Taking a Cannabis Cooking Class

On a quiet Sunday a few weeks ago, David and I headed into the city for a three-hour cannabis cooking class, courtesy of Colorado Cannabis Tours. In this post, I’m sharing the deets on what it’s like to take an infused cooking class here in the Mile High City. Check out the video below for some highlights of the class, and to see what kind of delicious goodies we cooked up!

The Cooking with Cannabis class takes place in a professional industrial kitchen with plenty of space and all the necessary equipment.

Meet the Chef

Instructing us for the duration of our three-hour class is Jarod Farina, AKA Chef Roilty. Jarod is an award-winning cannabis chef who specializes in micro-dosing. Using light infusions throughout an entire meal, Chef Jarod is able to create culinary masterpieces while hiding the distinctive taste of cannabis.

Our class was quite small, with only one other couple in attendance. This made for a cozy atmosphere where no one was afraid to ask questions or to share their enthusiasm with cannabis. The classroom kitchen was fully equipped and even had an overhead mirror so everyone could see what was happening. And, Chef Jarod frequently encouraged us to step into the kitchen with him, tasting samples and watching his techniques up close.

Each Colorado Cannabis Tours cooking class is individually tailored to who is there that day. Because two attendees didn’t have as much cannabis experience as others, Chef Jarod made both infused and non-infused portions of everything he cooked. This was very much appreciated by my husband David, who doesn’t do well on edibles.

BYOC | bring your own concentrates

These classes are BYOC, meaning attendees bring their own concentrates to infuse an entire meal. We brought rosin from home, which we press from our home-grown cannabis. Most people bring something from one of our city’s many dispensaries. Though we used concentrates in class, Chef Roilty also detailed how to make the same infusions with cannabis flower.

Decarbing our Plant Material

No matter if you use flower or concentrates, your material must first be activated before you can properly infuse. This is process is called decarboxylating, or decarbing for short. Raw cannabis and unheated concentrates contain THCA, the non-psychoactive precursor to THC. In order for our edibles to “work” (get us stoned), THCA needs to be converted to THC. This happens when we combust, vaporize, or even heat up our cannabis.

Chef Roilty decarbed our concentrates by putting it in the oven for around twenty minutes at 220° F.

About halfway through the decarb process. Our concentrates have some air bubbles and are not fully melted.

Fully decarbed concentrates are melted through with no visible air bubbles.

While our concentrates are decarbing, chef gives us an in-depth lesson on cooking with cannabis. He taught us everything from how decarboxylation works, to the exact math needed for accurate dosing. He even shares lots of general cooking tips that we’ve incorporated into our everyday meal prep.

Chef Jerod gave us all the knowledge needed to be able to go home and infuse on our own. He is an entertaining host who regales attendees with tales of the potent meals he’s created to get his many clients successfully stoned. We had a great time learning with him, and went home feeling inspired to create our own infused meals more often.

Cannabis Infusion in Action

Once our concentrates were properly decarbed, it was time to infuse! Chef Roilty added our carefully measured concentrate to oil. He uses that infused oil in salad dressing, on top of our squash, and into our vodka sauce. He also added the concentrate directly into our melted white chocolate mix. In the end we had more food than we could handle in one sitting, both infused and non-infused!

The Menu

Salad greens with infused dressing
Pan-seared zucchini and yellow squash
Pasta alla Vodka with mushrooms
Cookies and cream chocolate bites

Our food was fantastic! By the end of the class, I was ready to eat, and thankfully there was more than enough for everyone to have multiple helpings. And the best part? Everyone gets to go home with leftovers, so the party doesn’t have to end when class is over.

Colorado Cannabis Tours | gift cards now available!

Cannabis enthusiasts of every level will enjoy Colorado Cannabis Tour’s lineup of events and services. I’m a huge fan of their Puff, Pass, and Paint class, and I also recommend their 420-friendly transportation for an epic (and responsible) night on the town. Check out my post here for a closer look at their stoner-friendly classes and transportation.

Know a stoner who would love to attend a cannabis-focused event in Colorado? Pick up a gift card, newly available from Colorado Cannabis Tours. Good for any of their services including tours, classes, and rentals. Learn more about the many 420-friendly classes, events, and services available from Colorado Cannabis Tours, at coloradocannabistours.com.