Cooking Up Cannabis with Ganjier Lucas

Marge (00:00:01) - Introducing the Bite Me Cannabis Club. The Bite Me Cannabis Club aims to be an inclusive online space for cannabis lovers. Whether you're simply curious about how cannabis can improve your life or you're fully seasoned, there's always more to learn when you join the Bite Me Cannabis Club, you'll have access to like minded people interested in cannabis, monthly workshops, live Q&A recipes and recipe swaps, digital cookbooks, a fully functional chat feature, and a whole lot more. For a limited time. It's only $5 a month with a 30 day free trial, so you can try it out and see if it's right for you. This isn't just another Facebook group or confusing Discord Channel. I carefully chose a platform that offers a clear, uncluttered and seamless community experience. See for yourself. Join today. Say hello. I can't wait to connect with you there. Join the Bite Me Cannabis Club Today link in your podcast app. In this week's episode. I'm looking forward to sharing with you a wonderful conversation that I had with the fellow certified gangster and culinary cannabis chef Lucas.

Marge (00:01:16) - Welcome to Bite Me, the show about edibles where I help you take control of your high life. I'm your host and certified Gonger Marge and I love helping cooks make safe and effective edibles at home. I'm so glad you're here. And thank you for joining me today. Welcome back, friends. Thanks for listening. I'm so glad you're here. I know you're going to appreciate this fun conversation with Lucas. We cover a number of points together. His experience of becoming a certified gangster, the techniques he uses to d carb and infuse when he's working with culinary cannabis, how he handles infused dinner parties and his hopes for the expected legalization in Germany. Before we get into it, though, I just want to share a quick message from the fierce and independent podcast hosts of the podcast. None of this is real. Hey y'all.

Damian (00:02:07) - It's Damien Woo Woo Scaredy Cat and host of your new favorite podcast. None of this is real and this is the other one. Sara, your resident flexible skeptic. We'd like to invite you to sit down on the front porch, swing and tumble down a rabbit hole or two with us.

Damian (00:02:21) - We talk about all things mysterious and weird, like hauntings, cults and urban legends, cryptid science and conspiracy theories. And then we ask each other the ultimate question Is any of that real? So whether you're a believer like me or a skeptic like me or a little bit of both, Listen, every Tuesday, subscribe to none of this is real. Wherever you listen to podcasts and always remember, you don't have to believe anything we ever say. But you do have to believe on yourself. Believe. Believe all over yourself.

Marge (00:02:54) - All right, everyone, I am very pleased today to be joined by Lucas. And he is a chef out of Germany. And Lucas, if you could just take a minute and introduce yourselves and let the listeners know what you do for a living. Although I guess I just gave them a bit of a hint.

Lucas (00:03:09) - But hey, Mark, thanks for being here. Thanks for inviting me quick to my persona. I my name is Lucas. I'm an Austrian born chef, living currently in Berlin.

Lucas (00:03:26) - Currently means like the last seven years. Um. I can't tell too much about my persona because, you know, we are still in a prohibited country. So. That's all you need to know. I'm a chef. I love wheat. I love food. It's a big part of my life for the last 20 years. And. Yeah.

Marge (00:03:53) - Well, that's exactly why I wanted to have you on. Because you love food. You love weed, which means you love combining both of those things, which is exactly what the listeners have. Bite Me. Also enjoy. So yeah. So I guess my next question for you would be when did you start your, your cannabis journey or how did it start? You mentioned 20 years. Yeah. Cooking and cannabis.

Lucas (00:04:14) - So talk to us about that. So the cooking fever hit me from a really young age. Uh, I come from a fourth generation bakery family, like great grandma. She was the matriarch and. Through her food. You know, she had all the power in this crazy, busy environment.

Lucas (00:04:40) - And as soon as she said lunch is ready or whatever, you know, everybody was like, drops her stuff and does what she says, you know? Right. And, um, so food wise, I was always, like, fascinated about creating something in your head, making it with your hands. And especially food wise, other people put it in their body, you know, So it's like crazy. Where else do we have this? You know what other craft is so intimate and literally absorbing it? Um, yeah. And then on a long run, you know, I'm an old ADHD child, like, hated school. Always nervous, always like, what's next? What's next? You know, like so much input. And then, of course, as a young teen, the first contact with cannabis and I totally remember my first time smoking and for me it was like, Oh wow. Oh wow. I think that's something for me. I'm I'm down with it. It felt really nice, you know, this calming, not the head rush or whatever, you know, that I'm normally constantly have to be like, okay, focus on this.

Lucas (00:06:04) - And in the five minutes I try to focus, I already have three other ideas or whatever. So this was for me really like, Oh wow, I'm relaxed, I don't have this inner pressure or whatever, you know? And yeah, on a long run, I mean, you know, in this age also Austria prohibited countries. So as a 16 year old, you know, you get weird stuff from the park or whatever, you know as long as it greens and it hits you, it must be weird. So. These were the first contacts. But then on a longer run for me, always in food, you know. Quality of the produce. Is there a story behind who farms it? Why do they farm this? Awkward for me, always in a really already in a really young age. You know, for me, this was like, I want to know where this is and I want to buy this stuff from a person that is as passionate about his produce as I'm passionate about making it, you know? So you have the full cycle, then only good things can happen.

Lucas (00:07:18) - Yes, I totally agree. Yeah, of course. On a long run, you know, gastronomy, I see it in so many colleagues or like old bosses ahead or whatever, You know, the main thing is still alcohol and coke. It's a fast paced job. Like, you give it all in the best. You should give it all. And I never wanted to go down this road to be like, Oh, man, look at this. Miserable. People like you literally are not powerless after a heart shift and then you get smashed and so you don't fall asleep. You do more coke and then the next day you feel shit again. And so you do it over and over again. I mean, where's this going? You know?

Marge (00:08:05) - Right. It really takes a toll after a while. And and it's interesting, you mentioned that I have worked as a line cook before, so I know I understand the chaos sometimes of working in a kitchen during a rush. And it can be pretty intense.

Marge (00:08:17) - And you do see a lot of alcoholism and drug abuse in that industry. So but then you burn out super fast.

