Bite Me The Show About Edibles
Helping cooks make great cannabis edibles at home.
Create your own tasty, healthy cannabis edibles and take control of your high life! Bite Me is a weekly show that helps home cooks make fun, safe and effective cannabis edibles. Listen as host Margaret walks you through an marijuana infused recipe that she has tested in her home kitchen or interviews with expert guests. New episodes every Thursday.
Bite Me The Show About Edibles
Chef Adam Vandermay's Guide To Effortless Intentional Edibles
What happens when a professional chef decides to combine their culinary expertise with cannabis? Magic in the kitchen and a whole new approach to edibles.
Adam Vandermay, Executive Chef and co-founder of Your Canna Chef, takes us behind the scenes of his cannabis culinary journey, revealing how his relationship with the plant evolved from casual use to intentional consumption. "I went from just getting high to using the plant with intent," Adam shares, highlighting a maturity many cannabis enthusiasts develop over time.
The conversation dives deep into the art of cannabis cuisine, with Adam emphasizing precision over guesswork. His most valuable tip? Stop cooking with cannabis-infused oils as your base. Instead, use infusions as finishing elements—in sauces, glazes, and condiments—where you can control dosage with exactness. This approach eliminates the dreaded "mystery edible" problem where consumers don't know how potent their food will be.
Beyond cooking techniques, Adam shares the remarkable story of how his culinary skills literally saved his life after hitting rock bottom. Following a difficult divorce, he traveled to Nicaragua with just $600 and rebuilt his life through cooking, eventually establishing a thriving private chef business. Today, that resilience and creativity power Your Canna Chef, where Adam hosts cooking classes and private dining experiences that showcase cannabis as a sophisticated culinary ingredient rather than just a way to get high.
Ready to elevate your cannabis kitchen skills? Follow Adam on Instagram @yourcchef or visit Your Canna Chef to learn about his cooking classes and private dining experiences or find him at the Bite Me Cannabis Club.
Visit the website for full show notes, free dosing calculator, recipes and more.
Hello, friends, and welcome to episode 316, and today I sit down with Adam Vandermeer of your Canna Chef. What happens when you take a love of food, a passion for culture and a deep knowledge of cannabis and you toss them all into one bowl, you get Bite Me, the show that helps you take control of your high life and helps cooks make great edibles at home. I am your host, margaret, a certified gongier, a certified cannabis educator through TCI, and I believe your kitchen is the best dispensary you'll ever have, and together we'll explore the stories, the signs and the sheer joy of making safe, effective and unforgettable edibles at home. So preheat your oven, friends, and get ready for an episode that you're going to love with Adam Vandermeer. Now.
Speaker 2:Adam has been a longtime listener of Bite Me and I'm thrilled that he's also an integral part of the Bite Me Cannabis Club, and today we cover all kinds of things in this conversation, from how Adam got started as a chef, what brought him to culinary cannabis, how you can make better edibles yourself and the evolution of your can of chef over time. So with that, my friends, please enjoy this conversation with Adam Vandermeer of your Canna Chef. Everyone, I am thrilled to be joined today by Adam Vandermeer of your Canna Chef, and some of you may be familiar with Adam through the Bite Me Cannabis Club. But, adam, I am really thankful that you're joining me today, and why don't you introduce yourself to the listeners of Bite Me and we'll go from there?
Speaker 1:Sure, well, first off, the pleasure is mine. I mean, this has been kind of in the works for a while now and, yeah, I'm just excited to be here. But yeah, so I am one of the co-founders and I've given myself the shiny title of executive chef at your account of chef. It's great when you own the company, you can call yourself whatever you want, but we are a cannabis cuisine, instructional and private dining company, so we do cooking classes, we do infusion classes and I mean our specialty is private dining with our guests. So, yeah, we're just excited to be here.
Speaker 2:Excellent. So we'll touch a little more on your Cannes Chef and what you're up to with that in a little bit, but before we do, maybe you can just tell us a bit about your cannabis journey, how it first began and how it's evolved over time.
Speaker 1:Much like cannabis itself. It's evolved aggressively. I mean, I started playing around in high school just like everybody else and, to be honest, I got away from cannabis for a good part of my 20s and 30s. It just wasn't something that was part of my life. And then now it's back, obviously with a bit of a vengeance, and I guess the evolution is that I went from just get high um to using the plant with intent, that that, uh, now you know, since legalization and studies and all of that have have really kind of kind of grown that you know you, you know what, what the plant can do and the different things that it can do for you. So yeah, I'd say the biggest evolution for me is intent, but I intentionally use the plant now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I really like that too, actually, and I think that happens with a lot of folks if they've been using cannabis for a while. And it's kind of the same with drinking, like when you're a kid you drink to get drunk and then, as you get older, you drink because you really like this single malt whiskey or this nice wine from a region that you enjoy. And it's very much the same with cannabis as well, like you just become a lot more aware of the things that go into what you're consuming, and yeah, so that intention, I think, is really important and a sign of a if you're about to call me mature, I'll stop you.
Speaker 2:I wasn't, but I'm thinking about myself too in some respects. But I don't know. I just feel like consuming cannabis with intention is just something that comes along with a lot of the appreciation of the plant as well. Yes absolutely, and learning more about that too, so I'm glad you picked up on that and shared that with us. Now, what first inspired you to combine your culinary background with cannabis.
Speaker 1:So I'm a bit of a unique individual. When I go on holiday, a lot of people will sit on the beach and read a novel. You know, whatever I read cookbooks, it's just I always like to have something to, you know, glean ideas from to whatever. And so my wife and I and I guess it was before we were married but we were in Cuba, and so we kind of do a thing where I get her a book, she gets me a book, and my screen just went away. There we go, and she got me the official High Times cookbook.
