Cooking With Roilty: This Local Cannabis Chef Will Be at Feast on November 3

"About eight years ago, I took a cooking class with my wife as a date night. That's where I picked up the passion to want to learn this. That's what really kicked me in the butt to want to do it," says Jared Farina, owner of Dine With Roilty, a catering service that specializes in cannabis infusions.

"It's spelled R-O-I-L-T-Y, with the oil inside, just like the food," Farina notes.

A former hash maker in south Florida, Farina entered cannabis extraction competitions in California before dedicating his career to food, traveling around the country and across Europe to eat and train his way toward becoming a professional chef. "I just put myself out there and learn as much as I can," he says.

Now he's a veteran of Chopped 420 on Discovery Plus, Bravo's Southern Charm and Beat Bobby Flay, which he appeared on this summer — though he couldn't use cannabis during that competition.
But Farina doesn't typically cook with cannabis at events, either. Instead of actually infusing the food itself, he offers tableside infusions that mix olive oil with marijuana concentrate, which allows guests to have more control over how much, if any, cannabis they are consuming. In order to stay within Colorado's confusing cannabis business laws, Farina asks that the customer provide the cannabis concentrate, but he takes care of the rest.

Customers who book events can build their own menu, choosing how many courses are served and what types of dishes they'd like. "Every single menu we do is different," Farina notes.

Farina recently stopped by the Westword office to record an upcoming episode of City Cast Denver. He also gave a demo of his cooking skills, whipping up a buttery shrimp pasta, which some participants chose to dose with infused oil while others abstained — but everyone enjoyed the meal. That's exactly the kind of experience he enjoys being able to offer, because it's an inclusive, no-pressure way for people to share a meal together; he says this approach is great for special occasions, like bachelorette parties. "You might have one or two people at the event who are pregnant or don't consume marijuana, and they can still participate. They feel really comfortable knowing that the dishes come out not infused," he explains.
On November 3, Farina will bring Dine With Roilty to Westword's Feast at the McNichols Building. While no cannabis-infused oil will be offered on the side of his dish — pan-roasted zucchini with lemon, pecans and balsamic glaze — he says he's excited to show off his cooking skills and spread the word about his business. In addition to catering services, Farina also offers cooking classes.

A $45 general admission ticket to Feast will get you unlimited samples of dishes from Dine With Roilty along with more than 25 of metro Denver's best restaurants, as well as spirited samples of ELVTD Seltzer, Conecuh (Prospero Tequila), Keepers Heart (Irish Whiskey) and Ironton Whiskey/Bourbon. (Bars will be selling full-sized drinks, too.) Buy a four-pack of GA tickets for $140, and you'll save save $10 off each ticket.

A $70 VIP ticket will get you everything the GA ticket does as well as early admission at 6 p.m., along with a private lounge area served by the exclusive VIP restaurant My Neighbor Felix.

Tickets are now on sale here.