Lucas (00:08:24) - And that's for me. I want to also highlight specially that it's like, man, the whole mental health situation in gastronomy in general, you know, it's like, man, take this shit serious. People like, why do you think there are so many drug addicts and alcohol users? You know, like, I mean, alcohol is a drugs, don't get me wrong. So but yeah, yeah, we know like, like, oh, it's only alcohol. Come on. You know, like, dude, if you wouldn't work in gastronomy, everybody would call you a raging alcoholic, but you're working gastronomy. So it's like, Yeah, man, I work with wine. You know, You're like, Right. I mean, that's interesting.

Marge (00:09:04) - Canada, too. They just released new alcohol use guidelines from Health Canada, and they basically said that I'm not sure if it's the same for men and women, but for women, especially two drinks a week and then you're not at risk of some pretty serious health problems.

Marge (00:09:20) - And, you know, if you're working in the restaurant industry, like you said, they justify it by saying, I'm working in this business. Any other industry, you would be an alcoholic like you said, but it's just going to lead to so many poor health outcomes as well as being burnt out on the job. And then, you know, when you mention gastronomy, that's such a beautiful word that we don't use a lot here in Canada. I don't think I probably don't use it enough. But, you know, just like you said, sourcing the best product and putting your heart and soul into that food because people are intimate with it, It's that's a really beautiful way of putting that. So I really appreciate that.

Lucas (00:09:53) - But then on the other side, it's really hard to sustain because, you know. People that work in the industry, like if you're not a head chef or whatever, even chef for the hours you work and what you get paid, it's like ridiculous. But then if you're up the prices, people are like, Are you kidding me? Like, why? Literally some carrots and some vegetables.

Lucas (00:10:17) - But then you're like, Yeah, but it's expensive because all people want to have a well-paid job, you know? And then on the other hand, you also want to have nice produce. So nice produce costs more because it's more intense to source and whatever. But at the same look on the whole San grown market in Humboldt and stuff, you know like this must be the most expensive weed. But people are like, no, I want to have the indoor super high THC huge facility. Give me all of it as long as it's cheap and it fucks my head, you know? Right. Yeah. Yeah. And it's not. Of course this should also exist, but, you know, there need to be education. Why? Stuff that is more labor intensive and shit is more expensive. And is money well spent?

Marge (00:11:13) - Yeah, I totally agree. Now, you mentioned that one of your early influences was a great grandmother. A grandmother, the matriarch.

Lucas (00:11:21) - Yeah.

Marge (00:11:22) - And you came from a line of bakers.

Marge (00:11:24) - Does that mean baking? Do you have that as a specialty?

Lucas (00:11:26) - I'm also a trained pick. Yeah. My mom, she's a pastry master and master baker. So, you know, like I literally grew up in. But I knew I never take over, man. Like, yeah, working through the night, you know, it's like when they start working, I go to bed, right? I'm a night ball, you know, I enjoy working late and then be like, Oh, fuck, everything is quiet. But I'm awake, you know? So it's like, nice.

Marge (00:11:55) - Yeah, yeah. No, I totally agree. Because some of those bakers do get up at the wee hours of the morning when we're all enjoying.

Lucas (00:12:02) - When I do training at home for two years, I could do it on a shorter term because I already finished tourism, the hotel school. And so I work mandatory Saturday, 1230 in the morning, you know, like till 910 in the morning. And then it's like, okay, cool.

Lucas (00:12:27) - I got the whole day off. But the first breakdown I had at two in the afternoon, right, Because I can never go to bed before like 11 or whatever, you know, because I got such my restaurant routine. So it's like, oh no, I can't sleep. Oh, fuck, I have to go to work already, right?

Marge (00:12:43) - Yeah. That's not very sustainable, that's for sure. Yeah. Now you and I met actually via the guanxi program. Not directly. We haven't met in person yet, but through some of the gang zooms that we do. And I'm just would like to know your story about the gang program. What drew you to it in the first place?

Lucas (00:13:01) - So the main thing for me is like not at the hotel or school at the beginning. So some close friends, you know, and it was also a boarding school. So either you love each other like brother for life while you hate each other. So I have this group of four other guys and we're still in contact more than 25 years now.

Lucas (00:13:26) - And. When we sit together back then, you know, in the smoking or whatever, and you have all these ideas and whatever. So it was like, Man, imagine one day there is a guy like a sommelier, and you go to him and be like, Hey, I really love these flavors, but when I smoke this, I get paranoid. So what would be a better option or whatever? And. Since I have this idea in mind, you know. But then I saw the thing and I was like, Man, I could be this guy. Like, literally all for what I ever dreamt of, you know? And for me, it was clear if I do something like this and take the long journey and whatever, I have to do it in the motherland where it all originated, you know, where it's like. All this sun grown stuff, the Korean natural farming. You know how they approach it. It's like farmers, you know.

Marge (00:14:32) - The focus really is on the farmers, for sure.

Lucas (00:14:34) - Exactly.

Lucas (00:14:35) - Yeah.

Lucas (00:14:35) - Yeah. That's what I loved about it. And then for me, nature, I mean, it's beautiful up there and humble.

Lucas (00:14:41) - It is, yeah.

Lucas (00:14:42) - And so it was clear if I'm doing it, I need to do this right.

Lucas (00:14:49) - I had.

Lucas (00:14:49) - Crazy texts, test anxiety and shit like this, you know, I was like.

Lucas (00:14:54) - Yeah, don't.

Lucas (00:14:55) - Fuck it up. You literally have a 16 hour journey from Berlin to Humboldt.

Marge (00:15:02) - Yeah, that's how I felt when I did it too, because I thought if I if I don't pass, when am I going to be able to go back? Yeah. It's a long journey there. Longer for you. There it was for me. But it's still a pretty long journey to get there.

Lucas (00:15:15) - Exactly. You know, and it's not that. It's like, yeah, why not try again next year, you know?

Marge (00:15:19) - Yeah, exactly. It's it's a real pilgrimage to get out to, to get out to California.

Lucas (00:15:25) - It's even more special I think, you know.

