This last Friday I traveled to Oakland to attend a private gathering to celebrate the successful launch of Steve DeAngelo’s book, The Cannabis Manifesto: A New Paradigm for Wellness. There were a lot of cannabis community members at the private gathering, including some people that I had wanted to meet for a long time. I don’t travel very often, so it’s fairly rare for me to be in the same place as busy other people at the same time.
There was a full dab bar at the gathering, ran by VapeXhale, with nothing but the finest flavors. I definitely took my fair share of dabs. That Golden Ticket strain was off the charts. There was also some top shelf flower at the event, with the Purple Punch being my favorite that I saw (and consumed!). It was fun talking to everyone and learning more about what they do in the cannabis world. It was especially fun meeting Max Simon from Green Flower Media. We have talked via the internet before, but it was our first time meeting face to face. I could listen to that guy talk all night. Not only is he extremely intelligent, but he talks in a way that inspires. Green Flower Media is doing big things these days, and I look forward to keeping an eye on what they are up to, as should you.
I was able to get my copy of The Cannabis Manifesto autographed by Steve, which was awesome. I will keep the book in my office for the rest of my days, and treasure it always. I really enjoyed the book, and I know for a fact that it has changed minds and touched hearts based off of the positive conversations I’ve had with people since its release. The book was educational, inspirational, and very timely. Like I was telling people at the gathering, we are at a tipping point right now when it comes to cannabis policy, and Steve’s book will help push things over the top. It’s my understanding that there is another book planned, and I can’t wait to see it if so.
A very special night required a very special dinner, and Jeff the 420 Chef absolutely delivered. I had heard about Jeff’s skills before, but I had never seen him in action. When I first got to Steve’s house, Jeff was prepping some wings:
Those Hazy Thai Wings were incredible. I could have easily eaten about 150 of those things. Each one was infused with a micro dose of cannabis. Below is what they looked like when they were done:
The wings weren’t the only appetizer. Jeff also made some seared grits with mushrooms, blue cheese and arugula, as seen below:
I do not like mushrooms. At all. I very, very rarely eat them. I was in an adventurous mood, so I ate them, preparing myself ahead of time for the taste of mushrooms that I do not like. This appetizer was phenomenal. I don’t know what type of voodoo chef magic Jeff worked on these, but they were ridiculously good. I had a ‘Ratatouille moment’ as I like to call it when I bit into the first one. I’d eat mushrooms a lot more often if they were prepared however Jeff prepared them. When combined with the cheese and arugula, they were pure magic.
The main course was a cannabis infused baked salmon with infused lemon pepper rice, as seen below:
There was also a salad that was served that was delicious, but I couldn’t find a picture of it. Probably because it went too fast! Below was the dessert, were canna-apple roses:
Another sweet treat that Jeff the 420 Chef made was Jeff’s 420-Irish Cream. I think there were actually two varieties of it. It was a non-alcoholic beverage, infused with cannabis. I tried to not drink too many of them because I didn’t want to look like a glutton, but it was so creamy and tasty that I probably could have put down a Big Gulp sized one if given the chance. Maybe someday when I am able to hire Jeff to make dinner at my house party, I’ll see if he can hook it up (bucket list item!).
I had read about cannabis chefs doing dinner parties, but I had never attended that kind of thing prior to Friday evening. It was truly the experience of a lifetime. All of the food had micro doses in it, so even novices were able to sample the foods. For veterans like myself, we were able to eat without fear, and compliment the meal dosage with dabs from the dab bar. I talked with Jeff briefly about his approach, and he said that he believes in the concept of ‘layered micro-dosing.’
Essentially, you have multiple courses, each of which is infused with small amounts of cannabis. Then, as you enjoy the meal throughout the evening, you are slowly increasing the amount of THC in your system. It allows a lot of flexibility, which is important when there is a crowd with mixed tolerances. Plus, as Jeff the 420 Chef pointed out, it allows you to eat more food. A medible packed with milligrams of THC is great, but unless you don’t have anything else to do for the day you can’t take too many bites off of it. For a meal, you often times want to be able to enjoy all kinds of things, especially when it’s a celebration.
I would recommend Jeff the 420 Chef to anyone and everyone. There was a lot going on Friday night, but one thing that everyone was talking about over and over was how amazing the food was, and how Jeff the 420 Chef crushed it. I wish he lived closer to me and had a restaurant. I’d hit that place up early and often. It sounds like Jeff is releasing his first cookbook this summer, so make sure to look for that as summer approaches. Jeff has a great website, complete with recipes, and can also be checked out on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Pinterest, and Instagram.
