celebrities in the Los Angeles area.
“I started cooking and baking with 420 for friends and a few celebrities in California who have medical issues ranging from insomnia and back pain to cancer,” he writes in his YouTube bio. “I realized that each of these people had uniquely different goals and desires for their edible experience and I began to experiment with different recipes, creating special butters and oils and working with different strains of herb.”
“Jeff the 420 Chef” would go on to invent a process to neutralize the taste of cannabis in food, and coin the term “layered micro-dosing” – the canna-culinary practice of serving low-dose edibles over the course of a meal, which, for some, can help relieve pain. He is the author of “The 420 Gourmet: The Art of Elevated Cannabis Cuisine” and host of the podcast “Wake and Bake with JeffThe420Chef.”
Cooking a full-course meal with cannabis is a daunting task, but “Jeff the 420 Chef” makes it easy with his step-by-step meal tutorials on YouTube. For this time of year, we recommend checking out “Thanksgiving Infusions With JeffThe420Chef.”
4. Andrea Drummer @canna_queen71
Chef and Co-Owner of The Original Cannabis Café, the first restaurant to serve cannabis for on-site consumption in the United States, Andrea Drummer is a pioneer in the canna-culinary world and a must-follow for any aspiring cannabis cook. Her menu? Homestyle comfort food with a side of pre-rolled joints.
While serving cannabis-infused dishes in a restaurant setting is not yet legal under California law, Drummer’s West Hollywood restaurant focuses on the experience of pairing cannabis products with food. Guests can choose from an array of cannabis products as a kind of appetizer, then dive into corn dogs, Brussels sprouts, burgers, and more. She even authored a book describing her vision, titled “Cannabis Cuisine: Bud Pairings of a Born Again Chef.”
While Drummer is barred from infusing meals with cannabis in her restaurant, her Instagram account has gained a lot of traction as she shares cannabis-infused recipe ideas and inspiration for canna-cooks, particularly women of color in the industry, under the hashtag #begreatorbedistracted.
Her latest post features a sleep-inducing CBD butternut squash soup recipe with toasted walnuts – just in time for cozy season.
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Elissa Esher is Assistant Editor at GreenState. Her work has also appeared in The Boston Guardian, Brooklyn Paper, Religion Unplugged, and Iridescent Women. Send inquiries and tips to elli.esher@hearst.com.