Q+A: Vanessa Lavorato on How to Eat Weed & Have a Good Time
Happy 420!
Happy 420! We are thrilled to welcome Vanessa Lavorato for our first Food Book Club Q+A!
Tamara Palmer/Food Book Club: Thank you for going the extra mile to bring science and careful testing into your approach! Can you explain how this is different from what most books on cannabis do?
Vanessa Lavorato: This book dives into the science of cooking with cannabis like no other cookbook before it. I ran over 200 lab tests to understand decarboxylation rates, infusion times, and even tested whether you can decarb and infuse at the same time (spoiler: it takes longer). A lot of the common methods out there rely on long infusion times but I wanted to debunk that myth and show people a faster way. This book is about accurate, approachable infusions and how to throw a good party, based on my time cooking on Bong Appétit and decades of dosing people with care.
What are your favorite recipes in the book, and which ones were hardest to perfect?
Some of my favorites are the ones that come from my family, like the Herbaceous Meatballs. I also love the snack-y stuff like the Hot Honey Fire Crackers and Party Crunch Mix, because those are the real crowd-pleasers. The Hydration section offers a refreshing spin on edibles, something like the Bong Island Iced Tea is a great way to kick off a sesh. But I definitely have a sweet tooth, and I’m proud of my caramel recipe, it’s dialed in so anyone can make it at home. The hardest to perfect was Forget My Birthday Cake. I had help from multiple pastry chefs to get it just right, and I’m so glad I stuck with it.
Could you also tell us about The Edibles Club?
The Edibles Club is my Patreon community, made for people who love to cook with weed and chat with a community of like-minded stoners. It started during the pandemic when I had to pivot from in-person events to something more accessible. I started live-streaming from my kitchen twice a week (Wednesdays for “Club Sesh,” and Saturdays for the "Kitchen Sesh." Right now they’re public on YouTube, but eventually they’ll be private for Patreon members. Edibles Club members get access to our group chat, behind-the-scenes content, and they can message me directly. It’s truly become a little internet weed family.
Vanessa Lavorato (photo courtesy of the author)
You hosted Bong Appétit, and not all competitors were experienced with using cannabis in food. Did you have any uncomfortable moments as a result?
B-Real and I were actually just talking about this on his podcast! The competition format made it really tricky because not every chef knew how many milligrams were in their dishes. That meant we were sometimes guessing based on what they thought they used. The more we ate, the worse our math got. There were definitely moments we got way too high on camera. Eventually, we learned to just take small bites and taste everything instead of cleaning the plate. Lesson learned!
As a fellow Bay Area-born rap fan (and DJ), I loved seeing an Andre Nickatina reference right at the beginning of the book! Who are your all-time favorite Bay Area artists?
Ah, I love that you caught that! Andre Nickatina will always have a place in my heart. I also love Kamaiyah, she’s so original. I grew up listening to E-40 (of course), and honestly, Green Day too—they were just part of the Bay Area soundtrack. There’s something about the Bay… must be the weed.
HAPPY 420 Tamara Palmer & Vanessa Lavorato!!!
What a great title!