7 Course CBD Infused Dinner in Chicago

Event: 7 Course CBD Infused Dinner
Hosted by: Chef Christopher Sayegh, Chef Brian Jupiter, and Frontier Chicago
When: Monday, May 20^th
Where: Frontier
Address: 1072 N Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago
Time: 7:00pm to 10:00pm
Cost: $150 Tickets: Click HERE

You’ve been living under a rock if you haven’t noticed a trend in CBD infused dining. In Chicago it’s rare to go to a trendy bar that doesn’t have CBD cocktails or some sort of CBD infused item on the menu. I don’t want to leave anyone out though, so for those that don’t know, CBD stands for cannabidiol and is a compound found in the hemp plant and marijuana. Last year congress removed CBD from the list of illegal drugs…..and BOOM….here comes the CBD Craze.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Christopher Sayegh also known as “The Herbal Chef.” (www.theherbalchef.com) Christopher is a passionate science and biology student who turned to the chemistry of food plant medicine. He is known as the number one cannabis infusion chef in the world. Christopher has pioneered infused Fine-Dining and will be leading guests along with Chef Brian Jupiter of Frontier Restaurant in a 7 course CBD infused dinner. Check out all the details below and keep scrolling for my one on one interview with Chef Sayegh!

CHICAGO RESTAURANT SCENE TO BE INFUSED WITH A HEALTHY DOSE OF CHILL AS FRONTIER AND “THE HERBAL CHEF,” CHRISTOPHER SAYEGH, HOST “7-COURSE INFUSED DINNER”

Chef Chris Sayegh

Chicago is the next stop on a national tour headed by Chris Sayegh, The Herbal Chef and his team, hosted by Frontier Chicago. “7-Course INFUSED DINNER” is a two-hour event boasting a steady flow of incredible infused cuisine to showcase what the future of on-site consumption is going to be in Chicago.

For the most part, the May 20th event puts LA-based chef Christopher Sayegh in the hot seat. You may recognize the name from features across FOX Business, NBC News, Fast Company, Newsweek, and The Washington Post. But Chris isn’t your average celebrity chef. No. Chris is an unparalleled talent in the art of cannabis/CBD-infused cooking and has held countless primetime guest spots showing off his signature trade — like that time he made a private audience drool over preparations as a guest chef on VICE’s Bong Appetit or Playboy’s ‘High Indulgence.’

“For me, when cooking with cannabis, whether that’s the full spectrum of the plant’s benefits or just the cannabinoid extracts like we’ll be using in this event [CBD], it’s really a whole body experience,” says Sayegh, “ CBD-prepared meals, with its non-hallucinogenic relaxation effects, makes for a really delicious, uniquely nourishing moment. As Sayegh has done around the globe for the past 3 years, he and the THC team will be popping up in a non-recreational market in order to further the discussion of global legalization and responsible consumption. Admittedly, when his PR team brought up the idea of Chicago, he was hooked! “This CBD concept is such a great start for a progressive city like Chicago. It’s a great way for restaurant owners and chefs to get started and creatively capitalize on such a booming market.”

Ticket holders will join each other and chefs Chris and Brian Jupiter at a very special dining table at Chicago’s famed restaurant, Frontier. There, this first of its kind epicurean presentation will bring to life a number of Chef Chris’ most coveted concoctions in a seven-course tasting menu compiled of locally-sourced ingredients, complementing the spring season in Chicago, like Chris’ famous Surf and Turf”: Wagyu beef, scallop and truffle. Chef Jupiter, recent James Beard Semifinalist, will cook three of the seven courses alongside chef Chris.

This dinner will include 10mg THC and 10mg CBD as well as a showcase of terpenes in this intimate event. This installment of the cooking series presented as a part of a nationwide tour will feature only CBD-infused items due to the still not-so-friendly state-wide prohibition on recreational cannabis use.

7-Course Infused Dinner will be hosted on May 20, 2019 at West Town’s Frontier Restaurant. Tickets for the 7pm dinner are $150 and are available for purchase. Space is extremely limited. To learn more and purchase your tickets, please visit https://www.eventhi.io/event/the-herbal-chef-comes-to-chicago-1450

Tavi J. One on One Interview with Chris Sayegh: “The Herbal Chef”

Chef Chris Sayegh and Tavi J

You’re known as “The Herbal Chef” and a pioneer within the cannabis infusion industry. How did you get into it?

I was studying Biology in college and everything I was learning was absolutely fascinating. I didn’t really smoke before college or use Cannabis in anyway. As I began to use it I needed to know what it was doing to my body. I started researching it and then it became an obsession to learn even more. I started realizing that it didn’t make any sense why this should be illegal. I decided to combine my love for hospitality and the culinary life with Cannabis.

Can you tell us more about the benefits of CBD?

