support for cannabis? Michigan cannabis chefs

(L-R) Chef Nigel Douglas, Michael Thompson, Cory Roberts and Chef Lynette Roberts pose for a photograph at Thompson’s welcome home meal after serving 25 years in a Michigan prison stemming from a marijuana charge. Late last year Gov. Gretchen Whitmer granted clemency and he has now returned to his hometown of Flint, where the media attention his case has generated has seen many, including Michigan Cannabis Chefs, step up to support him.

Elevated Bruschetta

Michigan Cannabis Chefs ELEVATING CANNABIS TO AN ENTIRELY NEW LEVEL

JON BECKER FOR MICHIGAN GREEN STATE

A mere half joint cost Cory Roberts nearly five years of his life. Yet that very same then-illegal substance, cannabis, today is elevating his standing as one of the co-owners of Michigan Cannabis Chefs, an up and coming collaborative food company in Muskegon. Roberts and his business partners, Chef Lynette Roberts, his wife, and Chef Nigel Douglas, a childhood friend, are on the forefront of a new, classy trend in the exploding cannabis industry: artisan cannabis-infused dishes for special occasion dinners, weddings, private parties and small gatherings at private residences. All done safely within everyone’s interpretation of COVID mandates accounted for, Roberts notes. “In 2018, when adult use of marijuana became legal, we began doing private, elevated dining events at private residences,” Roberts says of the company’s origins. “Pre-COVID we were doing events for up to 250 guests. Our chefs were serving anywhere from 5 to 10 courses. We would often have live musical performances. At some events, we would also have artists there painting.” Michigan’s Cannabis Chefs’ farm-to-table approach involves using locally-sourced, seasonal farm fresh ingredients whenever possible. How do crab cakes, roasted garlic and red pepper coulis sound? Or seared scallops, purple pot pancake, frangelico butter sauce and candied bacon? Still not licking your chops? Maybe surf (lobster risotto) & turf beef tenderloin will do the trick. For dessert may the talented and seasoned chefs recommend their strawberry bananas foster gooey butter cheesecake? Try stopping at one slice. These are a but a few of the carefully crafted dishes on one of their elevated dining menus. Every gram of cannabis used in Michigan Cannabis Chefs’ eye-popping-mouth-watering menu is cultivated at Michigan Cannabis Farms, property the Roberts own in Fremont. The Roberts and Douglas have been using marijuana for medical reasons for years. Now they can legally share what they consider a gift from nature with others. “The negative perception of marijuana is disappearing,” Roberts, 42, says. “We’re seeing universities and respected members of the medical community coming on board. ‘I’ve been involved with cannabis on a daily basis for 26 years. We love carefully introducing people to cannabis cuisine. We like to think we’re building bridges using fine dining as a way to bring people together.” Unfortunately, his affinity for bud got him busted back in the day and repeated probation violations prompted a judge to hand him a 26-year prison sentence even though his only crimes were marijuana possession. Roberts has a simple yet profound response when asked what got him through prison: “Logan Lee Roberts. Thinking of getting back to my son who needed me. Logan was 4 when I was sent to prison. His Mom and I were not together, and when I went to prison, she moved to Maui, Hawaii.” Roberts’ father died when he was seven and he didn’t want his son to face life without his Dad. “I stared at pictures of Logan all day, every day,” Roberts recounted. “Even carried one in my chest pocket anytime I left my cell. I needed him with me as a reminder of why not to react to what was going on around me.” A few months after his release, a judge granted him sole custody of Logan. Roberts took his young son to Hawaii to visit his mother and 4

Catering formal events is one of the services provided by a Muskegon-based company that continues to dial up its creative and scrumptious menu of cannabis-infused meals. Guests here are enjoying a multi-course meal prepared by Michigan Cannabis Chefs at the Muskegon Yacht Club. The sailboat, Vivienne, was in storage being prepared for the Michigan Sail Boat Race. The boat’s owner and Captain wanted to host a formal bon voyage dining event for the crew and their spouses before setting sail in the race. They sealed it with plastic and had a table built on top of the boat. It’s all part of Michigan Cannabis Chefs’ mission to provide memorable events centered around good conversation and gourmet cannabis-infused meals.