Speaker 1:Okay, and I had edibles before. I'd made mystery stuff, and so reading through that I was, I'm just sitting there on the beach going I can do this. Like this is amazing. Like once you put sort of the science behind it, then it gets really exciting. And so I mean, as a chef, I just looked at it and went the things we can do are incredible. So, yeah, we came back and I just really dove into how to do this. And it's actually when I found you, because I was like I'm an information junkie, so I just wanted everything that I could on it and that's where I found Bite Me, and then I've obviously made myself somewhat of an expert in the field and, yeah, I just made all kinds of mistakes along the way, but sometimes you need an afternoon on the couch.
Speaker 2:Well, sometimes it's also those mistakes that you tend to remember more to right, like when you make a mistake. That's where the lessons are learned.
Speaker 1:The mistakes. They've created the entire foundation of kind of what we at your Can of Chef believe in and where I mean we're more micro dosing than anything. And yeah, for me it was more of an eye opening of you know, the experience that we can do through Canada Dining and all of that and just create that really unique experience for guests.
Speaker 2:Right. So I am curious if you like to read cookbooks, is there a cookbook that you think everybody, every chef or every home cook, should have on their shelf?
Speaker 1:Every home chef, every home cook should have at least one Jamie Oliver cookbook.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:And I don't say that because I'm a fan boy, maybe a little bit, but um it it, his approach to cooking is very similar to mine, so I might be biased. Where it's it's flavor, first, it's, it's it's food to like. Intention, again, intentional cooking. And um, I'm, I'm just a huge fan. It's simple, no nonsense cooking.
Speaker 2:And uh, yeah, anything by jamie oliver okay, that's good to know, because I've seen a lot of jamie oliver recipes online. I don't actually have any of his books, though, so I'll need to look out for some, because I'm yeah, yeah, there. He's published quite a few.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he has some great like five ingredient books. Oh.
Speaker 2:I would like that.
Speaker 1:And for me it creates a really cool base, right? So I can look at one of his recipes and dissect it and go okay, so this is why that works and that works Okay. So what can I do to make it mine? How can we play with that? And I usually end up with way more than five ingredients.
Speaker 2:Right, yeah, but it's a good place to start because, especially a lot of busy home cooks who are like trying to feed families and all that stuff on a weeknight, when everyone's like going in 10 different directions, you want those simple recipes to sort of, you know, sustain you, I guess, because otherwise you just don't do the cooking. If that's the case, if it's too complicated or time-consuming but speaking of too time-consuming, I guess this isn't really related but what's the most common mistake you see, when people are cooking with cannabis at home?
Speaker 1:Biggest mistake probably actually cooking with cannabis okay um, for for me, uh, any infusion is, uh, is designed to be a finishing. So our sauces, our glazes, anything like that, where I can control absolutely every everything, whether it's flavor or percentages. So actually cooking with infused oils using that as your base, huge mistake. Huge mistake because you're guessing. You're just guessing. And I mean you and I have talked about and I've heard you talk about on the podcast a hundred times that the mystery edible. It has no place in my life. I'm not interested if somebody cooks me something and I mean I get asked all the time what's your favorite meal? And my favorite meal is the one that somebody else cooks for me.
Speaker 2:Right, especially as a chef, right, yeah. So I love a meal that somebody else cooks for me, right?
Speaker 1:Especially as a chef, right? Yeah, so I love a meal that somebody else cooks for me, but if somebody else cooks with cannabis and hands it to me and I say, all right, so how aggressive am I? Looking at the next few hours of my life and they say I don't know, I can't do it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and so, yeah, yeah, biggest mistake not knowing your numbers and and, yeah, not being intentional with your infusions yeah, that makes a lot of sense, I guess, even when it comes to like baking, because you can have a pretty good idea of what you're baking with, I guess yeah, and then pre-portion it into different you know, like cookies or brownie squares or whatever that's right.
Speaker 1:That's right and and and and that I that has been. That has probably been one of the most interesting parts of of the journey that has been your can of chef. Like we, we hold cooking classes a couple times a week and every time, every single time, someone will say so like when are we making gummies? And I'm like that's not what we do here. That's that I might do a gummy class because there's a lot of requests for it.
Speaker 2:You got to give people what they want.
Speaker 1:Exactly. But yeah, it's funny that you know still the majority, the big perception out there is, you know, is it's brownies and cookies and gummies, and that's what we do. So I'm on a mission to change that.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm glad because there is a place for all the sweets and stuff, but you can also buy those in a dispensary too. I mean, obviously it's way more cost effective to do it at home and do it yourself and you know exactly what's going in it. But when you sort of expand to actual cooking with cannabis, it really opens up a whole lot of doors. And I do like what you're saying, like infusing the sauces and the condiments and all those types of things, because it does also mean that that entire meal that you've made can be shared with people who may have different tolerance levels, because not everyone's going gonna be the same I call it twinning.
Speaker 1:so, yeah, I I anything that I can't, that that I can serve infused. I had better be able to twin it and be and and have it not infused and and so like when, when we're doing, when we're doing private dinings, like if if I was doing any. I'll make three different versions of it. I'll make one that has zero THC, I'll make one that has two and a half milligrams, I'll make one that has seven and a half milligrams, and then I can go anywhere from there.
Speaker 2:Right, right.
Speaker 1:So if somebody says you know my comfort zone's five, not a problem, we can do that. If somebody says you know my comfort zone's five, not a problem, we can do that, and so that again it simply goes back to the intention just being really, really knowledgeable about what is in the food.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's super important too when you're serving it to other people. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Hospitality starts with trust.
Speaker 2:Right. And I need every single one of our guests to trust us. Yeah, yeah, absolutely, because they are putting their faith in your hands that they're going to have an enjoyable experience.
Speaker 1:That's right, that's right and and I always say I, I always refer back to the first soup that I ever made with cannabis, and I didn't have a clue what I was doing. But I read, you know, read High Times, read everything I could about infusing and just went I could do this and that potato soup put me on the couch for a number of hours. It was, it was I had one bowl and it had. I went back the next day and did the math and went okay, that was about 90 milligrams. That could be aggressive.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow, for one serving One bowl of soup.
