Normalizing Cannabis In Canada With Chef Travis Petersen – Round 2 at the Infused Dining Series

Chef Travis Petersen Is The Masterchef Canada Contestant That if Working To Normalize and Change The Face of Cannabis Across Canada.

If you haven’t heard about the Infused Dining Series it’s time to familiarize yourself with one of Canadian cannabis’ educational culinary experiences.

Two years ago, we were honored to meet Chef Travis Petersen, a Canadian MasterChef contestant, former oilfield executive, and cannabis innovator and entrepreneur.   Since, our palates have been lacking, and with our last experience aging, we were delighted to hear that Travis aka the Nomad Cook was coming back to Calgary to host another private dining experience for the Extract Team.  We rounded up the troops for round two of a full spectrum cannabis infused dining experience that would showcase just how the cannabis plant can be used in any type of dish with a culinary twist.

Cannabis is important to Travis and his profession on so many levels.   The Nomad Cook is transforming exquisite and creative dishes to incorporate all types of cannabis infusion, utilizing multiple cannabinoids and the terpene profiles of each stain to compliment flavors and aromas.

The Infused Dining Experience is a fusion of culinary expertise, cannabis knowledge, and well, good times.  Travis transforms your traditional restaurant meal to incorporate all types of cannabinoid and terpene infusion hosted by the Airbnb platform.  Traveling across Canada, the Nomad Cook brings the service to you with class and quality.

We spoke to the Nomad Cook one on one and wanted to learn a little bit more about the Nomad moniker.

Travis noted “I’ve always been a Nomad. Since moving out at 15 and traveling the world in between then and now, staying in one place never appealed to me. The theme of the Nomad Cook is Our Chef, Your Kitchen.  If a musician or comedian can travel city to city perfecting their craft, then why not a chef”.

The thing about Travis, he’s not just a chef, but a great personality with decades of cannabis knowledge.  As you eat, you learn about the delicious dish, how it’s infused, the terpene and cannabinoid profile, and how the cannabis was chosen to pair perfectly with the flavor and aromas of the 5 star dish it’s complimenting. Where some chefs tend to include distillate as a simple way to infuse cannabis into meals without sacrificing the flavor, chef Travis Petersen embraces and educates about the full plant.

“It’s important to cook with all parts of the plant because the different compounds of cannabis support each other and work together. We want to be creating an entourage effect that produces the therapeutic parts of cannabis and terpenes. Terpenes provide the biggest opportunity to introduce cannabis to a demographic that doesn’t understand why someone would want cannabis in their food”

The Infused Dining Experience is an opportunity to come together with your friends, meet new faces and share good times around common hobbies and well amazing  food. 

Travis is a presenter at heart and he keeps the room engaged.  A mix of decarbed cannabis, extracts, fresh flowers, and full plant grinds makes this a full spectrum infused meal that offers the full benefits of the cannabis plant as we know it. 

The Infused Dining Experience has been a Canadian exclusive event for roughly 2 years.   Travis has brought his expertise to small functions, private events and corporate bookings across Canada, sharing his near decade and a half of experience with cannabis connoisseurs along the way. How it works is simple. As  Travis mentioned above, he is known for being the Nomad Cook for a reason. Traveling province to province, city to city,  Travis uses popular social media channels like Instagram to share announcements and locations. You can keep tabs on where he is, and when he will be in your city, but you have to be diligent, these dinners fill up fast.

While the food is important, Travis adds attention to detail when it comes to setting and atmosphere.

So what can you expect at the Infused Dining Series? 

Once you’ve got your foot in the door with bookings, you’re good to go.  Travis is the man when it comes to picking the perfect location.  We’ve been limited to dining experiences within the Calgary area, each time a booking downtown with an amazing view of the city in an upper-class condo – another fun touch. The Nomad Cook likes to keep the location a secret until the day of the event which adds to the mystery and prestige of these nights.

Travis is guaranteed to choose the perfect quiet location that showcases the beauty and the heart of each city.  It helps inspire the mood and of course the custom regional menu designed with the local culture and season in mind.  

For those familiar with the beautiful city of Calgary Alberta Canada, this dining series was situated kitty-corner to the Calgary Saddledome with a gorgeous video of the Bow River, and an empty Stampede Grounds, something that hasn’t happened in the last near-century.  

The evening begins with a quick meet and greet.  The Nomad Cook and Masterchef Canada contestant takes time to go around the room and introduce himself and his assistant, introduce the menu and set the mood for the evening.  From there, we let the good times roll and started to dig in.

The word infused can sometimes get lost in translation.  While some chefs are using distillate for it’s flavorless profile, the full benefit of the cannabis plant easily gets lost.  This is not the case with Travis.

Menu from Round 2 with the Nomad Cook below.

The Nomad Cook is diligent with pushing the boundaries of cannabis infusion in each dish. Using the full plant and certain extracts in creative ways, Travis is conscious of the entourage effect, and the potential that comes with utilizing both cannabinoid and terpene profiles together.

• Sesame Wasabi Crusted Lamb Lollipop, Crisp Rainbow Carrots & an Infused Balsamic Soy Reduction

• BC Spot Prawn Ceviche, Grapefruit, Pomegranate Seeds, Jalapeno, Avocado &

• Coconut Chips & Scallions

• Crispy Skin Halibut, Purple Asparagus, Pickled Radish &

• an Infused Mint Pea Nage with Beta-Pinene

• Pistachio & Cannabis Essence Ice Cream, Infused Praline Bowl, Blackberry Gastrique & Maragan Dark Chocolate

I think everyone was ecstatic to be out of the house and in a social setting, of course, everyone’s health was top priority.  Both chefs had approved facemasks, and tables were decorated with sanitizer bottles. We talked to Travis a little bit about how he felt COVID19 had transformed his business as of late.

Travis responded “COVID19 has canceled all large events and has forced us to accelerate our product line of infused cooking ingredients. In a couple of months, we won’t be offering private dinners or doing pop-ups but will be focusing on education and our products. So If you haven’t been to a Nomad dinner before I suggest jumping at the opportunity this summer”.

I agree with Travis’ response, there’s a lot of uncertainties that come with times like this and it’s a good time to diversify when you offer a service based on social interaction.  In my opinion, has COVID19 changed events like this in the future?  A little bit, but not with the extremities that you would imagine.  I think as a whole it’s a time where we’re a little more conscious of healthy behaviors, and that can be used in a positive way.  The whole experience felt like a separation from all the crazy global news lately, and that’s something a lot of us need for at least a few hours.

Travis is normalizing cannabis with creative projects

Here’s what he’s up to

A few of the products and projects the Nomad Cook had mentioned above include some pretty landmark achievements.  Travis has a cookbook that’s currently in the works.  The focus?  To introduce the full benefits of cannabis as a superfood.  This comes complete with a terpene spotlights, details on specific oils, baking techniques and a whole bunch of culinary cannabis wisdom.

For those looking to learn live, check out the Nomad Cooks Instagram @the_nomadcook.Travis regularly goes live featuring other chefs from around the world, collabing on live seminars, and tutorials targeting beginner through advanced cannabis chefs.  Coming in July, The Nomad Cook is launching a virtual cooking lesson series.  Each lesson has room for 20 and will detail how to make extractions, dosing and whole bunch of quality cannabis knowledge.