The Rise of the Female Cannabis Chefs
The following canna chefs are at the top of their category, in heart, skill and ambition. They deliver quality work time and time again. It’s no wonder they’re still considered up-and-coming, because they’re constantly looking for ways to improve their craft. For this particular issue, we chose to focus on the women in the industry, because they are daftly underrepresented. As women, they’ve faced challenges that men simply don’t have to. As Maya Angelou once said, “If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform one million realities.” These women dreamed the dream, took the leap, and now they’re changing the world. One edible at a time.
Laurie Wolf
Laurie Wolf grew up in the Bronx, where she met her husband. They moved to Portland from New York less than a decade ago, ready for a new adventure. When Oregon legalized cannabis, her life changed dramatically, “With the changing laws we are seeing a wider range of customers, many who haven’t used cannabis for years, as well as people who were not comfortable with the formerly illegal practice. Now we see happy clients feeling good and excited to try, or retry cannabis.” Every single edible Laurie and MaryJane creates is tested for potency, maintaining consistency as well as deliciousness.
Wolf has always been pro-cannabis. “I never talk about my love for cannabis without discussing the impressive medical benefits. Cannabis is a powerful medicine without the worry of addiction and miserable side effects. Seeing people manage severe pain without narcotics is huge.” When her father was nearing the end of his life, she would infuse foods with cannabis to help him deal with pain and increase his appetite. It also helps her to successfully manage her epilepsy. She’s been seizure free since she started daily, mild doses three years ago.
“I began to explore cooking with it as an alternative to smoking. Cooking is one of my passions, and I was intrigued with cannabis as a wonderful ‘new’ ingredient and superfood.”
When she realized there were many people that didn’t want to smoke, she decided to be the Martha Stewart of cannabis. And what screams Martha Stewart more than dinner parties? An interest thing that Wolf’s company does is host cannabis dinner parties, letting guests try different flower while dining on mildly infused food. They’ve even done terpene pairings. “Cooking with cannabis is like cooking with a new spice. I love a challenge, infusing foods that are unusual and a surprise.”
Monica Lo
A few years ago, Monica Lo took a wild leap and moved from Brooklyn to San Francisco. That’s where she worked for Nomiku, a company that created the smallest sous vide device. What’s sous vide? Basically marinating and cooking food in a sealed, temperature controlled water bath. This allows for precise cooking. “Since the cannabis is sealed in a jar underwater, there’s virtually no smell—which is another great perk if you live in a tiny apartment.”
Lo started her blog Sous Weed as a passion project, marrying her love of food, technology and cannabis. “At the time, I was making healthy Sous Weed edibles as an aid to sleep through the night and relieve my back pain when I herniated a disc.” She’s inspired by her friend Ophelia Chong, the founder of Stock Pot images. Having the chance to collaborate with Chong, she was able to educate and de-stigmatize through her photography, specializing in ganja yoga and edibles.
Finding herself more creative when lightly medicated, she still loves to use raw cannabis for all the wonderful health benefits and anti-inflammatory properties, even though you don’t get the psychoactive effects. “I find that the herbaceous flavors are fairly mild and can be incorporated into many dishes.”
Keira Fae
Keira Fae has lived in Portland, Tokyo and Irvine, but most recently, she’s moved to Los Angeles. In 2014, she started an edible company which garnered the attention of WeedMaps, “We started filming step-by-step how to infuse and cook with cannabis videos, where I explain Cooking with Cannabis,” Fae says.
She’s been pro-cannabis for a few years now. Falling ill in 2013, not wanting to take a sluggish list of meds, she smoked a joint and noticed an instant improvement in her health. “I regained my appetite and I had more energy, and the pain was gone!” Since then, she’s immersed herself in the cannabis community, learning the science behind it and finding new, innovative ways to infuse and medicate patients.
Since entering the cannabis space, she is continually inspired by those around her. “I have met nothing but exceptional, hard working, passionate people, all working to achieve the same goal and that is to bring a light to this wonderful medicine. I am very grateful to be surrounded by such positive energy, there is never a shortage of inspiration!”
Fae really likes to work with her hands and be creative in her work. A typical day for her is finding a nice space with a notebook and pencil, rolling a joint, smoking it and thinking on how she can make her products better, what sort of products would maximize patient use and how to keep her products consistent, “It’s all a learning process and I get to teach myself and learn every day.”
Robyn Griggs Lawrence
Robyn Lawrence has lived in Boulder, Colorado for over two decades after growing up in Iowa and trying out Chicago, Virginia and New York. She’s never been anti-cannabis, but when her doctor recommended it in 2009, she was blown away by how much it helped. “I began to explore cooking with it as an alternative to smoking. Cooking is one of my passions, and I was intrigued with cannabis as a wonderful ‘new’ ingredient and superfood.” This launched her cookbook project, which was her introduction to the cannabis industry, just as it began to explode in Colorado.
Some may see Lawrence’s work as a cannabis writer, educator and advocate as a departure from her earlier career as a magazine editor, but she believes it’s a natural extension of that work. Wanting to make healthy, organic dishes, without all that added sugar, she knew the best way to learn was from the pros. “I scoured the country for the best cannabis chefs out there who would be willing to teach me . . . The more I learn about cannabis, the more I see it as a miraculous gift that we must honor and protect from adulteration and exploitation.”