Speaker 2:Oh wow, okay. Yeah, that would lay a lot of people out.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I apparently watched golf for a long time, right, and I don't remember a single thing about the golf, right, yeah. So those are stories I tell all the time, and and now, and and so, when, when we're talking to our guests, like we, we, just we, I I literally go to every guest and and discuss how they're, where they're comfortable, what, what edible have you had that made you feel good, where do you want to be? And and then I'd also talk about my limits, where, in a meal, I won't serve more than 25 milligrams over a five-course meal, and that's only to somebody who really wants it, like that's the, the way I describe it. You don't go to a fine dining restaurant and do seven shots of tequila before you eat or after Right.
Speaker 1:The goal isn't to get messed up, the goal is to have an incredible experience, and so we've had to slow a few expectations down on some customers. They're like we're walking out of here just wrecked, like no, probably not, yeah, and I.
Speaker 2:I can appreciate that too, because for like I could consume 25 milligrams, but then I'm not going to be feeling very social either at that point I'm going to be like where's the, where's the remote? I'm just gonna like veg on the couch and like watch some comedy. I'm not going to be thinking about being social with other guests that are at an event.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, I think set and setting also sort of comes up with that as well, Because some people have really high tolerances and that's what it takes to get them there. But I do like that the more intentional you're not trying to get people like wrecked.
Speaker 1:That's it, like my goal isn't to get people there, my goal is to open their eyes to just new experiences, new ideas that wow. And if they want to go home and make my 80 milligram bowl of soup, fill your boots, like I'll give you the recipe, but you know we try not to do that. Yeah, yeah, no, fill your boots. I'll give you the recipe, but we try not to do that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, no, that's fair. Now do you have a go-to edible recipe that never fails to impress?
Speaker 1:I love this question. I absolutely love this question. I bounce around all over the place, around the place, but my go-to is absolutely a pesto, because from that base we can do anything. So a good pesto where I know down to the tablespoon how many milligrams is in it, then I can have fun, then I can you know, if we want to add tomatoes, if we want to add whatever, we can grow from there. But yeah, the pesto always puts a little bit of smile on people's faces, whether we're using it in pasta or bruschetta or whatever.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no pesto is a great answer. I love infused pesto. I just love pesto period and we're recording this right now in August, when there is like an incredible bounty of stuff at like your local farmers markets and whatnot. You can freeze pesto too, right?
Speaker 1:you sure can yeah.
Speaker 2:So for all of you folks listening out there, make some pesto, yeah, and you can do the old ice cube tray trick where, and then you've just got. You've got little cubes of pesto ready to go yeah, I'm planning on actually doing that soon, because I have a bunch of basil on my deck.
Speaker 1:I need to do something with it and I've been making a lot of pesto. Do you have a ton of basil flowers, like the actual flowers that grow up the stem?
Speaker 2:I've been kind of picking the flowers off.
Speaker 1:Have you. Yes, we used them a couple of weeks back because we have a bunch of basil in the garden as well.
Speaker 1:I am not a gardener, I right I wish I were, but um, it's, it's like I don't want to raise the cow, I want to cook the steak so um, but, uh, but yeah, we had a bunch of really nice, uh, basil flowers and and we we used it in um um as as an edible garnish and people were blown away with it. They absolutely loved it. So, yeah, don't throw it all over the place?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I should think about that. Somebody told me not that long ago that if you pick the flowers off when they come up, that it'll keep producing more basil.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, but then you can still use the flowers.
Speaker 2:I should do that instead of tossing them over the railing of the deck. Yeah, I just do that, instead of tossing them over the railing of the deck.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I just said that, Although the bunnies might like that yeah that's true.
Speaker 2:That's true. I'm feeding the local wildlife, so it's all good. Yeah, Now can you tell me the story behind your can of chef and how it started and how it's evolved?
Speaker 1:It's been a fun little ride. Your can of Chef actually started out as the roadside gourmet, a buddy of mine. In 2018, I think, he and I decided we were going to take a motorcycle trip. We were going to load up our bikes and we were going to drive. We called it the lap. We were going to do a motorcycle trip. Uh, we're going to load up our bikes and we're going to drive uh, we're we called it the lap. We're going to do a lap of, uh, north and Central America. We're going to go down to the Panama canal, um, sort of ride down the East coast of the United States and then ride back up the West coast into Canada and ride completely across Canada. And so, um, and we're on incredibly limited budget, and so we said, you know, let's let's create a YouTube channel that that is, uh, me cooking off the kitchen that I carry on my bike, and so, you know, it's a couple of little burners and and and a couple of pans. I did have cast iron, cause I'm a psycho Um, but uh, um and so, and so it started there. Then COVID killed that trip, but we kept the roadside gourmet going, and to the point where we actually bought an ambulance and built that out so that it could be a teaching kitchen. Oh wow yeah, did all kinds of fun stuff with the roadside gourmet and I think it still exists somewhere in the YouTube ether and so we started doing a bunch of cooking videos.
Speaker 1:And then I got introduced to the concept of cooking with cannabis, and so we kept the Roadside Gourmet brand for a little while and then slowly transitioned over to your CannaChef. And I mean, the original plan of your CannaChef is not what it is today. The original plan we were going to be. The goal was to be the largest database of cannabis-infused recipes on the planet. That was our goal, and we started off and we were building things, and then we asked for submissions. We got a handful of those. So basically, the the the pitch was send me your grandmother's tomato sauce recipe and I'll show you how to infuse it and keep it, keep the integrity of that sauce where it was right. So that was the concept.
Speaker 1:And then, um, and, and then it just started evolving. We started getting asked to cook for people and we started hosting events, and then we started, you know, doing private dinings, and then people were asking us to teach them, and all of this while I was working another job uh, you know, doing doing 50 hours a week. Uh, at that, doing 50 hours a week at that. And then, honestly, the tipping point was you, I don't want to. I mean, I do want to pump your tires, but you know, it was Bite Me, cannons Club, because we started doing the cooking videos for your platform and the passion just kicked back in.
