From coast to coast, chefs and restaurateurs are infusing fine dining experiences with cannabis. These chefs are not haphazardly adding cannabis extracts to a dish and calling it good. Instead, they serve layered, intentionally-dosed meals that comfortably elevate guests without promoting overconsumption.
Meet the chefs behind these cannabis fine dining experiences
Chef Chris Sayegh created The Herbal Chef in 2013, just after the first U.S. states legalized adult-use. Since then, Sayegh has published a cannabis dessert cookbook and Nostalgia Bar & Lounge in Southern California, all while growing The Herbal Chef into a complete culinary platform.
The platform provides access to cannabis chefs all over the U.S. for in-home meals, retreats, and other events. It also hosts the membership platform for the Secret Supper Club, a members-only series of pop-up infused fine dining experiences at Nostalgia.
“We take diners through a multi-course experience that gently elevates our guests based upon their individual tolerance levels,” Sayegh said. “We work in step with licensed cultivators and extractors to give our guests a variety of live rosin extracts that have higher concentrations of specific terpenes based on the timing of the courses.”
The Herbal Chef has served a cannabis-infused dining menu for anywhere from two to 3,000 guests, each generally consisting of five or 10 courses and a beverage pairing.
Chef Liv Vasquez, the founder of Livviesmalls Events, tailors the cannabis and dosage to the client.
“When I cater for a girls’ weekend brunch, I would want to add strains that are a little bit more uplifting and fun that make you a little bit chatty, but for a two-person romantic dinner to celebrate an elopement, I use cannabinoids and strains that would enhance a more lovey-dovey, romantic evening.,” Vasquez told Greenstate.
Chopped 4/20 Champion Chef Solomon Johnson is also mindful of dosing while serving nostalgic, seasonal dishes for Cannescape events. Johnson is influenced by Pan-African cuisine, but with Cannescape dinners, the cuisine shifts focus to best use seasonal, fresh, local ingredients. These events combine boutique travel and low-dose cannabis in overnight experiences with multiple culinary touch points.
“Multiple points of infusion are where I put most of my thought,” Johnson explained. “I want the diner to see the weed, smell the weed, and taste it to some degree. Cannescape is about intentional dosing and plant medicine advocacy. So all our diners should expect a very light and mellow medicated effect after attending a dinner.”
Location is key for infused supper clubs
Cannescape is a one-of-a-kind overnight cannabis event series where guests enjoy small bites, a five to six-course infused meal, and a two-course CBD-infused breakfast before check out. Events are held at carefully scouted venues that inspire the menu ingredients and the vibe, immersing the diner in the locale.
“Depending on the property and whether or not it has a liquor license, we are hosting either CBD-infused dinners or CBD-infused dinners with optional THC infusions on the side,” explained Cannescape founder Chelsea Davis. “So guests have the opportunity to learn how to infuse their own food and balance consumption, giving the dinner both educational and interactive components.”
Vasquez is also familiar with scouting a venue. She has hiked the ingredients to a makeshift kitchen on a mountain and executed a ten-person meal in a gorgeous family estate. No matter the location, her main goal is to create a memorable experience.
“Because of the nature of my business, I am constantly seeking out unique venues that not everyone has access to,” Vasquez said. “A secret rooftop garden in the middle of downtown LA, or a greenhouse on a private estate, I’ve turned both into beautiful restaurants just for one meal, and I love that it lets me explore all of the creativity I love to utilize for events.”
Each unique experience has one thing in common (aside from the cannabis): they want diners to have an excellent time. Sayegh says the key to a memorable infused meal is simple, “Superior quality and delicious combinations.”
Johnson puts thought into these factors and also pulls from his own culinary memories.
“With the medicated dinners, I pull a lot of my inspiration from local, seasonal produce and nostalgic food products I’ve had in some of my favorite restaurants from all over the country,” he explained. “The crab tart we ran out last event was inspired by the crab I grew up eating in Maryland all my life. I just wanted to dress it up nicely with a big bump of salmon roe.”
Sayegh, Vasquez, and Johnson each emphasized taking care of the client, from sourcing ingredients to mindfully dosing dishes. Being a cannabis chef goes beyond flavor pairings and knife skills. Guests trust that they won’t be over-baked by dessert–and that’s on Chef.