Weed Foodies: BYOC (Bring Your Own Cannabis Parties)
Welcome to the latest weed trend: cannabis connoisseurism, with a flavor of foodie. For too long, ganja-philes have had to hide in the shadows, picking up their ounce of green without a hint of culinary mastership, well no more.
To combat and celebrate the lack of weed stigma, events planner Jane West has created Edible Events, a catering company dedicated purely to cannabis culture, teaming delicious dishes with a venue sure to stimulate all the senses.
Strictly a #byoc event (Bring Your Own Cannabis events), Edible Events is a party company that caters to the discerning smoker. Forget a late night stop to Wendy’s or In-N-Out Burger, think a five star catered meal full of epicurean wonderments.
“We are working to redefine what a cannabis user looks like, and what cannabis consumption looks like,” she told Fusion. “I’m 37 years old and there’s a lot of people in my demographic that enjoy consuming cannabis whenever someone would also want to be having a couple glasses of wine.”
Her parties blend alcohol with weed, with a dedicated outside smoking “lounge” on a bus – which is legal in the area as it was hired for use at a private event.
Inside the venue, edibles are allowed (again, with a bring your own mandate) as are smokeless vape pens that use cannabis oil.
The first official Edible Events party, the “End of Prohibition party” takes place on January 24th. It will be held in an upscale gallery in Denver, Colorado and has a menu which features pancetta wrapped shrimp with essence of rosemary, and bacon wrapped medjool dates filled with goat cheese and drizzled with balsamic glaze for about $125. Other events are scheduled to follow: A Threesome with Mary Jane on Valentine’s Day, Miso Hungry on March 28th, and the Wake-N-Bacon: Inaugural 420 Brunch on April 20th.
“It really is an event that is all about the food, its a munchies for foodies menu,” she said. ”We’ve designed it to cater to your heighten your sense when you’re on cannabis, for instance, dry mouth is a common side effect so all of our foods are very savory and succulent, don’t have any breads crackers or pretzels.”
Every item on the menu was taste tested and the focus groups- pools of West’s family and friends contributed their advice.
“It wasn’t very scientific.” she admitted. “But we got interesting findings Some had heightened senses of sound- so we have live music at event, some of sight – we are in an art gallery, and some into the food, and we have live chefs.”
West is ambitious with a mind to growth. She also offers “private events” which are private parties and apres ski catering, which she describes on her website as, ”Imagine returning from a long day on the slopes to find a crackling fire and the mouthwatering aromas of a gourmet meal being expertly prepared coming from the kitchen. As the sun sets behind the mountains, you ease into your slippers and savor the amuse-bouche – a handcrafted dark chocolate truffle topped with Himalayan sea salt and enriched by 20 mgs of THC.”
“Edible Events Co. was created with one goal in mind, to maximize your cannabis experience and stimulate your heightened awareness of taste, smell & sight,” wrote West on her website.
So will cannabis connoisseurs be the future of fine dining?
“The first step is having a decadent indulgent event that people want to be at whether they’re having cannabis or not,” said West. “It’s only been legal for 3 weeks and there are over 30 dispensaries open in Denver alone. A lot of the smaller towns have their livelihood based on tourism and with this, it will be moreso.”
So that’s a ‘maybe’ then.
Ladies who lunch are now.. ladies with munchies?