Mason Jar Events founder Kendal Norris has become a seasoned veteran at hosting these swanky, elevated dinner parties, with each event gaining more fame than the last. As live bluegrass played on the Longmont farm, industry folk, tourists and couples on date nights perused various refreshments options, including smoked goat cheese, champagne and dabs of live resin.
Norris says she looks for both food and cannabis partners that have their own spaces in the industries. Sweet Leaf dispensary provided the flower this time around, while guests enjoyed concentrates from Green Dot Labs and CBD vaporizers from Veedverks. (Guests had to buy their cannabis goodie bags in advance at Sweet Leaf.)
Other than the occasional cloud of smoke quickly dispersing and a slight cough here and there, it was hard to tell the difference between Mason Jar's cannabis dinner and any other catered event. The pairings were appropriate, beautiful and, most important, delicious. "We were kind of shooting for southern Mexico meets the lowlands tonight," Fader said as the dinner wound down. "I think we achieved that."
How does Fader choose cannabis and food pairings to fit each course and season? We talked with him to find out.
First course: Watermelon gazpacho with a Veedverks CBD vaporizer pen
"The pairing is part flavor, but a big piece of that is also the season. Each course is meant to either complement or work completely opposite of what you're trying. Whether it's wine, tequila, bourbon, whatever I'm pairing with, I don't try to get so strict."
Smoked Rocky Mountain trout with Pueblo pinto beans and corn on top of epazote-arugula pesto.
Jacqueline Collins
"Some of the fruity notes is where I added the smoke flavor, like trout, so that way you're getting the fruit and cannabis flavors from the flower. But then you're eating the smoked trout, Pueblo pinto beans and corn; it's creamy and cold with a little bit of crunch. That's a really nice note."
Third course: Shrimp and crawfish boil Veracruzana paired with Hong Kong Star flower
"The main entree pairing really had nothing to do with taste. It had everything to do with the fact that we're at this beautiful farm in Boulder County, and we're all sitting out with each other. I'm an East Coast guy from Maryland, so I love crab boils, cooking with crawfish, chicken, shrimp and sausage. I really wanted to do something family-style for this, as people have gotten comfortable working their way through the night, reaching and passing."
Fourth course: Dulce de leche Mexican wedding cookies paired with apple cider caramel edibles from Rebel Edibles and SteepFuze's CBD coffee
"This is the first time we're doing infused coffee as part of the course, so the idea was simple: a coffee and cookie. A dulce de leche with my apple butter, a simple Mexican wedding cookie – it's a perfect way to end the night."
After that? High-CBD cigarettes from Toast — a perfect nightcap as the evening came to an end.
