Michigan’s High-End Canna-Cooking
420 Macarons canna-chef Kelsey, 22 (Metro Detroit) has been working full time at a pet shop for the past five years. Upon being introduced to a thriving local community of cannabis enthusiasts, she saw opportunity to make a supplementary income. Instead of sitting by and admiring the success of her peers, she launched 420 Macarons, one year ago. Beyond the fact that her miniaturized treats are reminiscent of a rare Easy-Bake-Oven success story, the creative flavor combos for Kelsey’s macarons really show her keen eye for flare. We caught her in the kitchen with a fresh batch containing crowd favorite Fruit Loop, along with Key Lime, Candy Corn and Pumpkin flavors just in time for fall.
“Don’t be scared to try something new; don’t let anyone tell you that your stuff isn’t as good as you think it is; and, don’t give up.”
Treats made by 420 Macarons are proudly made with low dosage ranging between 25mg–100mg, depending on the treat. With the bite-sized nature these edibles, lower dosing allows patients the option to consume just one, or a few, depending on their individual tolerance. Conquering the mental barrier of properly dosing an edible is one thing, but then figuring out how to medicate such a delicate recipe as macarons; that’s where Kelsey’s determination was put to the test. Reminiscing about her days of trial and error in the kitchen she admits “the first ten times was a total fail” before realizing the secret to the perfect consistency for the cookie was in the way she prepared her eggs. Due to the delicate nature of a macaron cookie, the recipe simply couldn’t stand any additions or alterations. Instead, Kelsey improvised, as any great chef would, and chose to medicate the filling that sits squished in-between each pair of perfect little macaron cookies. She admits that some of her skills in the kitchen are inherited directly from her mother’s recipe book. The mini-pop-tart sugar cookie dough is spot on what her mom used to make at Christmas time, null the concentrated cannabis of course.
Kelsey vends edibles locally, surprising her customers with new flavors once a week at “Dab Wars,” which is most easily described to an outsider as a private social club for Michigan medical cannabis cardholding patients, to consume and purchase medication and medicated goods in a safe place. She began by setting up a display for point of sale orders, and before long was getting requests to fulfill wholesale orders. With a gentle push in the right direction from fellow edible vendor and mother-like figure NativeMade313, 420 Macarons are also available for sale at several local dispensaries. To-Go Boxes for dispensary orders typically contain at least one, if not both of Kelsey’s most popular flavors: Cookies and Cream and Fruit Loop. If you’re lucky, you may have even scooped some of these incredible edible products from Kelsey at one of the competitive cup events that she’s vended.
Though competition in this industry is fierce, Kelsey’s advice to fellow women who are admiring from afar: “Don’t be scared to try something new; don’t let anyone tell you that your stuff isn’t as good as you think it is; and, don’t give up.”
