Cannabis Dinner Pairing hosted by Tweed Inc.
The Herb & Cheese event took place last Friday at The Lodge on Queen and we were on hand to check out this unique event put on by Tweed Inc. Tweed is a medical cannabis company and its parent company, Canopy Growth (TSX: CGC) has been in the news because of its recent rise in stock price. The Herb & Cheese dinner was an innovative dinner bringing cannabis culture and food together.
Chef Andrew Youngson prepared a 4-course meal, each paired with a drink and a specific strain of cannabis from Tweed. All the guests were registered members of Tweed and brought prescribed cannabis specific to this event.
It was a first of its kind, fully legal cannabis dinner put on by a federally regulated producer. Vaporizers were the only permitted way that guests could consume their cannabis, which kept the place clean and smoke free. The entire night was also alcohol free as the focus was on matching strains that accentuated flavours in certain foods. To keep the dinner extra green, all the food was vegetarian.
The first course was a delicious bite of celeriac, whipped chevre (goat cheese), thyme and black pepper on a buckwheat cracker. This was served with a hot Hojicha green tea, which had a nice roasted flavour.
As the dishes were being served, hosts from Tweed and Chef Andrew Youngson explained how different terpene flavour profiles in cannabis can be matched with flavours in food for a unique dining experience.
The second dish was charred broccoli with fermented chili, lemon vinaigrette, fried shallots and paired with a refreshing cucumber bay leaf lemonade.
This was followed by a wild mushroom sandwich with rye gougere, emmental, mustard, sauerkraut, served in a choux pastry- the same ones used for cream puffs. The foraged herbal cola was my favourite and most interesting drink of the night.By themselves, these pairings were delicious, but definitely an elevated dining experience for guests pairing with cannabis.
The final course was a mochi cheesecake with strawberries, winter spices, vanilla and thai basil that came with a cute bottle of VAMS hibiscus goji berry Kombucha. There were lots of herbaceous flavours in the food, from a variety of fresh ingredients that fit well in this multi sensory culinary journey.
I have included the menu (above) of the pairings including the cannabis strains from Tweed. It’s very positive to see a public event where recreational and medicinal marijuana can overlap in positive and healthy ways, through food.