Lucas (00:15:27) - Yeah, I agree.

Lucas (00:15:28) - I had to study a lot for the, the online stuff, you know, and I went over and over the questions and everything. So I was like, okay, let's fucking do it. You know, I wrote everything down. I'm like, Man, why should I fail? You know, I love this stuff. I believe in me. So I was not nervous at all. But then when I made all the three exams, I was like, What happened, man?

Lucas (00:15:54) - I like.

Lucas (00:15:54) - There's no turning back. No like you. I pass or not, you know? I don't know.

Marge (00:15:59) - So you weren't nervous during your exam?

Lucas (00:16:01) - I was like, No, I.

Lucas (00:16:02) - Didn't really think about it because I literally did my training two days and on the third day of my exam.

Lucas (00:16:10) - So already going.

Lucas (00:16:12) - There two days before knowing the people, talking to the people that are there, talking to the instructors, you know, it gave me this vibe of like, Oh man, like these are people we all believe in the same thing.

Lucas (00:16:26) - So no, no pressure or whatever, you know, you just do what you believe in and.

Marge (00:16:34) - Yeah, I do. I do feel like doing the the live training and the exam at the same time does help a little bit. I did the same thing just because of the time and expense to like to get to Humboldt. But I was still pretty nervous. I'm going to admit it is nerve wracking, especially when they give you that blind sample and you have to.

Lucas (00:16:52) - Have to evaluate.

Lucas (00:16:53) - It. The written form I had one wrong answer in the service test for me is like, Man, I do this for 20 years servicing people or whatever and I can talk to people. So. Right. Yeah, it was like awesome. And then you get the cha and then set somewhere in the woods, you know? And I went through it. And then I saw so many people failing on this part, you know, And then I got nervous because I already said, hey, I'm done with my sap.

Lucas (00:17:24) - And then they were okay. And it's a while because the instructors need to talk a little. And then I saw Wendy, Derek and Amanda standing and talking, and I looked over and I was like, Man, what I was doing here, like, all the others are still sampling and stuff and I'm already waiting. That made me super.

Lucas (00:17:39) - Nervous, right?

Marge (00:17:40) - But you pass, so you are certified.

Lucas (00:17:43) - I didn't have to redo any of the tests.

Marge (00:17:46) - Right. Perfect. Neither did I. I'm happy.

Lucas (00:17:49) - To say. Yes, I did.

Marge (00:17:50) - I did see people who had to do that.

Lucas (00:17:52) - But yeah, so good. Yeah.

Marge (00:17:54) - Now, as far as so you pass the gone program. You have been working in the culinary gastronomy business for a long time. When did you start with culinary cannabis?

Lucas (00:18:07) - Um, you know, there was still also in an early stage, like maybe the first cook is when I was 18 or so, you know, because then you also have to think about the European market, you know, even when I started, then it was in the beginning hashish, as French is talking about.

Lucas (00:18:30) - This was one of the main things because, you know, the connection from Morocco to Spain and stuff, it's really close. And then the in in the Netherlands, you know, there's big harbor and in Germany is a big harbor. So most of it was hashish at the beginning. That's why the it's also French said the mixing with tobacco is just so deeply and rooted, you know, and more and more than later, you know, you get older, people start to do some home grows and stuff. And then it was the only way to access flour. But then, of course, the mob figured it out and.

Lucas (00:19:07) - You know, right.

Marge (00:19:08) - So when you first cooked your you made your first batch of cannabis cookies. Were they with with flour or did you do it with hash flour? Okay.

Lucas (00:19:17) - Yeah, It's just interesting.

Lucas (00:19:18) - Like, oh, man, we got this.

Lucas (00:19:19) - Delicious flour.

Lucas (00:19:20) - From about body, you know, And we're like, Hey, let's make something out of it.

Lucas (00:19:24) - It's just.

Marge (00:19:24) - Interesting. You mentioned the European market and there being so much hash because when I was a teenager and like small town Ontario and I first started smoking cannabis, it was hash that I was smoking. That's all you could get for like a real five year period there. I don't know why it was.

Lucas (00:19:38) - Easy to transport.

Marge (00:19:39) - I guess so, yeah, I guess a little more, a lot more compact and but that's how I started myself. And yeah, it's fantastic. Actually. It was a lot of good hash.

Lucas (00:19:47) - You know, the flavor and stuff. It's just.

Lucas (00:19:50) - Yeah.

Lucas (00:19:51) - Different. So then also, you know, Amsterdam was already just half legalization because literally the deal in Amsterdam was always, Hey, there are coffee shops and they're allowed to sell weed, but they don't. They are not allowed to buy weed. So the deal was still okay. The dealer comes by, drops off a huge load at the coffee shop, and suddenly it's legal. I mean, what kind of solution is this?

Lucas (00:20:17) - Yeah, it's a little.

Marge (00:20:18) - It's a little strange system.

Lucas (00:20:19) - Yeah, totally. Yeah.

Lucas (00:20:21) - So then also back then, because it was still like the black market, you know, the only thing that was available was like this shady cookies or brownies, you know, and everywhere the same. And it's like, I have this awesome brownie recipe and it's like, Man, this is horrible, right? So I was like, Man, we just infused the butter. And then I have many epic recipes and I just replace a part of the butter.

Lucas (00:20:47) - With.

Lucas (00:20:48) - Butter. And when we have a delicious cake.

Marge (00:20:51) - Right? So are some of those bad brownies and cookies where they just putting the cannabis right in the cookie and doing.

Lucas (00:20:57) - It that way.

Lucas (00:20:58) - Also? Well then you know just that. You see, man, this is just some shitty recipe, some random stoner dude made in the back of the shop or whatever.

Lucas (00:21:07) - I had no idea what he was doing.

Lucas (00:21:08) - Do you even know what you're doing?

Lucas (00:21:09) - Right?

Marge (00:21:10) - Yeah. And you're coming from a long line, long line of bakers.

Marge (00:21:13) - So I'm sure you had some pretty great recipes in your repertoire.

Lucas (00:21:16) - 100%.

Marge (00:21:18) - Right now You do.

