Blazed and Infused: Cooking Up Cannabis with Chef Matt

A Culinary Journey with a Cannabis Twist
Matt has harboured a lifelong passion for cooking. He is an award-winning chef and has been cooking since 2001. But another interest simmered alongside his love for food: cannabis. Combining these two passions seemed like a natural progression. "I always loved cooking and had a fascination with cannabis," he shares. "I started slowly, making edibles for myself and others, and then moved into private events for up to fifty people. It's just taken off from there."

Hosting these events has been nothing short of exhilarating for Matt. "Doing these events is a lot of fun," he says with a grin. "No two events are the same. Everything is customised. Each event has a tailored menu, each dish is personalised, and each plate has a name on it, so everyone knows exactly which dish belongs to them. It's just a lot of fun watching the guests as the effects of the cannabis dishes start to kick in."

Setting Himself Apart in the Industry
Matt was a trailblazer in Cape Town's cannabis culinary scene. "I was one of the first, definitely one of the first, in Cape Town," he proudly states. His unique approach sets him apart: "I never do the same thing twice. I co-host and don't cut and run. I chat with the guests while preparing meals, from starters to mains.

His events often include demonstrations on making hash and various extraction methods, which are crowd favourites. Additionally, Matt offers classes on growing cannabis, teaching everything from seed to harvest. "I teach people how to grow, harvest, and go from seed to edible, extraction, or bud," he explains.

Cooking Lessons and Signature Snacks
Blazed and Infused is not just about events; Matt also receives requests for cooking lessons, often from the grannies in Constantia, he jokes. He once conducted online cooking and baking classes that attracted 65,000 students worldwide—a testament to his experience and commitment.

When asked about a potential signature snack for Blazed and Infused, Matt doesn't hesitate. "It would be a blue cheese and fig parcel wrapped in phyllo pastry and baked. The flavour combination of these two is a match made in heaven," he enthuses.

A Tale of a Few Seeds
Matt's love for cannabis extends beyond the kitchen to The Table Mountain Sativa Company (https://tablemountainsativacompany.com/), a seed endeavour with a deeply personal origin. His grandfather, an army man, collected landrace seeds from across Africa, free of the 'pollution' that often permeated many of the seeds that arrived in SA many years after. When he passed away, Matt found an envelope filled with these seeds inside the pocket of a WWII raincoat his grandfather owned. 'I hid cigarettes in the pockets when I was 16'. He continued to grow these seeds for the past twenty years, ensuring that each strain was kept pure by planting only one yearly. 'I have been selecting them for specific traits and released the seed bank last year. So, I sell feminised versions of these plants that don't exist anymore," Matt recounts.

This seed bank has gained traction, with deals in the pipeline for medicinal purposes and projects to source seed stock for local communities. "This project is still in its infancy," he adds.