By Pam Chmiel
Move over consumption lounges, an elevated cannabis food and drink experience that you only find at Michelin-starred restaurants have arrived.
How many cannabis-infused food or drink events have you attended served up by a James Beard award-winning chef or mixologist?
While there’s speculation on when and how consumption lounges will roll out, infused dinner clubs and events continue to build their following on the down-low. It’s a hot ticket if you can get one because these underground events are typically invite-only.
High-End Chefs Experimenting With Cannabis Cooking And Dosing
Chefs are still experimenting with C, but there is an overwhelmingly positive response from the public to attend infused events. And now brands are seizing the moment to promote their services or products through the journey of food and drinks.
One of the trickier challenges facing chefs is figuring out how to properly dose foods. How do you maintain dosing consistency and accuracy? Most chefs play it safe with potency and go low and slow as a general rule of thumb in their cooking, and most ask guests to sign a waiver to protect them from guests who over-consume. Most chefs agree their events are not meant to get you couch-locked. At Sinsemil, it isn’t about getting high — it is about haute cuisine.
Cooking with cannabis requires an understanding of decarboxylation and the process of turning raw cannabis into a psychoactive ingredient. Beware that cooking with decarboxylated cannabis will cause it to lose THC levels by subjecting it to more heat.
Many chefs cook with cannabis ingredients already in the marketplace like oils, butter, maple syrup, or honey by drizzling on or baking them into their dishes. For example, a batch of brownies might contain 80 mg of THC, and if cut into 8 pieces they know each will have 10mg per serving. Or drizzling a specific amount of an infused ingredient onto a dish will also allow you to accurately dose.
Chefs are also starting their dinners with terpene and CBD -infused drinks to avoid over-consumption and offset the negative effects of THC, and enhance the meals with terpenes.
Chef Jordan Wagman, says he does not infuse for the stoner, he likes to prepare meals for everyone to enjoy, I want the canna-curious to enjoy the experience as well. And he does not infuse every dish in a multi-course meal with THC to keep guests from over-consuming.
For the home-grow and extraction aficionados, estimating precise milligrams is nearly impossible without lab testing. It might be best to use infused oils, honey, and chocolates (fondues), in the marketplace for now.
Infused Experiential Events As A Marketing Coupe
Experiential marketing builds a deeper connection and longer-lasting impression with the consumer through its interactive approach.
While chefs and caterers continue to master the art and dosing of cannabis cooking, few infused events are available and FOMO has set in, people are clamoring for an invite.
Here are some ways brands can use infused food and beverage events:
Wageman was hired by a cannabis cultivation farm in New Brunswick, Canada to curate a complete 12-course infused meal that would mimic the flavor profiles of all their products. They carefully selected their guests to include c-suite retailers, athletes (targeting them for their recovery topicals), and media folks.
Joline Rivera, the founder of Kitchen Toke Magazine, provided an infused food experience for Prabal Gurung’s 10th Anniversary Celebration Dinner to help celebrate 10 years in the fashion business, as well as his first coffee table book, “Prabal Gurung.” The LA stars came out to help him celebrate, including Laverne Cox, Olivia Munn, and Joan Simms.
Chef Michael Magallanes from The Opulent Chef, developed techniques to precisely activate and dose high-quality ice hash, choosing to highlight the earthy flavors of this product and integrate it with complimentary ingredients.
Product Placement Opportunities For Brands
Not only are infused events a way to promote your brand, but product placement is another hot opportunity. From chefs cooking with infused ingredients sold in the marketplace to make their creations, to handmade glass-blown pipes used for smoking at a pairing event, there are many ways a brand can promotionally integrate into an event.
The Cannaisseur Series in San Francisco educate their guests during the happy hour to hear from various edible, vape, and flower sponsors, who provide education about their products.
In a dreamers world, Chef Derek Simcik would like to launch a pool cabana lounge where you can reserve, higher-end smoking devices to use (instead of bottle service bud service)- love it!
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