Lucas (00:21:19) - You mentioned that you pastries.

Marge (00:21:21) - Right? Yeah. Oh, God. Some infused pastry pastries would be amazing.

Lucas (00:21:25) - But imagine lemonade, croissant.

Lucas (00:21:28) - Oh. Oh, yeah.

Marge (00:21:31) - I'm imagining it right now. I'm getting pretty hungry. But now you mentioned that you lived, like, in Austria and in Germany, of course, that there are prohibition areas. So if you're going to make an infusion, obviously I'm sure you did CARB first. What do you do you have any tricks that you use to avoid that pungent smell that will make your entire house or apartment smell like toasted weed?

Lucas (00:21:55) - Another question for you, because I tried to figure it out on the thing a little and nobody could give me the answer that I'm like, okay, I can live with this, right? So the thing for me is like, I normally always stick up. But then the question is I cop. Then I use the DeKalb Produce in a cake batter.

Lucas (00:22:18) - I mean, we have Celsius. So let's say we bake on 180°C. Isn't it then a two times decoupling and you actually lose more because you already discovered before.

Marge (00:22:33) - The answer to that is that no, you're still better off to discard first and you're going to activate more of the cannabis and then your infusion is going to be stronger. Now, if the smell is something that you're worried about for obvious.

Lucas (00:22:44) - A lot of vacuum bags and stuff. Yeah, I heard in one of the episodes, for me that's the best.

Marge (00:22:49) - Like the sous vide using the soup method.

Lucas (00:22:51) - In.

Lucas (00:22:52) - The already melted pot of flour in vacuum sealed it, put it in the.

Lucas (00:22:56) - Right.

Lucas (00:22:56) - We call it the water bath.

Lucas (00:22:59) - Yeah, yeah.

Marge (00:23:00) - The immersion with an immersion circulator.

Lucas (00:23:02) - Yeah. Then put it.

Lucas (00:23:03) - Through a cheesecloth. Right. But a butter flour infusion is still one of my favorites. Yes. Because, you know, I just put it in the ice cube container in the freezer and then, hey, I make some pasta today and we're like, you know what? Why don't we fill, put a little ice cube of butter in there?

Lucas (00:23:20) - Right.

Lucas (00:23:21) - That's to bind the sauce and everything, you know, instead of the tablespoon of butter from the fridge, you do some infused and it still does the same trick. And even with a little benefit, you know, so.

Marge (00:23:35) - Right. So I like that. So basically you're saying when you're doing your carb that you would do an immersion like in the water bath with an immersion circulator because then you also have those super precise temperatures. Exactly. And as we know, ovens are not very precise at all. And of course, they're going to make your whole place stink. But I really like the idea of putting the infused butter into ice cube trays.

Lucas (00:23:58) - Yeah. And then you can.

Marge (00:23:59) - Add it to.

Lucas (00:24:00) - Right. Boom.

Lucas (00:24:01) - You have two portions. Also, I do a lot of infused stuff when I do it. For example, pastries, you know, it's called in German, Paris, Auschwitz. So that means it's a cake crust on the bottom, like Shortcrust you call it, I think with butter, flour and sugar.

Lucas (00:24:23) - Yeah. Like it's very.

Lucas (00:24:24) - Flaky. Right?

Lucas (00:24:26) - And then you have little cutout, little circular thingies as the foundation. And then I have a nice chocolate ganache like chocolate and cream or the water bath, a nice ratio. And I put a little less cream but infuse more butter.

Lucas (00:24:44) - Melt it.

Lucas (00:24:46) - Let it cool down again, then whip it up so I can spread it. And then I just do. On the little foundation, little chocolate infused ganache drops and then you coat it in chocolate again. I have this in the freezer. I know. Like one is like maybe a little too less for me, but yeah, who is good? And so it's the thing and it's literally these sized little snacks and I just love it that it's already portioned, you know?

Marge (00:25:16) - Right. Yeah. I always I always like having small bites because that way you can also.

Lucas (00:25:21) - Grows it.

Lucas (00:25:21) - Better. More or less. Yeah.

Marge (00:25:24) - Yeah. You can go for more or less. You're feeling like you need a little bit more one night then you just have more.

Marge (00:25:28) - I mean. Exactly. That sounds so good. I really like that idea. So are you using sous vide then as a technique? Mostly for when you're doing your infusions?

Lucas (00:25:37) - Yeah, it really depends. Um, for real infused dinners, I would, I prefer personally extract. Okay. Just for the Turpin profile. Like, flavor wise. And then it's just. In general easier to handle. Like I have it in the glass jar with a metal lid through it again, 120 degrees. Maybe 110 degrees. Low and slow. And then if it's. As soon as it stops bubbling. I would call it. It's the cut. And then you let it rest a little on the counter. Cool. A little down, and then you put it back in the fridge to really save all the toppings. And then it could separate a little, you know, and then before you use it, just swirl it up again. And then mostly I prefer also the dinner. Sorry I'm talking so much.

Lucas (00:26:42) - Oh, no.

Marge (00:26:42) - That's why you're here.

Lucas (00:26:45) - Uh, I.

Lucas (00:26:45) - Also prefer it, um, if there's a dinner group. To be like. And you have a mixed group. You know, you have like some are super stoners and some are like, maybe I just want to have a little bit I don't know. You're like, I do a normal feast, like sharing mostly concepts. And then there's one condiment infused. So the person that wants to do a little knows, yeah, just use one spoon of this condiment and mix it with your other sauce you want to have for the night or whatever. This will be your ratio. Then there were people, you know, who just do the infused sauce. Of course, I think that's important to always have a little option about customized dosing because then on the other hand, I saw it also many times when they do a whole infused dinner and every course is infused. You're like, man, like y you know, right. In the end, the dinner stand, people start smoking and then nobody will be like, Oh yeah, I totally feel it from the second course, you know, like, Are you fucking kidding me? You just super baked because you literally have five courses of infused food and maybe you already smoked before or you smoke for digesting or whatever, you know?

Lucas (00:28:06) - So.

Lucas (00:28:07) - Right.

