Gourmet dinner parties with cannabis high on the menu
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- You don't have to go to Mourad to feast on the San Francisco restaurant's exquisite cooking. You can have similar gourmet meals at home.
It's not food delivery.
About two years ago, Michael Magallanes launched Opulent Chef and began offering gastronomic feasts at private parties.
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He has since kicked that up a notch by infusing cannabis into the meals.
"Typically I do nine to ten courses," said Magallanes, who was a chef at Michelin-starred Mourad and Aziza. "The first three courses will be infused."
It takes about 45 minutes to an hour-and-a-half for diners to feel the effects. That means the last three or four courses are eating while high on THC, the component in marijuana that produces the "high".
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"People don't realize that you can get a different cerebral experience from a different chemical than alcohol. And it can be more enjoyable than alcohol," said Magallanes.
He says his biggest challenge is creating dishes with the right dose for each diner, since people have different tolerance levels depending on how often they use marijuana.
Magallanes sends his dishes to a laboratory for testing so he knows the dose of each dish.
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His attention to detail has earned him a ranking among the top ten cannabis chefs in the country.
His clients are not the stereotypical pot heads. He has catered exclusive dinner parties in Atherton, Los Gatos and Palo Alto.
"It is people who voted yes to legalize cannabis. And its people who voted yes to legalize cannabis, who are not open about it but they are consuming, and they want this style of food."
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