Speaker 1:And for me, with cooking, it can come and go unless I'm doing it every day. And so the passion came back in and three months ago about that, I quit my job and said we're going to do this full time and it's. I mean, the learning curve is massive. We've had three or four different product ideas. You know we had infused meal kits, which we're still working on. That is. That's backburnered for a minute because of some laws that we need to juggle, but so we're advocating hard for a few changes there.
Speaker 1:But then people just kept asking to learn and asking to learn. So, yeah, over the last month, month and a half, we've been rocking a bunch of really cool cooking classes in person. It's the only way I will do it because you really get it, instead of me lecturing and saying you know this is how you cook this. You can go online and figure out how to cook anything, but in person we can really drive home. You know the care and responsibility of cooking with this plant and and the different ways that we can do it, and we've we've just hooked up with I think I can mention it. Yeah, okay, you know what?
Speaker 1:if I can't, I've my hands know, and then my hands, my hands been slapped before, um, but but we, we, just we we've just hooked up with uh, with a local cannabis company, um called uh station house, and they're a grower and a um and and uh and a dispensary, and and the general manager over there is a fantastic guy. He was actually just at one of our, our workshops, and, uh, they are doing a bunch of cutting edge research on uh, on culinary cannabis, and, and so we're, we're, we're, hopefully, working with them. So, yeah, it literally started with, you know, know, a little YouTube channel that, uh, that was me cooking off the back of a motorcycle and and now it's, it's, it's this, this just super, you know, turning a hobby into a business. It's everybody's dream.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it is. Honestly, that's amazing. That's quite a quite an evolution, and I met you around the time when you were bringing in submissions for these recipes from folks, and I know we spoke on the phone several times and you have been a longtime listener of Bite Me, which I think is amazing.
Speaker 1:I could actually say that I've listened to I'm going to say 90%. This is how I listen to podcasts I start at number one I start at the first one, and I know that made you cringe when I told you that. I did that. But any podcast I start at number one. If number one can get me hooked, then I'm in.
Speaker 1:And I used to drive for a living, so I had hours and hours and hours and hours to listen to stuff. So I felt like I knew you before. We chatted just because of the platform. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:But I love that because, also, like the in-person events, I think people are really looking for that now as well, and also the videos that you post in the Bite Me Canvas Club are incredible, mainly because it's not again just like making a brownie or whatever I can do that, but you are infusing cannabis into actual meals and it's just more elevated culinary cannabis, I guess.
Speaker 1:And we try to keep it pretty simple. And we try to keep it pretty simple. You're not going to see me doing crazy Michelin star stuff. It's just why would I? I'm not trying to teach a bunch of chefs how to be chefs.
Speaker 2:Right, so yeah, it's very approachable.
Speaker 1:Yeah and so our goal is to make things that people can repeat. Go home and make a pasta, a pasta.
Speaker 2:it's fun yeah, because if you can't repeat it in your home kitchen, then you're probably not going to want to do it. Because I have seen lots of recipes where you need, like you know, real specialty ingredients and they have to go out and find those and then just some pretty advanced techniques that I probably haven't played around with much, and then you look at your final outcome and you're like, well, that sucks.
Speaker 1:How much did I just spend to?
Speaker 2:decide that that sucked. Yeah. Yeah, it's like those Pinterest fail memes that I see a lot, but yeah.
Speaker 1:And we're all there Like, like, that's, that's the thing, like when, when people start cooking, and and especially when people find out that I'm a chef and and you know, jeanette's fat friend, so, so Jeanette and I just got married last year, which was fantastic, and, but but when, when people find out that she's married to a chef, we don't get invited for dinner, we don't get invited for dinner, like, and and really, and, and you know, it's, it's, it's one of those things that, because they're like, yeah, I don't know, he's a chef, I don't want, and, again, my favorite meal is the one that somebody else cooks for me. But, right, yeah, uh, but you know, if, if, if what we teach can be can be done at home, then then I'm winning and I'm doing it right yeah, I totally agree and I'm glad to hear the in-person classes are going really well.
Speaker 2:I'm not surprised, but I'm glad to hear that they are.
Speaker 1:They're a blast. They are so much fun.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah Now. So you've been doing these cooking classes and you're pretty involved in culinary cannabis. Have you noticed any trends in what people are looking for when it comes to cannabis-infused food?
Speaker 1:I think it comes to infused cannabis, infused food.
Speaker 1:I think there's there's a couple of things people are really looking for access to infusions right the infusions themselves yeah, uh, because, let's be honest, I can sit here and say, all right, so all you do is pop in, you know, some can of butter or some oil, or even some isolate and and, and, and, and you can go. But if you don't, if you don't know how to do that um, or if it's not something that that excites you, um, honestly, the infusion process is boring. Thank you for the 30 minute one, though that has that I, I started. As soon as I listened to that episode, I started started doing my own, my own, um, because I trust you and all, but I wanted to do my own research, and, and man, that's frigging awesome, that is so awesome, and uh, and so. So, yeah, people want access to oils and butters and, uh, and sugars and whatever. We're not there. If somebody is interested, reach out. That's all I'm saying.
Speaker 2:Did I wink?
Speaker 1:I'm not sure if I winked but also comfort foods. It's how do I infuse my spaghetti? How do I infuse my spaghetti? How do I infuse, you know, my mashed potatoes? It is stuff that they're already cooking, and so how do I make that work? That, really, and that excites me because it suggests that we're looking for candidates to become a pantry item for cannabis to become a pantry item and you know I treat everything that I cook with respect, whether it's basil or cannabis.
Speaker 1:But the idea that it could just become a regular staple in people's pantries, that excites me.