Lucas (00:28:07) - I'm always a little like.

Lucas (00:28:10) - That's not your preferred style.

Lucas (00:28:11) - Be Everything infused, you know.

Marge (00:28:12) - Yeah, I have I've done both. I've been to dinners with both were one. They came around, they infused all the courses and then they asked everybody before the dinner, like where their tolerance was and then they would adjust it accordingly for each person, which which works very well. And then I've also been to a dinner where the sauces and the condiments, like you're saying, were infused and it said how potent they were. So you kind of knew, you know, how much butter to spread on your whatever. And I kind of really did like that approach as well because then, of course, if you wanted seconds or you wanted a little extra this or whatever, you weren't good. Yeah, dig in. You weren't going to be like totally fucked up by the end of the dinner and have to be carried out to your car or something. So I really do like that approach. Now, as far as the extracts go, can you dig into that a little bit like you mentioned? Are you infusing the extracts in some kind of like butter or something or oil.

Lucas (00:29:05) - Or something like that?

Lucas (00:29:05) - I literally handle it like, as I said, the teacup process in the jar slowly cool it down. So if you put it in the fridge, you know the glass is not like.

Lucas (00:29:15) - Right. Yeah.

Lucas (00:29:17) - Did a little temper and then put it in the fridge. It will really preserve a lot of the turbines. And so as I said, there could be a little separation. I just swirl it up, mix it up a little. And then what I prefer with the extracts that it's like I have a sauce and then I let it boil up and cool it down a little. And then when I know it's still hot, but a temperature where not all the toppings get boiled off, I just stir it in because it will dissolve. There's nothing another step or whatever. It's literally right. I have my deep carb stuff. Put it in there.

Lucas (00:29:59) - Thank you.

Marge (00:30:00) - Right. Okay.

Lucas (00:30:01) - So it's just a way to.

Lucas (00:30:03) - Do science around it where I'm.

Lucas (00:30:04) - Like, did.

Lucas (00:30:05) - Literally do some cooking. Your teacup did put as much as you want you know your tolerance best and enjoy.

Marge (00:30:12) - Yeah. And that would lend itself well to like you said sauces and stuff which is what a lot of people are infusing anyway.

Lucas (00:30:18) - And I'm sorry, you know.

Marge (00:30:19) - I was just going to say, I find extracts are also really good in candy making.

Lucas (00:30:23) - As well. That's the thing for.

Lucas (00:30:26) - Candy making stuff. I think extracts are the way to go.

Marge (00:30:30) - Right? Do you have like a certain type of extract that you really like to use?

Lucas (00:30:34) - Yeah, I mean.

Lucas (00:30:35) - You know, let's say this kind of limited approach on the extract market, but if we plan this in advance, I, we get really, really nice produce. And for example, the last time there was some lemon sherbet like frozen, this was.

Lucas (00:30:57) - Just like, woo.

Marge (00:30:59) - Right?

Lucas (00:30:59) - And you know that for me already this slight sassiness of the lemon and stuff. So it works well with fish. It works like.

Lucas (00:31:09) - Right.

Lucas (00:31:10) - Everything's sour or whatever.

Marge (00:31:13) - Yeah, that sounds really nice. A live rosin would be a fantastic extract. And you're saying that it preserves a lot of the terpenes when you're doing it this way, too?

Lucas (00:31:19) - Yeah, I have. Like, my experience so far is really with the cup in the jar, you know, because where should it go? And then this slowly cooling down again, It I, I'm really happy with this.

Marge (00:31:34) - Right. I'll have to try that out.

Lucas (00:31:36) - If you ask ten different people, ten different people will give you a different answer.

Lucas (00:31:40) - Right. Of course.

Lucas (00:31:42) - With the infusion and stuff.

Marge (00:31:44) - Yeah. But I find with like traditional infusion, by the time you die carb and then infuse it into a butter or something like that, you're losing a lot of the, the turbines.

Lucas (00:31:52) - Exactly. Yeah.

Marge (00:31:53) - And of course a lot of the times with that, if I'm doing it that way, I'm using a lot of shake and sugar leaf and trim and that kind of thing.

Lucas (00:32:00) - So it's the way to go. Yeah, like I do. It makes you my girlfriend. She's a medical patient and she only vapes, right. And I just found out those literally a Reddit forum about saving the shake and reusing it.

Lucas (00:32:16) - And yes, like hell.

Marge (00:32:17) - Yeah, I know. It's so.

Lucas (00:32:19) - Great travel. I mean. Yeah. Thank you.

Marge (00:32:22) - That's the that's the real advantage of vaping. I find like dry her vaporizing for anybody who's listening. It's not using a vape pen but those dry her vaporizers.

Lucas (00:32:30) - And pickle mighty plus you know.

Marge (00:32:31) - Yes yeah I use I use those as well because you might as well. I find it a lot easier on my lungs personally and I'm not a big fan of joints to be honest. But vaping I find really you get that the terpene shining through when you're vaping and then of course all that, all that already vaped. But afterwards I'm using in, in my infusions and stuff. So it's like I get, I get to stretch my dollar further because I'm getting more.

Lucas (00:32:55) - I mean, why not? It's all about sustainability, reusing it to throw it away when you still can make something out of it, you know?

Lucas (00:33:03) - Right.

Marge (00:33:04) - Yeah, exactly.

Lucas (00:33:05) - It's not to do with cheap or whatever. It's just. Yeah.

Marge (00:33:08) - Yeah. You're maximizing it like, yeah, it is very sustainable. I like that. Now, do you have any strategies that you like to use so that when you are having a dinner party because it sounds like you do these on a, you know.

Lucas (00:33:19) - Regular of these.

Marge (00:33:20) - Not regularly, but, but when you're doing a dinner party where cannabis is being incorporated, do you have any strategies that you like to use to make sure everybody has a good time?

Lucas (00:33:31) - Yeah, I mean, through the like on a long term, you know, and prepping for the legalization that's happening at one point in Germany. So what I figured out, I do a lot of notes also with my girlfriend, you know, and I think really if this goes commercial or if I have this idea of making regular cannabis infused pop ups or whatever, I really want to have a kind of.