half-brothers for a two-week vacation. When they returned to Michigan and Roberts went back to work at his commercial construction job “a bad stretch of winter storms hit and everyone at my company got laid off,” he said. “That’s when Logan and I moved to Maui, so he could be close to his mom and brothers. That’s when I met my wife, Chef Lynette.” Michigan is now home and the company he co-founded with his wife and Douglas has been making quite a name for itself. A January 2020 Food and Wine Magazine article on cannabis cuisine highlighted the fact that the Muskegon-based Michigan Cannabis Chefs is in select company as one of the few in the United States that do infused fine dining. Last February, Cannabis Chefs were in Chicago for a special event. Said Roberts, “Chef Nigel, who is amazing by the way,” is from Chicago and my wife’s family is from Chicago, so it was a culinary homecoming. It was just before COVID and a seafood restaurant there shut down so we could stage the first elevated dining experience in a restaurant.” More recently, the culinary artists met with Michael Thompson, 69, who had just been released from prison after serving 24 years of a 60-year prison sentence stemming from the sale of three pounds of marijuana to an undercover informant. Thompson, of Flint, was the longest-serving marijuana prisoner in the state. Roberts acknowledged the tireless work of activist Shaun King and Last Prisoner Project Founder Steve Deangelo, two of the lead players that have lobbied for Thompson’s release for years. Without their and others prison reform advocates’ public-awareness-raising efforts Thompson may very well still be languishing in prison. “It was a special evening,”Roberts said. “We cooked him his first meal, non-infused of course, because he’s on parole, at a Flint Airbed and Breakfast.” Cannabis chefs followed that up with a second meal for Thompson. It was a feast fit for a king. Guests included Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley and his wife, State Rep. Cynthia Neeley. Mayor Neeley is Thompson’s nephew. Los Angeles-based playwright Deedee Kirkwood (Toke) was also one of the invited guests. She’s been in and around LA for a long time, so you have to know she’s not easily impressed. Then she met the Michigan Cannabis Chef team and partook in what she described as a “meal of a lifetime.” “I don’t even know where to begin to adequately thank Cory, Lynette and Nigel,” said Kirkwood, a longtime marijuana activist who was Thompson’s point person through Last Prisoner Project, a social justice organization. “It was an over-the-top feast for Michael and the few of us lucky recipients.” Guests were treated to lobster rolls, tender orange roughy with garlic butter, risotto, asparagus, homemade rolls and a purple sweet potato dessert with a macademia crust, among other dishes. The guest of honors’ favorite, carrot cake with large pecans, was a big hit as well. It’s, just how Michael loves it,” enthused Kirkwood. “This was seriously the most outstanding meal of my life.” The Roberts and Douglas presented Thompson with a painting that soon will grace a wall in his new Flint home. “I am just blown away by all their efforts and extreme generosity of spirit and the donation Cory, Nigel and Lynette made on Michael’s behalf. The hoops they jumped through to present us with a meal of a lifetime celebrating Michael’s freedom was incredible. It’s my honor to have met them and I look forward to a return visit to Michigan, my new favorite state because of the special people like Cory, Nigel and Lynette.” The Michigan Cannabis Chefs have also catered meals for a few celebrities, including former NFL All-Pro kicker Pat McAfee, who hired the company to provide gourmet are for his wedding reception. If you want to stand out as a host or hostess, Michigan Cannabis Chefs’ catering service will work with you to design a menu and set the level of infusion you desire. You may want to have a mixed menu as well, with some dishes clearly marked as cannabis infused and others marijuana-free but tasty and savory just the same. Many of the company’s clientele come to Southwest Michigan, where they rent an Airbnb and relish a fine dining experience expertly created by Chefs Roberts and Douglas. It’s an ironic twist of fate that cannabis, once the source of Roberts’ darkest days when he found himself behind bars because of his refusal to stop smoking it, is now central to a growing business footprint that also includes Michigan Cannabis Farms LLC and Michigan CannaHouse LLC. (The Roberts’ and Douglas are co-founders and co-partners in the venture). The state, after throwing the book at him years ago, is now providing Roberts with financial assistance through its social equity program. The help comes in the form of reduced licensing fees and educational and business resources for people from communities that have been disproportionally impacted by the state’s previous marijuana laws. “I have an entity approval from the state for Michigan CannaHouse,” he said. “We are seeking a production, processing, and retail designated consumption and special event license at a location in the City of Muskegon. This will allow us to grow, process and sell cannabis, as well as have a designated space for consumption on the premises with a special events coordinator license. “ Michigan CannaHouse is the parent company of the trio’s operation, which blends science and art from the farm to the table to provide consumers with a tasty and memorable experience. Make no mistake: it’s not easy to make high-end meals with cannabis. That’s why you may be better served leaving this new gourmet culinary endeavor to the trained and experienced team of Cannabis Chefs. Check them out at www.micannabichefs.com

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