Cooking shows on television date all the way back to the black-and-white episodes of Julia Child’s The French Chef on PBS, where the hostess would end each show with the cheerful toast: “bon appetit!”
Julia set the template for cooking shows. She’d prepare a dish from beginning to end, showing us watching at home the step-by-tep. Her earliest shows were shot live, so sometimes she messed up and the souffle sank or the sauce didn’t emulsify. No matter, she made cooking look interesting and fun.
These days, most of us watch streaming TV on Netflix and other channels. And cooking shows continue to be popular with viewers. Netflix boldly stole The Great British Baking Show concept from public television and now has several seasons of the delicious competitions. Netflix also carries Michael Pollan’s show, Cooked, in which America’s leading food journalist demonstrates how cooking changes the food we eat, as does the food industry.
Netflix is no stranger to the cannabis cooking genre. Back in 2016, the channel streamed a show called Cooking on High, 15 minute episodes hosted by cannabis comedian and educator Ngaio Bealum. This program, which you can still search, offered mostly recipes for various kinds of edibles.
In 2022, Netflix launched its new cannabis cooking program, Cooked with Cannabis. Season 1 included six episodes hosted by singer Kelis and chef Leather Storrs.
The show is a competition in which three professional chefs are challenged to make three dishes with cannabis-infused ingredients, judged by the program hosts and some guest celebrities. The winner gets $10,000.
Chef Storrs said “Cooked with Cannabis is a show where weed is a seasoning rather than the reason. It’s granular, educational, heartfelt and smart.”
As one might expect, there is competition in the cannabis cooking show space. Subscribers of the Hulu channel can watch Bong Appetite, which offers three seasons and nearly 40 episodes. This is also a cooking competition hosted by B Real, Vanessa Lavorato and Miguel Trinidad in which chefs face off in a series of challenges to create high-class meals infused with cannabis products.
Produced by Viceland (a division of Vice Media), Bong Appetite is also available to watch on YouTube.
YouTube is a go-to resource for other cannabis cooking shows. Some of the video programs you can find include:
The Smoking Pot, hosted by Birdie Harrelson, is a great place to watch edibles being made. The show also focuses on savory meals and main courses.
The Pot Pie, with chef Brandin LaShea, has the host work with a guest chef–who brings in a bag of surprise ingredients–to make a gourmet, THC-laden meal.
Edibles with Birdie, hosted by Ms. Harrelson, features Birdie’s bubbly personality and baked treats, and often features a guest chef making a THC dish.
Hazy Kitchen is another multi-episode cannabis cooking show with lots of great ideas for baking and cooking delicious infused meals.
Finally, check out the High Cuisine program on Videoland, a streaming channel out of the Netherlands. European chefs Noah Tucker and Tony Joseph, each of whom has worked in Michelin-starred restaurants, cook with fine ingredients as well as herb.
Bon appetit!