Lucas (00:34:00) - Form to fill out at the beginning to be honest, like, do people want to drink alcohol at the dinner? Did people consume already before? Because, you know, so a lot of people that are not so deep into it and then they're like, Yeah, whatever. I have literally no idea. I'm having this infused dinner now and they don't know what to get out of it and stuff, you know, I think especially then in Germany and stuff, this needs to be all like as soon as you sign it, it's like it's on you If you get crazy smashed, you know?

Lucas (00:34:34) - Right. Especially with the alcohol.

Lucas (00:34:36) - Signing this says, you know what your limit is and everything is above your limit. It's your own fault or whatever, you know.

Lucas (00:34:45) - Especially when you're.

Marge (00:34:45) - Mixing alcohol, because I find that that changes the experience so much.

Lucas (00:34:49) - Yeah.

Marge (00:34:50) - Yeah. And the dinners I've been to are alcohol free. Yeah. So. But I guess you can't really control it if somebody had a few drinks before they showed up, right?

Lucas (00:34:57) - So for example, like, hey, let's meet up for a little upper row, have some drinks, and then we go to dinner and get smashed or whatever, you know? And it could be that it happens at class number two, he's right.

Lucas (00:35:09) - Long lasting, and then he survives the dessert or whatever. But we all had some edible experience, I guess that I was like.

Lucas (00:35:17) - Okay, okay.

Lucas (00:35:18) - Let's see you.

Lucas (00:35:19) - Yeah, yeah.

Marge (00:35:21) - And I would say to like mixing alcohol and cannabis, that's a pretty advanced move because if you don't have experience with that, you find out really quickly that the cannabis is just going to amplify that alcohol in ways one expect. And I've experienced that myself and it's not always pleasant.

Lucas (00:35:38) - So I also.

Lucas (00:35:39) - Want to say in the beginning, because I was pointing with the fingers of all the all the drunks and stuff, you know, I also drink.

Lucas (00:35:46) - Like, yeah.

Lucas (00:35:47) - Of course. It's as I also said, you know, it's part of my job. I love wine, but for me, I'm like, I drink once a week because I'm not the guy to be like, I mean, when I drink once a week, mostly with friends and then I want to get smashed right? But I'm not the guy to, hey, let's have 1 or 2 glasses of wine.

Lucas (00:36:06) - I'm like, Man, why? Why should I do it?

Lucas (00:36:08) - You know, like.

Lucas (00:36:09) - Right.

Marge (00:36:10) - Now, do you do any.

Lucas (00:36:11) - And I smoke daily, so.

Marge (00:36:13) - Right. Do you do any like wine pairing with cannabis at all at your dinners or anything, or do you just leave the.

Lucas (00:36:18) - Alcohol.

Lucas (00:36:19) - Out with the cannabis but paired with the food.

Lucas (00:36:23) - Right?

Marge (00:36:24) - Yeah, fair enough. Okay. Now you mentioned you just touched on it a few minutes ago about how Germany is in process of of hopefully legalizing soon. What's the general attitude about cannabis in Germany right now?

Lucas (00:36:38) - Really depends which state. You know, like Bavaria is kind of like I mean, Texas is legal now, but the mentality is like Barabbas kind of Texas.

Lucas (00:36:51) - Okay.

Lucas (00:36:52) - More Christian and conservative and, you know. Right. Stuff like this. So I think if the catcher in Bavaria with three grams, it's already like, holy fuck, this guy needs to go.

Lucas (00:37:02) - To prison.

Lucas (00:37:03) - Right? Yeah.

Lucas (00:37:05) - And you know, I live in Berlin.

Lucas (00:37:06) - That's literally like, oh, you had ten grams and you're like, Get the fuck out of here. Come on, piss off.

Lucas (00:37:11) - Right. Okay. So it just depends on the area really depends.

Lucas (00:37:17) - But they want to legalize Countrywide.

Lucas (00:37:21) - So right at the.

Lucas (00:37:23) - Lot of, you know, no, we don't want this. But they're like, hey, we need to do it equally everywhere and blah, blah, blah.

Lucas (00:37:29) - Right?

Lucas (00:37:30) - In March we know more about then there must be this I don't know what singlish word it's called us and blood means literally like the they want to rat on some laws or the regulation and they need to write it down to send to the EU parliament where the head of the use it and be like, okay, that's good. No, we can't do it like this. That's good. But they should have done it for ages. And it's like classic Germany.

Lucas (00:37:59) - Like, no, first we need to fill out Formula A 107. Then you get a stamp to go to this guy.

Lucas (00:38:08) - You know, we're like, Yeah, fuck on. Like, come on.

Marge (00:38:11) - I guess that German precision is getting in the way a little bit.

Lucas (00:38:14) - Then they also everybody pushes so hard for at least decriminalization, you know, because like, you can't be like, okay, now everything is legal. You're like, there needs to be the process to be like, okay, at least now home grown and social clubs are allowed to is allowed to happening, it's decriminalized. And then the next step, legalization will be opening the market with dispensaries, etcetera, etcetera.

Marge (00:38:47) - I think having a home provision in place even before legalization would be a game changer. That's huge.

Lucas (00:38:53) - I mean, huge.

Lucas (00:38:54) - My biggest dream, you know?

Marge (00:38:55) - Yeah, Yeah. You'd have your tent set up right away.

Lucas (00:38:59) - That's trees. And then.

Lucas (00:39:00) - You can write your.

Lucas (00:39:01) - Own flower. I mean, beautiful. You're not depending on somebody else, you know? And then a lot of people, how they consume here, like, do you want to get the wheat from the park? I mean, come on.

Lucas (00:39:13) - Right.

Lucas (00:39:14) - No, that is some trash shit and I don't know what on it. So it makes it heavier or whatever, you know, it's like.

Lucas (00:39:21) - Right. It's just like.