Speaker 2:That makes me really, really, really, really, really happy yeah, and I think that also shows like a maturity perhaps in the cannabis consumer, now that I mean, we're both in canada so we've enjoyed legalization for a little while. But people are looking beyond the brownie, to use that off used phrase. But yeah, people are interested in things just past the brownie or the gummy and yeah, you're showing people that it can be done quite easily and it's so simple.
Speaker 1:It really is. Um again, once, once you have access to to infusions, you can trust, yeah, um, you know, I, when we started doing infusions, I read everywhere on the internet, um, because you know, if it's on the Internet it's true, and that you know, you take an ounce of weed and you toss that in butter and that's how you make an infusion. It's like an ounce, my God Like yeah, that's what you're making is crazy, and so you know, we do.
Speaker 1:I to a to a cup of fat, I do three and a half grams. Right, I yeah, I would, half a quarter is what I call it.
Speaker 2:But a half quarter. Yeah, ontario, I know it's an eight.
Speaker 1:But yeah, that's, and I go with low THC weed Like I don't you know. Again, the goal isn't, isn't, isn't just be messed up all the time. It's, it's the, it's, it's the have, have the experience and have my body, have my body, actually benefit from from eating the food.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Both from the cannabis and from the food.
Speaker 2:So yeah, I totally, I totally agree with you on that. I think people are I don't want to say microdosing per se, because microdosing for one person might be mean nothing, like somebody else might not feel it at all but I just feel like being more mindful about those doses because, you're right, like putting an ounce into even a couple of cups of butter can make a really strong infusion.
Speaker 1:It's a lot of weed too, like I don't know how where everybody else's budget is. But uh, you know, and and I'm a bit of a legacy guy obviously, with um, with, with the business that's all through the ontario cannabis store, but um, but the but, but yeah, I mean personally I'm, yeah, I'm a legacy guy, but an ounce of weed is, you're not that that's, that's not cheap no, it's not.
Speaker 2:I mean if you're growing it. There's a lot of growers that listen to this show, so maybe they have access to all that trim, because you can use trim in your infusions as well. But yeah, it does add up a lot.
Speaker 1:Use the three and a half grams and then smoke the rest, right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly. I mean. Yeah, I do like to vaporize. Use my dry herb vaporizer while I'm waiting for the edibles to kick in, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Now and that's an interesting one to kick in Absolutely Now, and that's an interesting one. At some of our dinings we've had people like show up and say, is it okay if we just go smoke a joint? And I'm like I'm never going to say no, but ideally don't right. Ideally, let the progression of the different cannabinoids that we're going to introduce throughout the meal be the experience. And you know, afterwards, sure I'll smoke a bowl with you, but before maybe not, maybe not. But I mean, that's just for our experience, it's not.
Speaker 2:You know, while you're waiting for it to kick in, hit it, go nuts, yeah, I hear what you're saying, because you're suggesting just let the experience be the experience and see what you notice about it, because I think it's really interesting what you can notice as well when you go into something like that and you're sober. Then go from there.
Speaker 1:And then we play with how the CBD can play with that, with how the CBD can play with that and managing the physical experience is a big part of what we do is making sure that we're counterbalancing and that it's just a glow. The goal is to be a glow.
Speaker 2:Right Now. You've hosted a few of these by now. What has been the most memorable experience? That you've had a few of these by now? What has been the most memorable experience?
Speaker 1:that you've had so far. It happens every single time. Every time it is when people have that aha moment. Where, uh, where, where they whether it's a cooking class or a dining, or or even just a consultation where they have the aha moment of, oh, this is controllable, oh, this, okay, this guy's not just messing with us when he says I can give you two and a half milligrams, or when he says where's your number.
Speaker 1:It is that, and especially with the home cooks that we're teaching, when they're able to go, oh, wow, like this really is just butter with a kick or it's and, and, and we can do so many fun things with it, and I then I show, and so we had, it's what people just, and it happens every time and it's what keeps me excited, like I just, I love watching people. I don't when, when I was doing non-infused, um, we, we got certainly a lot of fun feedback and people loved our private dinings and I was a private chef for a long, long time, but, and I loved it. But you don't get the wow, like just that, this, this is infused dining, right, like and, and so that, yeah, absolutely the most memorable experience happens every time, which is great, keeps me excited that is great.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because it sounds like you have some more classes coming up, which we'll talk about in a few minutes yeah, for sure um, how do you see the role of edibles evolving in the wider cannabis culture and industry, and maybe in Canada in particular, just because we have the advantage of federal legalization?
Speaker 1:How do I see it or how do I want it?
Speaker 2:You can probably touch on both. Those are probably two different things. Yeah, they are.
Speaker 1:I see it evolving slowly. Working with Station House, I'm not going to give away any other trade stuff, but I don't even know if I'm allowed to mention it six to eight months, um, that really could revolutionize, uh, the way we approach uh, dining, uh, and and and infused food, and, and I'm really excited. It's a question now they can do this, they've got the pockets, they have the, they, they have the, the, the background and the history and the knowledge, the knowledge and the reputation. So I do think there's some really cool things, but I think it's going to be a slow process. But I remember when you had Jordan Wagman on and you asked a similar question and his answer without hesitation was that the future is in culinary, and to a degree I do agree with him.
Speaker 1:I would actually like to see the industry, the overall cannabis industry, embrace the concept of culinary.
