By Jesse Betend 

TRICHOMES Staff

A lot of people have picked up new hobbies during quarantine. The TRICHOMES team is no different. 

Recently, we decided to try our hand at cooking with cannabis in an attempt to answer the question, “does combing two great things make them even better?”

To find out the answer, we contacted Chef Matthew Stockard, better known as Chef Matt. He makes award-winning food that includes CBD as a key ingredient. 

While Chef Matt’s culinary experience began at the age of 14, cooking with his grandmother, he says his passion for food preparation was actually born out of an interest in solving crimes. 

“I was always fascinated how they could find a dead body and tell you how it happened -- the science behind that,” Chef Matt said, “growing up, the two things I always wanted to do was be a chef or go into forensic science.”

Those early experiences in his grandmother’s kitchen eventually lead Chef Matt towards his passion for food -- and away from a life of solving crime. 

In college he opened his first restaurant, a small BBQ stand near campus. His customers were mostly fellow students who he fed regardless of whether or not they could pay. 

“My philosophy was if you’re hungry, you ate,” Chef Matt said, who even then was aware that food could be much more than just a meal. 

“I tried to make a lot of food people missed from home,” Chef Matt said. “If [someone] was like, I really miss my mom’s cooking, I’d be like, ‘well call her and see if she’ll tell us how to make it.’”

Today Chef Matt offers digital cannabis cooking classes, as well as THC and CBD-friendly recipes like “Ganja Lobster Tails,” and “Chef Matt’s Sweet Potato Pie.”  He also has a line of CBD-infused products, including cooking oils, honey, and his signature infused BBQ sauce. 

He’s even catered private parties for celebrities like Mike Tyson. 

But it was one of his old friends who inspired Chef Matt to even consider his current venture.

“I was supposed to go to Dubai to open up a restaurant,” Chef Matt said. “He called me up and was like ‘you remember we used to make cannabis BBQ sauce back in high school? I think it’s gonna be big!” 

The Basics of Cooking with Cannabis 

When it comes to cooking with cannabis infused products, Chef Matt says they can be combined with any dish. Ingredients can be seared in infused oil or butter, which can also be worked into pastries and desserts. It can also be included in a sauce or salad dressing or sprinkled on top of plates as a finishing garnish.  

The one thing to watch out for, he says, is temperature. As long as the actual temperature of the oil remains between 250 and 300 degrees, you won’t cook off cannabinoids. 

If your recipe requires temperatures above 250 degrees to properly cook, look to add your CBD later in the process or work it into a finishing sauce or glaze.   

An infrared thermometer, also beloved by those that take their barbecue seriously, is indispensable if you want to make sure your cooking temperature stays below the danger zone.

Recipe: Pan-Seared Tilapia with CBD Pesto and Broccolini 

CBD Pesto by Rachel Heimann on Scribd

Tilapia by Rachel Heimann on Scribd