Lucas (00:39:22) - All my tomatoes. And I want to grow sunflowers. I don't harm anybody. I have a normal job, you know? But that's the big issue. Still not the stigma, right? You know, and all the people that are in important positions, let's say, run huge companies or whatever, they still can't be like, Yeah, I'm a cannabis consumer and you see, I'm a normal person and I live my life and I have a job and run a company and stuff. So only the, like all the cliches you only see. Yeah. You know, it's like, man, you show those.

Lucas (00:39:58) - Are still prevalent. Like, right, Those.

Marge (00:40:00) - Those are still prevalent. Even a place like Canada where we've been legal now for about four years, you still see a lot of those old stereotypes, even though if there's one thing I've learned from doing this podcast over the last several years is that cannabis consumers come from all walks of life.

Marge (00:40:13) - And I saw that at the ganja program too. Like you'd have people who are like breeders, operating farms and stuff, and then you'd have like a dental hygienist to, you know, like it was the whole spectrum. And, and yeah, that's pretty interesting. But you also mentioned that they might be looking at consumption lounges. Is that something that they.

Lucas (00:40:31) - Might be talking about?

Lucas (00:40:32) - You know, this would be something where I like to host and stuff.

Lucas (00:40:35) - So.

Lucas (00:40:36) - I just would love to create a nice environment where you feel cozy and have a good time and know you get good flower. But then I don't even know if I want to have a dispensary because it's just a shit show hustle.

Lucas (00:40:51) - Yeah, that's how it's turned out to be in.

Lucas (00:40:54) - Some areas here, the mob is really big, like in every big city, so you already know what is now a shisha bar will be later a smoke lodge, you know, and stuff like this. Like and then having a dispensary. How does it work? Do you have to pay for your security measurements on yourself? Do you get help from the state? Because I think if you're in Berlin, you don't want to have just a random corner store where everybody can come in and go out because at one point they will empty you, you know?

Lucas (00:41:24) - Right.

Marge (00:41:25) - Yeah. Yeah. There's pros and cons to both, I'm sure. I know in Canada there's so many dispensaries that it's I think it's sometimes hard for the the retailers to make money. And we still don't have laws or provisions for consumption lounges, which is interesting because I feel like that's a real missed opportunity for tourism.

Lucas (00:41:42) - Even.

Lucas (00:41:43) - Exactly that. That's for me, the whole aspect. I argue a lot with people that are not into the cannabis world or whatever, that I'm like, Man, think about the legalization as a whole. New business branch opening up for so many people from all over the world that especially come to town because they know it's fucking legal. We're in Berlin. It's a big party.

Lucas (00:42:10) - City, right?

Lucas (00:42:12) - I mean.

Marge (00:42:14) - And infused dinners. It would be a fantastic way to get people there too, as well as consumption lounges and all the rest of it. In Canada, like where I am specifically, you can't smoke. There's a lot of really strict no smoking laws indoors for cigarettes.

Marge (00:42:28) - So you can smoke outside, you can smoke weed outside wherever. You can smoke a cigarette.

Lucas (00:42:33) - Which is great.

Marge (00:42:34) - Except oh, try to always smells like weed. I love it, but I don't live that far from Toronto. But I find that that that works to a degree, except it's really fucking cold in Canada much of the year and nobody wants to go outside. So that's where the consumption lounge would also be nice, you know, for people because not everybody wants to step outside to like vape or smoke a joint or something when it's minus ten and cold as shit. So yeah, hopefully one day they'll be changing that.

Lucas (00:43:03) - The consumption lounge more to be literally create a platform hosting events being like, Hey, now we got this super nice, I don't know God's breath because we had it in Humboldt from Wendy. We have this super beautiful God spread from this and that grower only organic and you have a table of ten and you do it like a wine tasting and you literally show to other people how a sip would work and how they could categorize and always bring the connection with wine, you know, because there's so much similarity, so many non cannabis users.

Lucas (00:43:40) - I always explain it then to be like, Hey, you know, there are people that go to the supermarket and buy wine or there are people that go to the wine shop because they want to have some nice stuff and it's worth for them to pay for it and they enjoy it, you know, And same for the cannabis market. I mean, you need to provide cannabis for. Everybody, you know, that's where like people, hey, we don't have so much money, but we enjoy smoking weed. Of course, he should be able to smoke his weed. But then there are other people who be like, Hey, you know, I smoke it. I don't know, two times a month and this is my special Saturday treat. But when I do it, I want to get my three killer top notch strains and, you know. Right. Exactly.

Marge (00:44:26) - Yeah. There's I think there's a little something for everybody because I also found that in Canada, when they legalized the the safest entry point for a lot of people who are new to cannabis, which there was obviously a lot of folks because they're like it's legal now was edibles as well.

Marge (00:44:41) - So people really started experimenting with edibles because they saw it as safe and they didn't want to smoke. So there's there's that aspect as well.

Lucas (00:44:48) - Is that.

Lucas (00:44:49) - Want older people then and stuff you know that's also for me a market that's super interesting for me like all the stigmas and show like hey you know like if there's somebody that tells you how to do it the right way, it could be maybe a really nice experience for you, you know, And that's my end goal, to always be like, Hey, I want to customize every experience for the customer itself, you know? And if Grandpa comes in, I don't give him the Christmas in Vietnam brain cell massacre. I will give him the more balanced, lower THC one and be like, Hey, maybe try adjust the corner of it or whatever.

Lucas (00:45:25) - Right?

Marge (00:45:25) - Yeah. Yeah, exactly. It's funny you say that because my I interviewed my dad for this podcast a few years ago. He's 91 now and when I was a teenager, they are very much like, you shouldn't be smoking weed is bad and all that stuff.

Marge (00:45:39) - And then now he lets me grow weed out at his out of his house because he's a big property and he doesn't smoke it at all. He has tried some edibles, but he's changed his tune totally. He's like, Well, it's legal now.

Lucas (00:45:50) - So it's.

Marge (00:45:51) - Fine. It's like, Why can you had that attitude when I was a teenager. But yeah, you know.

Lucas (00:45:56) - Yeah.

Lucas (00:45:56) - You know, you never know.

Marge (00:45:58) - Yeah, yeah. So it works out because he's just like, Yeah, you want to grow some plants out here? Sure. So it, it kind of comes full circle, but that's awesome. Now when do you think you'll see legalization in Germany? Because I have also heard that once it's once Germany legalizes, open it up for the whole EU.