Speaker 1:But I also understand why restaurants are a long way off, pardon me, yeah, a really long way off, because without stringent controls like really, really stringent controls it could be a very, very dangerous space where, uh and so so I'm an advocate for the concept for, for culinary, um, cannabis, but I, uh, I know there's going to be a as a group, the discipline to, uh, to just greenlight cannabis restaurants right now. I think. I think that, as a group, um, and and I just mean the entire industry um, we, we, we need, we need some guardrails put on that because, uh, and, and, whether that is a product that's, you know, supplied by, by others, or or what have you that, that then we as chefs can tweak, um, there's just too many variables that that can go sideways in in in a restaurant setting, and so, uh, I'd love to see us get there. So I agree with Jordan, I think the future is culinary, but I think it'll be a lot more home-based than it will be commercial for a long, long time. I don't see cannabis restaurants being greenlit anytime soon.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I tend to agree with you on that. The one space I would like to see maybe a little more flexibility is like using cannabis beverages out, because I just feel as though that is something that I would prefer to consume, because I just find alcohol is problematic in so many ways. Like I don't live in town, I live outside of town now, so I'm always driving into town, which means I have to drive, I have to be so careful and sometimes I don't want to drink. Yeah, I'm getting older and those hangovers and the way it makes me feel is often not great after having like just one or two and I'm like, uh what? But I can't go and like just out to a bar with a friend and be like can't go and like just out to a bar with a friend and be like it's either drinking, or it's water or pop.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah and I love other options and and I completely agree with you on that that that that if, if bars could offer you know the existing beverages, or, or, or you know even mocktails based off of them, or or, however, however, they need to do it, I think that's entirely reasonable, right? Like, if I go to a bar and have you know five pints, I probably shouldn't be driving. If I go to a bar and have 50 milligrams in beverages, I probably shouldn't be driving.
Speaker 1:So it's all the same thing, and so, yeah, I mean offering those to adults. Is you know, the choices that we can realistically make?
Speaker 2:Yeah, and we make those choices all the time Like that's the world we live in. But we'll see. I think that could be maybe not as slow, but just as slow as getting to culinary cannabis. But you know, I don't mind it being like more private, if you will.
Speaker 1:I gotta admit If it was more accessible in some ways I gotta admit, I'm 50 years old, I have zero interest in opening another restaurant. I have none like zero um, and I've had so many people come up and go, oh, you know, yeah, this would be, this would be fantastic. And I was like, yeah, no, I've lived that life, I've done that. It is, it's not easy, oh it's, don't get me wrong, I loved every second of it. But I'm also at a point in my life where you know we've got grandkids, we just want to relax, we just, we just, and you know going. So, yeah, they can, we can stick to private dining, because I love it and I get that personal interaction where every experience is a chef's table and and and. So, yeah, I, I'm, I don't know I'm biased, I'm, I'm okay with it staying private.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, like you said, it's going to take a long time to get there anyway, with the way the current legislation is, but one day we will be there, and who knows when. I never thought I'd see legalization in my lifetime either, and here we are.
Speaker 1:Now, if somebody wants a consult, right. If somebody is looking for a consultation on how to operate that, I'd be happy to do that, Right. Yeah day to day, I'm out yeah, yeah, no, that that's fair.
Speaker 2:Um, so if somebody is listening, somebody listening wants to get better at cooking with cannabis. Is there a single tip that you would offer? Like what's the? Yeah, I guess, yeah, I guess, I'll leave that to you. The one thing Cooking with cannabis.
Speaker 1:Block a lot of time off because you are going to mess up and you are going to experience some cannabis highs that you didn't even know existed. So and embrace that, right. If you walk into it scared, that's going to be, that's going to be a terrible, terrible high, um, but but just know that that bowl of soup, uh, might have you staring at golf and not knowing what players names are, uh, so, so, yeah, I mean, go in with intention. Um, the more that you can, the more that you can learn, the more that other people can teach you. Um, you know, follow that advice. If you know, shameless plug, reach out to your Canada chef. We'd be happy to, to, to teach you how to do things. Um, but yeah, um, best advice, do it intentionally, don't. Don't guess. Guessing is, guessing is for amateurs.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and there's actually really no reason to guess anymore, because everybody's talking about dosing and all this kind of thing.
Speaker 1:Go to Margaret's website. She's got a fantastic calculator and we took ours down when we did the redesign of the website and I need to figure out a way to get it back in. I need to reach out to my IT guy and get that done, because I can't do it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I know, that's admittedly not something I did on my own, fair enough. Yeah, that back-end coding and stuff is not my forte. Yeah, yeah. So block off lots of time. I do like that because if you are starting a new project in the kitchen as well, you need time to decarb, you need time to infuse. Even if it is shorter than conventionally thought, you need all the time to do all those things. So you're better off never not rushing the process.
Speaker 1:And it's like any amazing dish, it's an evolution, Right, any amazing dish, it's an evolution. When I'm creating a dish, especially for our fine dining clients, I work through it a dozen times before I'm happy with it. I think I told you this story. We made a gluten-free puff pastry because one of our guests had celiac but really wanted this puff pastry dish we were doing and I spent. I remade that probably 20 times because I just wasn't. And if you've ever made puff which I don't know why anybody would Like I don't make puff pastry oh, okay, you can buy puff pastry.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:But for this one. You can't buy gluten-free puff pastry, so I battled with that and battled with it, and I've been a chef for 30 friggin' years. So if you're making mistakes in the kitchen, it's okay, right, just take a breath, take your time, do it again.
Speaker 2:Yeah yeah. There's a couple of recipes that have bested me more than once, so I can I can attest to that I am proud to say that I got the friggin puff pastry right. Yeah, because I'm free baking. That's a whole different thing. What do you?
Speaker 1:do with xantham and I mean it takes. Yeah, I mean making puff pastry, because you have to chill it, the everything has to be super cold, the butter has to be incredibly cold. I wasn't even infusing the puff pastry, this was just making puff pastry right uh, the the number of times that dough balls went flying across my kitchen with moments of chef rage they're uncountable.
Speaker 2:I will probably stick to buying my puff pastry because I don't need it to be gluten I recommend it, I absolutely recommend that yeah, now, speaking of buying tools, is there a kitchen tool or gadget that you can't live without? And this can be just like any kitchen gadget.
