Written By: Sarah Bugden
Every night is a good night for an infused, dazed dinner when you get the pleasure of dining with Blaze N Janes. Their dinners go beyond merely food or cannabis. They create a high-quality, but simultaneously laid back, experience that stays with you long after you’ve digested your meal.
A dazed dinner with Blaze N Janes starts with a warm greeting. You’ll arrive at the location and be welcomed into the dining room by a Blaze N Janes team member. The room will have a dinner table, a dab bar, and if you’re lucky, friends you’ll get to enjoy the experience with. The dinner table has large CBD waters on it for diners to quench their thirst, and also to ensure that everyone’s experience stays balanced.
Chef Pedro Romero and Chef Leslie Romero work together as a team to create the culinary-excellence aspect of Blaze N Janes’ dazed dinners. They started hosting infused dinners years ago for their friends but then realized it was something they could do for more people with the help of some of their other chef friends. Pedro and Reggie DeJesus–one of the chefs who assists Pedro and Leslie regularly–met while working at a steakhouse, and connected over their shared love of cooking, sensational food, good company and cannabis.
First Course
Focaccia with infused olive oil and three flavored balsamic vinegars.
Chef Pedro said that he likes to start with food that’s heavier for the first course of a dazed dinner. He doesn’t want his guests to be hungry and restless.
Blaze N Janes Infusion Dining Tip #1: Don’t Eat When You’re Starving.
This one goes for infusion dining and just regular dining, too. Pedro explains that when we’re hungry, we’re not tasting food; we’re just trying to satisfy our nagging hunger. If you’re out for a special occasion, you want to be able to really enjoy the flavor of food, eat it slowly and take in every moment. This is exactly why Pedro starts off his meals with a heavy course.
After the first two courses, Blaze N Janes like to serve dishes that alternate between light and heavy food.
The olive oil of the first course was smooth, and the cannabis flavor mixed so well with the oil, it was not possible to detect whatsoever. The vinegars that Pedro and Reggie chose included an elderberry balsamic and a chocolate balsamic. Both were unique and gave the focaccia a hint of attitude. The focaccia was soft, tender and fulfilling.
When asked how they created an infusion process so seamless that the cannabis blends right in with the food, Pedro admitted that it was a process.
Creating something as magnificent as Blaze N Janes doesn’t happen overnight. Chef Pedro and Chef Leslie started out wanting to get into the culinary infusion world in 2015, when they sensed that legalization was around the corner. They wanted to perfect their process and be ready to go when legalization happened.
Their first impulse was to make infused ice cream. They made a few sample batches that were superb, and that’s how their name came to be. They wanted to do a take-off of Häagen-Dazs. While pitching various names, someone shouted out, “Blaze N Janes,” and it stuck.
Second Course
Orr Risoto with artichokes, mushrooms, blistered cherry tomatoes and bright vegetables.
The firmness of the risoto, juxtaposed with bursts of sweetness from the tomatoes and earthy flavor from the mushrooms, made for a sensational and well-balanced dish. Once again, it was not possible to detect the cannabis. It was served in as a small portion. Chef Pedro explained that he prefers to design his meals as small portions to encourage diners to slow down, enjoy every bite and take in the company of all who are in attendance at the dinner.
The food prepared by Blaze N Janes could only be described as the highest quality–something you’d find in a high-end restaurant. What makes their food so good goes back to the choices they’ve made about infusion, and how they want to deliver an experience to diners.
When infusing food, chefs have a choice to make. They can either cut corners and use waxes or other quick methods of getting cannabis into food, or they can start from the beginning and learn the art and craft of cooking with cannabis.
Shortcuts often lead to major flavor imbalances, as well as incredibly high levels of THC in the food, which can cause people to have bad experiences, and write off infusion and edible experiences altogether.
Blaze N Janes Infusion Dining Tip #2: Don’t Take Shortcuts.
Instead, the more productive way to go about it is simply to take the time to appreciate how cannabis works, what it’s flavor profiles are, what different strains do to the body, how they taste and how to use them in a dish. This kind of comprehensive understanding of cooking with cannabis requires more effort, but it’s also how you end up with a dish that’s just as much a work of art as it is a meal. If you’re interested in cooking with cannabis to capitalize and turn a profit, shortcuts are easier, but the end product will suffer. If you’re looking to appreciate cannabis, blend its flavors into your dishes seamlessly, and understand how to cook with it, taking the time to study its components and experiment with it in the kitchen.
This is why Chef Pedro, Chef Lisa and Chef Reggie cook together and have worked as a team for so long. Pedro dedicated years to learning the science and craft of cooking with cannabis. Meanwhile, Leslie and Reggie specialized in the food aspect of the operation, and together they seamlessly create infused dishes that could very well be described as works of art.
Third Course
Three Carrot Salad with medley of lemon, basil and tomato oil, topped with herbs and pumpkin seeds with cheese.
The delicate sweetness and earthiness of the carrots came through, and the firm texture made it a win: easy to cut through but not soft.
By the third course of a Blaze N Janes dinner, you’ll feel exactly how you want to feel. They individually dose each diner in 10 mg increments according to your request.
The business has grown significantly and changed course as Chef Pedro and Chef Leslie have developed a better understanding of how to make the most of cannabis when pairing it with food. Their initial ice cream idea went out the window when they realized it might create a huge safety issue if people were to buy their ice cream and take it home, and then to have children somehow get into it.
They then opened a restaurant but didn’t have enough attendance to justify infused meals. Finally, they transformed the business into a pre-ticketed catering and media company. That was when they really saw their business take off.
Dessert
Caramel budino with CBD, oreo crust and coconut whipped cream.
The last course was an absolutely delicious combination of cream with a thick but soft and wet texture, juxtaposed with the crunch of a scrumptious oreo crust.
Blaze N Janes delivers a uniquely relaxing, high-end culinary experience. Every bite has meaning. Every bite has love. Every bite has wisdom. The courses are paced out so that the experience is every bit as much about the cannabis infusion as it is about the company, and indulging in a night of conversation, experiences and flavors.
If you want to try infusion on your own, here’s Blaze N Janes infusion dining tip #3: Get the best olive oil possible. Don’t get the cheap stuff, or it’s going to taste like the cheap stuff.
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