Lucas (00:46:14) - Um.

Lucas (00:46:15) - I mean we will know more in March. You know that's really the thing. Also in March, that's the big cannabis. It's the biggest cannabis conference in Europe. In Barcelona, it's always people.

Lucas (00:46:33) - Are you going?

Lucas (00:46:34) - So I hope to drop it before the conference starts.

Lucas (00:46:38) - So this will be a big discussion discussion there. I mean, now you always read some rumors that they're like, Hey, now they want to really make it quicker than later, but well, I don't know, 24, 25 You know, it's really unpredictable because the last couple, like the last year, looked like up and down and up and down and you're like, Yeah, and then.

Lucas (00:47:04) - Know what they're doing now and then again. Oh, looks really good.

Lucas (00:47:07) - And then they're like, Oh no, it's not happening.

Lucas (00:47:09) - And Right.

Lucas (00:47:10) - It's unpredictable, really.

Marge (00:47:12) - Right. Sounds like a roller coaster a little bit. So I guess it's hard to predict, but I hope it happens sooner rather than later for you. But you're saying they could have an announcement before Spanish in March or during.

Lucas (00:47:24) - But the announcement will be, hey, this is.

Lucas (00:47:28) - These are the ideas we have about the legalization.

Lucas (00:47:31) - Because they already wrote a form like this, send it to the EU parliament. And literally what they were asking for, I was like, hey.

Lucas (00:47:41) - We want to legalize weed, but maybe you can tell us how we should do it.

Lucas (00:47:46) - And you Parliament is like, Dude, you want something from us, you better have an idea. And then we talk, you know?

Lucas (00:47:53) - Right.

Marge (00:47:53) - Yeah, that makes sense.

Lucas (00:47:55) - Because you're like, Man.

Lucas (00:47:56) - What are you doing? Like to get.

Lucas (00:47:58) - Paid lots of money, you know, to.

Lucas (00:48:00) - Do some shit and.

Lucas (00:48:01) - Typical politicians.

Marge (00:48:02) - So yeah, it sounds like typical politicians. But now once Germany legalizes and I hope, you know, maybe by the end of 2023, you never know. But once they legalize, it sounds like you're ready to take advantage of, you know, the new legal status. What will that look like for you?

Lucas (00:48:18) - I hope so. I mean, I since I came back from the country program, I really, really tried to network a lot, you know, social club wise, etcetera, etcetera. Um, and there are already some people that are out there in Germany and stuff, so.

Lucas (00:48:47) - Let's see what happens on the spanner. You know, I think it will be a huge get together and I don't care. I also fly to Barcelona. If I can do an infield dinner, you know, whatever.

Lucas (00:48:59) - Oh, yeah, that'd be great.

Marge (00:49:00) - Are you planning on going to Spain, Barnabas?

Lucas (00:49:02) - Yeah, totally.

Lucas (00:49:03) - You are?

Marge (00:49:03) - I have friends that are going to. And they keep saying, Marge, you should come, you should come. But the flights right now are pretty, pretty pricey already.

Lucas (00:49:11) - And I don't have like 2.5 hour flat. And we were like, What the fuck?

Lucas (00:49:16) - Right, right.

Lucas (00:49:17) - Also, if you come to this Barnabas, then you should stay in Europe at least a little bit and travel around. You know when you do that?

Marge (00:49:26) - Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Um, what are you excited about for 2023 as we wrap up today? Lucas?

Lucas (00:49:33) - Um, what I'm excited so far to you started really good for me. Um. I'm excited for March.

Lucas (00:49:41) - What?

Marge (00:49:42) - Right.

Lucas (00:49:43) - No doubt.

Lucas (00:49:44) - What the big guys will tell us. And I'm always the guy. Let's see what happens, you know? Good things will happen when they should happen. And I always had good experience with this. I mean, you come to a point where, like, do I take the left or do you take the right door? You know, but it's always tricky in the moment. But if I look back in my career so far, luckily I always decided for the right door, you know, because things will happen, as I said. Right.

Marge (00:50:18) - Well, it sounds like luck follows you wherever you go. And that's a pretty.

Lucas (00:50:21) - Fortunate way to be. I have to say.

Lucas (00:50:23) - But, you know, that's also I always do what I really believe in. And I think I'm an authentic person. And if somebody doesn't like it, then fuck him, you know, like.

Marge (00:50:34) - Yeah, well, I like that attitude and I think the listeners have Bite Me will certainly see that portrayed in our conversation today.

Marge (00:50:40) - So I just want to say thank you, Lucas, for sharing some of your time with me and your knowledge and expertise, and I hope you have a great day.

Lucas (00:50:48) - Thanks so much. Much hope to see you again.

Marge (00:50:51) - Yes, absolutely. I enjoyed spending time with Lucas, and I do hope that I can meet him one day in person. In the meanwhile, he did offer me his chocolate coffee cake recipe that you can look forward to hearing about next week. You can always find all the relevant points in the show notes for this episode, either in your podcast player or over a bite Me podcast. Com. And as always, if you know someone that would enjoy this episode, please share it with them. It does help make the show more discoverable. That's it for this week. My friends, as always, stay high. Are you tired of trying edibles that are inconsistent and strength and flavor? Attempting to figure out your tolerance. Do you want to take control of your edibles experience and find the optimum combination of factors that results in the best outcome? If so, this edibles journal is perfect for you.

Marge (00:51:43) - The Bite Me Edibles Journal provides a convenient and organized way for you to track and record your edibles experience, whether it's homemade edibles or store bought. It includes 48 fillable pages. It sized eight and a half by 11 for plenty of writing space includes information on calculating the potency of homemade edibles, and it was created by an edibles expert. Whether you're a seasoned edibles enthusiast or just starting out on your cannabis journey, the Bite Me Edibles journal is an essential tool for anyone interested in enjoying their edibles to the fullest. Take control of your high life with this convenient and helpful resource. Add it to your Amazon cart today. Tap the link in the show notes.