Haute Cuisine with CBD? It’s a tempting idea, given that in France, hemp-based culinary preparations are still limited to cannbidiol pizzas and crêpes.
While in the land of Grande Cuisine, we still don’t have access to hemp-based gastronomic delights, you only have to cross the Channel to meet a leading authority in the field: Jessie L.E, aka Chef Jessie.
Chef Jessie is THE specialist in CBD dinners, which are now causing a stir throughout West London. Zeweed spoke to this hemp wellness freak.
Hi Jessie, tell us a little about your apprenticeship and experience as a chef.
Ever since I was a child, I’ve loved watching cooking shows on TV. While eating is a vital necessity, I was mesmerized by the way chefs sublimated food. I used to escape by watching their prowess on the small screen.
To this I must add that my mother loved going to restaurants. As an only child, I was lucky enough to frequent sophisticated places at a very early age, to taste new dishes and develop my palate. As my mother didn’t cook at home, I had total freedom in the kitchen. She let me buy the ingredients I wanted, so I was free to explore the world of gastronomy.
Later, during my higher fashion studies, I always worked in the kitchen, whether in restaurants or in catering, even though I never took a course.
I have now been working as a private chef for 10 years, at events or in my clients’ homes. I create made-to-measure menus for demanding personalities.
Every service is different, so for my clients, having a chef who understands their tastes is fundamental.
I currently work for the Saatchi Gallery, where I only create made-to-measure experiences. I also work for www.hometainment.com, where I created a dinner last May.
How did you come up with the idea of CBD dinners?
I’d had the idea of offering a gourmet hemp wellness dinner in London for a long time, but I didn’t have the clientele.
At that time, I met Antoine, the founder of HOMETAINMENT (editor’s note: “Home + Entertainment” the London agency that offers all kinds of sensory experiences in the home).
Antoine offered me the opportunity to promote my CBD dinners on his platform and found me my first customers.
This gave me the chance to get in touch with a new clientele, share my knowledge of this magnificent plant, and create original and interesting dishes that I hadn’t previously featured in my daily private chef activity.
How long have you been offering this CBD dinner experience?
It all really started in the summer of 2020. I had spent a lot of my time during the confinements growing all sorts of CBD hemp and studying how to make tinctures and oils. From there, I started to find flavor balances, profiles, taste pairings.
Do you also use ready-to-use ingredients?
All the CBD I use for my dinners comes from my garden in West London.
Growing it myself completely opened my eyes to the CBD you can buy in stores, and what real quality is.
This is precisely what my customers appreciate most about my dinners: knowing that the product comes from a reliable source, is organically grown and comes from the 1st pressing.
I even grow some varieties using only vegan products.
I make my own tinctures and oils and am always on the lookout for the perfect balance in the dishes I create.
What CBD strains do you use?
Over the past 2 years I have grown about 3 dozen strains.
Here are the main ones: Valentine X, Cherry wine, Suzy Q, ACDC, Charlotte’s web and Sour Tsunami.
We know the beneficial effects of CBD, but does the taste of CBD really matter in your menu creation?
Yes, there are obviously very strong aromas, and terpenes play a major role in my dishes. Whether it’s citrus fruits, seafood or white chocolate, there’s always a variety of CBD to enhance the product.
I’m experimenting more and more as I go along. I’ve discovered flavor profiles I’d never have imagined were it not for the specific characteristics of each plant.
Can you give us an example of a CBD menu?
Yes, here’s one I made very recently:
- Amuse bouche – with Organic blueberry OG dye
Yellowfin tuna sashimi/elderberry vinegar/petals amaranth/pineapple jam and chili scotch bonnet - Entrée -with Organic Jilly bean oil and vinegar
Crab / pink fennel / coleslaw / grated bottega / rye bread with squid ink - Dish – with Organic Orange peel
Rack of lamb marinated in ginger and aniseed, with hazelnut crust/smoked new potatoes/palm cabbage/hibiscus sorbet - Dessert – with Organic Harle-tsu flower indoor& cows die
Panna cotta with cereal milk / honeycomb / basil oil
Each dish has been developed with a variety of CBD that blends perfectly with the other ingredients and, above all, enhances their flavor. But the best thing is to try it (laughs).
Interview by Yves de Roquemaurel.
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