By Nicanor Gordon
Master cannabis chef, Andrea Drummer, effortlessly pivots from cannabis and food, to criminal justice reform. After all, for her it’s all connected. The food is how she gets you to the table, it’s important to her. But, ultimately she says, it’s her vehicle for advocacy.
Her Story
Drummer approached cannabis
after she entered the world of professional cooking. “I was fresh out of culinary school, working in the industry and experiencing all these ailments,” Andrea says, describing her chronic joint pain. Chefs spend most of their careers on their feet, and after a few bad experiences with conventional medicine, Andrea was committed to keeping it natural where she could.
Now based in California, keeping it natural has led her to cannabis.
“I decided to create an experience for myself to integrate cannabis in a responsible way – in a way that I consume food, which is a full meal.”
She got to work and dove into a cannabis crash course. She learned about the differences between sativa, indica and a hybrid. She surrounded herself with people who were careful, passionate and knowledgeable about their craft. “I had to understand the percentile of THC in each product and what that meant for the body,” Drummer explains. It forced her to become a better chef. Hell, it forced her to become a scientist.
But, the food has to be good, so how do you make cannabis delicious?
Her Method
Cannabis often has bitter notes. OG Kush, a strain she uses often, is notoriously so. “Most of the things we had back then that were healthy, were pungent and bitter. It had to be good for me, because it’s gross,” she laughs. Andrea knew her work had to bring an excellent culinary experience before anything else. She geeks out a bit as she walks through some of her pairings, and I know she could talk about this all day.
For OG Kush, she’d combine it with collard greens. According to the chef, both have similar bitter flavor profiles so they go well together. But, not all strains are the same. California Blue Dream (a blueberry-derived strain) has a much sweeter profile – “citrusy.” Something that would pair well with blueberries, but also with rich, buttery, and savory foods as well.
Ultimately, An Advocate
Again, though… Andrea is an advocate to her core.
“I advocate for every person to have fair access to cannabis and legalization, globally. I advocate for those incarcerated to be able to do the work I’m able to do in the free world and to make a living from it.”
She understands the benefits of a good, controlled-growth, healthy crop. Non-regulated cannabis can be contaminated, often negating its natural health benefits.
She fumes at the state of the industry. “They act like they discovered this new and great thing when it’s been around for ages. This is nothing new. It’s just decided that Black and Brown people would be demonized for their usage.” She continues, “It makes no sense. There are people making millions of dollars in this industry and there are people in jail for the same innovations. People who could run circles around these cats.”
And, when it comes to personal obstacles, Andrea is all too familiar. “Have I experienced racism? Yeah. Macro and micro.” she says, with the cadence of someone telling you what color the sky is. She doesn’t let it phase her. She says she’s like a racehorse. She sees the track, and she just tunes out everything else. She’s full speed ahead. Of course she knows it’s still there, and it’s infuriating. “If I get pulled out of my purpose, I’ll riot.”
The oppression is two-fold. As a Black woman, some people try to use Andrea as social capital. “They see a Black woman doing great things… They want to use you, but they’re not investing in you.” Andrea can’t help but note how easy it is for cis-white males to move up in the industry – though doing the same work. I know some who have done less and are held in higher regard. But, that’s how it is. I’m a horse in this race, and I know what I have to do.”
Still, it’s not all doom.
Andrea genuinely loves this space and wants to see it mature. She believes edibles have evolved, but the work isn’t done yet. There are still races to run in education, through advocacy and normalization… And, she’s assiduously at it . Find out more about Andrea at elevationvip.com.