It really helps the body in many areas from arthritis, to headaches, to seizures. There’s been multiple instances in where it’s helped cancer patients reduce the size of their tumors, etc. CBD is one of the most prevalent ingredients in the hemp plant. It helps your entire body run more efficiently.

CBD is one component of the Hemp plant. Let’s talk about Cannabis/Marijuana Does Marijuana affect us all differently?

Yes. For the most part. It depends on which part or which component you’re talking about though. In cannabis there’s 3 main components. THC – Tetrahydrocannabinol, CBN – Cannabinol , and CBD – Cannabidiol.

Do some people have a higher tolerance when it comes to marijuana or do you have to be in the right frame of mind in order to feel the high?

Our bodies metabolize things differently. It’s a completely subjective experience. We talk to our guests before our dinners to figure out what their dosage should be and what they want out of the dinner?

How do you determine that without them actually trying it?

We give out a questionnaire to get to know everyone better for our private dinners. We get to know how much they use, if they smoke, if they’ve had edibles. What kind of edibles…. etc.

Recently you were featured in Forbes for the article “As Cannabis goes mainstream, are celebrity brands the future of the industry.” Are they?

Really what I think is happening is Cannabis is becoming more normalized. It’s a double edged sword because the celebrities that do understand the true nature of this plant aren’t that big of celebrities yet. There’s some sure, but the ones that could be the biggest advocates typically have a stigma to Cannabis. Also, the bigger celebrities that are well established don’t know much about the plant and are just using their name to normalize it. I think there’s good and bad to both scenarios. I feel honored I was recognized in the article. I love this plant. I really genuinely believe that this plant is not only meant to get people high, but it’s meant to help humanity in a multitude of ways medicinally as well as industrially. I believe this plant is so powerful and the celebrity aspect is basically just helping to destigmatize it. That’s really what the key is here and I think it’s crucial because people need to undo all the miss information that was given in the past.

Speaking of myths and miss information…..can you speak on does marijuana have an addicting like affect? Can you grow an addiction to it?

There’s no physical addiction to cannabis that has been reported. There can be a mental addiction, but in the same way you can become mentally addicted to anything. With that said there is a pretty hefty system of checks and balances within the plant. In every plant for what it does that may be bad it also has a built in reversal system. So for Cannabis the THC is offset by the CBD. You can become mentally addicted, but the physical addiction doesn’t exist.

In your opinion is it okay to smoke Cannabis every day?

I think how you ingest cannabis is very important. Smoking everyday can be bad because it’ll eventually hurt your lungs. You’re breathing in smoke. However, there’s other ways to ingest cannabis. I believe CBD should be taken every single day. Good quality CBD that doesn’t have any pesticides or metals should be in everything.

You’re going to be speaking at the National Restaurant Association show on May 21st. What will your seminar mostly focus on?

I’m doing a demonstration and a presentation panel. During the panel we’re going to speak about the future of edibles and how on-site consumption is going to affect the market and the restaurant industry. We’re going to give good practices to those that want to get involved in the industry and really try to break down how to utilize those best practices.

Is there a safe way to mix alcohol and cannabis?

Yes. At our dinners we serve an 8 ounce wine pairing with our 10 mg of THC and 10 mg of CBD. I definitely think there’s a place for alcohol and cannabis together being used responsibly. Alcohol acts as a catalyst to the metabolism with THC so when used correctly it’s an enhancement to the evening.

Have you played around with hard liquor at dinners as well?

We’ve done hard liquor as well. We do 8 ounces of wine or we do 2 ounces of hard liquor.

For my last question we all know marijuana is still illegal in most states. What are your thoughts about people that have gone to jail for selling marijuana? Are there programs that will help them out once it becomes legal? What are your view points on that?

This is something that’s a huge contingency point for a lot of people. We need to vote to release non-violent criminal’s related to cannabis and exonerate them. We need to educate people on cannabis so that way 1) this never happens again and 2) the people that are wrongfully jailed for absolutely no reason and had their lives ruined can have some sort of justice. It is absolutely disgusting what the war on drugs has done to humanity. I don’t know what else to do other than to educate the public on all of this stuff and that is the best form of action I think I can give to those people who are wrongfully incarcerated is educating.

Are there currently programs right now for people who have been released to help them become a part of the industry?

Yes. In California there’s a minority alliance. San Francisco exonerated non-violent cannabis related crimes. So there’s a lot of that happening now. There are carve outs for minorities, but I don’t think their big enough. It’s a shitty situation. Most of the companies in the top of the industry are not minority led. In my own company I have no problem hiring people who have been in jail for cannabis related crimes. It’s difficult to understand the true dynamics of what’s happening right now because things are constantly changing. I do believe people in this industry are very conscious of that fact and willing to help in many ways.

To learn more about “The Herbal Chef” visit theherbalchef.com and follow along on Instagram @the_herbal_chef