Speaker 1:I'm not necessarily specific to cannabis cooking, but I love that question, um, I, I I'm not a gadget guy, um, but there's, there's a couple of things in my kitchen that I couldn't live without, Um, first one's my, my chef knife. Um, I have had there's there's no longer a branding on my chef knife. It has been, it's a hankle my favorite, and every everybody has their favorite. That doesn't make me right, um, but I've had this thing for 30 years, um, it's traveled the world with me and I, and it has been a steady, steady friend in my life. And so, yeah, my chef knife, absolutely.
Speaker 1:And cast iron. I have an unhealthy obsession with cast iron and some may say an unhealthy collection of it, but I love cooking in cast, absolutely love cooking in cast. And so if there were two things like if I was being I love cooking in cast, absolutely love cooking in cast, and so so if, if there were two things like if I, if I was being stranded on a desert island, give me my chef knife and a good cast iron pan and I'll figure it out.
Speaker 2:I love those answers because when you don't really understand how good a knife is until you use some really shitty ones and uh, most dangerous, most dangerous thing in the kitchen is a dull knife yes, and people are like, why is that? But it slides instead of slicing and then you're sliding into your flesh and then you have blood everywhere and it's not a fun experience. So I you know you don't and we've all done it yes, oh, absolutely I.
Speaker 2:I have not a while. I actually have decent knives right now. But nice, funny, my, my dad has a set of knives because I moved in with my dad like a while. I actually have decent knives right now. But nice, funny, my, my dad has a set of knives because I moved in with my dad like a while ago. And they are. They like the blade is almost worn off yeah and I remember when I moved in, I brought my knives. He's like oh, these are pretty good.
Speaker 1:I'm like yeah, that's because they're 50 years old it cuts tomato flesh, it doesn't just crush the fruit cool yes, and I don't know why he still uses those knives, but he just keeps everything.
Speaker 2:So there's that, but, and cast iron. I love that too, and for those listening, uh, if you, because it can get pretty pricey sometimes too, I think, but it's definitely something to look for in like thrift stores or garage sales.
Speaker 1:I was going to say you're talking to an incredibly cheap Dutch chef. So I have again an ungodly collection of cast iron, and I would say 90% of it was bought from estates in crap condition. And then I get to spend the time and and again. This is just my silly little personality. There's nothing like spending an afternoon bringing cast iron back to life and because I I've never, I've never met a cast pan that I can't fix.
Speaker 1:So, um, and, and you know, when people are using my cast um, they're like, oh, I don't know, I don't want to wreck your cast, it's like you can't.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I know, because you're right Like it can look pretty awful and then you can season it and fix it back up. Yeah, it's like you can wreck my seasoning.
Speaker 1:You can leave it outside all winter and be rusted as hell and come springtime, give me, give me, you know, a few hours with it and a few hours that I'd love doing um, and and we'll get her fixed. So, yeah, it shouldn't be intimidating yeah, perfect.
Speaker 2:Now, this one's a bit of a shameless shameless plug in a way. But what excites you about being part of the bite me cannabis community, the cannabis club?
Speaker 1:the, the cannabis club has been awesome and, um, selfishly, uh, you guys are my test kitchen right, a hundred percent you're, you're my test kitchen with live feedback. So, uh, I, I selfishly, I love it because, uh, because we can go and try, you know, a puff pastry rat brie with a maple pecan glaze and break it down to a simple process and people love it. And so you know, we can do stuff, but stuff that I wouldn't necessarily just do for shits and giggles at home. So, selfishly, my personal test kitchen it's fantastic, but more than that, it's the people. I'm comfortable saying that I'm an expert at what I do, that I'm an expert at what I do. I am not an expert with cannabis, all facets considered.
Speaker 1:Right yeah, right, I am not. I'm still learning. We're always learning, and anybody who says that they've got it all figured out, they need to wake up and realize that there's more to figure out. And so the community itself is just this robust group of people that that that are non-judgmental, um, that that will, that that have different skill sets and different ideas towards the plant and and to just sit and chat about it is fantastic and, um, I will get on the high table soon. Yeah, that has been, it has been on. Tuesdays are bad for me, but right, uh, that is, that is something that that, uh, that I I have full intention of, of jumping on and and just sitting back like I, yeah, like, like you guys know way more than I do, so um, I would agree with that, just because, collectively, there's a ton of knowledge in that space and I couldn't have said it better myself.
Speaker 2:So thank you for that. You're a valuable member of our community and I really do like the the vibe that's happening over there. It's a, like you said, it's a pretty welcoming space.
Speaker 1:So for anybody listening. Just just go, go check it out. Go check it out. It's awesome.
Speaker 2:Now you are also, when you're not busy running cooking classes and and that kind of thing, you're building a tiny house and I think that's like the coolest thing ever. So I would love to hear what inspired you to take on that project.
Speaker 1:Her name is Jeanette and last September 14th we married. But it's been a dream and the goal is to retire, sort of Like I'll never retire, but to slow life down. And so a big part of that was building the tiny house. And so we're fortunate to have sort of a family legacy piece of property up on Lake Simcoe and, uh, and there was a space, and so a couple of years ago Jeanette and I bought this kit and last year we laid the foundation for it and this year we built it, and there's going to be a lot of finishing work that has to happen, but the plan is that, uh, next, next summer we'll be, we'll be moving up there and living a really stripped-down life. And that has me really excited, because living in Nicaragua for as long as I did really gave me appreciation of how little it takes to be happy and uh, and, and that quality over quantity, etc. Etc. Etc.
Speaker 2:So so, yeah, so the tiny house has been, it's been, a fun project, it's, and I can't wait to see photos of it when it's completely done, like when all the things are are done and and that kind of that kind of stuff. And I do like that you sort of mentioned this paring down, because I feel like we live in a place where the things you own end up owning you and so the more stuff you have, the more stress there is around that ownership, because you have to look after these things and and that's and that's that's a life lesson, I think it just takes experience.
Speaker 1:And when I first went down to Central America, it was let's kick the tires on this, see if it'll work. And the plan was to be gone for six months, three and a half years later, and forgotten to leave years later and forgotten to leave, um, and, and you know it's, but living like. I mean, I took down, I took down a couple of bags in my, at my chef role. That was it, and uh, and and decided to to make a life cooking the freshest food I've ever seen. And uh, it was. It was fantastic, but had nothing, had had practically nothing, sold everything that I owned back in Canada and I came back to decide to rebuild all that. So you know, yeah, they changed.
Speaker 2:Put in a bit of a pared down way.
Speaker 1:That's right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's still holding true to your values. Now, do you envision your tiny house connecting in some way to your culinary cannabis work?
Speaker 1:Let's just say that the square footage of my outdoor kitchen is going to be larger than the footprint of the house. So the house, in order to stay legal and I won't get into all of the things that we had to go through but the whole house is 240 square feet. It's a full two stories. So 140 square feet upstairs and 100 square feet downstairs. The kitchen that we'll be building off the back of it. It'll be similar to the kitchen that I have here at the house, and anybody who wants to see that. You have to join Bite Me Cannabis Club, hold you hostage, but no, it's. And so, yeah, the kitchen's going to be a big, big part of that. Now, we don't plan on living there in the winter, so the plan is to have some affiliate partners working within your CannaChef to keep the momentum going in that, and then we'll be doing some virtual things.
Speaker 2:But, yeah, the goal is to be in warm places during the cold months here and then come back for the fun months. That sounds like the perfect plan to escape when it's not, when it's cold and dark and miserable here in Canada, and come back for like spring fall.
Speaker 1:Yeah, have you ever? Have you ever looked at? Have you ever looked outside in the dead of winter, like February 13th, where it's just miserable and blowing and gone? Why do I? Why do I do this?
Speaker 2:Every winter for the last 40 years. Yeah, I have. It's not even the cold. Sometimes it's dealing with the snow, like you know, when you have to shovel it or just move it in order to leave your house, and uh, it's just yeah, or you're depressed because it's dark.
Speaker 1:Yeah well, yeah, yeah Well, yeah Well, and I'm hoping not to miss that, so, so, that's that's the goal. That's the goal. And uh, you know what? Uh, dreams, dreams only happen when you work towards them. So we've been, we've been working hard on this one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that sounds like a pretty awesome plan. People about you.
Speaker 1:Adam, my ability to cook has, both literally and figuratively, saved my life. That having that skill, having that trade, has given uh to dig myself into and out of holes. But, um, when, in 20, 2015,. Um, my, my life, my life took, took a turn I had not planned on and uh went through a nasty divorce and uh eventually just said I don't, I don't, I don't need money anymore. So I just signed whatever the lawyers needed me to sign to be done with things. And then I went down to Nicaragua, which is where I had been before. I had a social network, but I had 600 bucks. That was it. I had 600 bucks and a plane ticket.
Speaker 1:And I went down to Central America and decided to redefine myself, and so I started by cooking dinners for expats, and I don't mean private dining, I mean I went home, I lived in a little shed in this Nicaraguan barrio and it was fantastic. My rent was $150 a month and it had this little kitchen off the side and I called myself the two-burner gourmet, because all I had was two burners and I would make stroganoff. I would make stroganoff, I'd make whatever, and I would go and I would pre-portion them and I would take them into the central park of the town that I lived in and I'd sell them to expats and that's how I made money. And I went from doing that literally just existing, just surviving to a few months later having the private chef business take off, where now I'm strapping.
Speaker 1:Now I had money to buy a motorcycle and now I was able to put a backpack full of the freshest food I've ever seen in my life and drive up into the jungle and do private caterings for tourists and and. Then I created just this, this subsistence for that. That that kept me, kept me going for three and a half years, and and and and so, yeah, that I think it would surprise people that my ability to cook literally saved my life. It's one of the things that I'm most proud of, that I hit the hardest rock bottom and my love of food and the appreciation of other people of my food, yeah, recreated me. It was fantastic.
Speaker 2:I love that and I think that's a really good place to end this conversation. Except I would ask where can people find you out in the world?
Speaker 1:Directly adamatyourcannachefcom. Go to our website, yourcannachefcomca. Um our socials, um I think there's links, but uh, we are yeah, yeah, this is, this is, this is where, where, where my, uh, my, my online acumen is going to uh show itself. Uh, I believe we are yc chef on Facebook.
Speaker 2:Yes, you are Actually, I know that.
Speaker 1:Okay, and on Instagram, which I just received the login information for our Instagram last week because we had somebody else running it and so I now have that which we are your C Chef. Yes, On.
Speaker 1:Instagram your sea chef. Yes, on instagram, um, and and other than that, like we we want, we want to do, um, a bunch of exclusive dinings, um, especially for the fall. I have some some great ideas for for uh, menus and stuff and I can travel. So if anybody in Ontario, I will stay within Ontario. If anybody in Ontario wants to reach out and just have a chat about how we can do some fun food, either do it through our website or get on Bite Me Cannabis Club. Have I flogged this enough? Get on Bite Me Cannabis Club. And everybody.
Speaker 2:I flogged this enough. Get on, bite Me.
Speaker 1:Cannabis Club and everybody can reach out and chat with us there too.
Speaker 2:That's awesome and I'll be sure to put all those links in the show notes so people can find them easily and find you, adam, and I just want to say thank you so much for your time today.
Speaker 1:It's been a real pleasure. Yeah, the pleasure's all mine, I appreciate it.
Speaker 2:Friends, I hope you enjoyed that conversation as much as I did. I will link to where to find Adam and to dinners that he's hosting in the show notes. And if you were listening to this and you thought, hey, you know what, I know somebody who would really enjoy this conversation as well, whip out your phone right now and share with them, because sharing is caring and it helps spreads the word of this show, of this show. With that, my friends, I'm your host, margaret, and until next time, stay high. I even made notes, perfect.
Speaker 1:Which is not You're well prepared. That is not me. I made notes.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so-.
