{"id":60637,"date":"2023-01-12T10:36:41","date_gmt":"2023-01-12T18:36:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2023\/01\/12\/pot-chef-derek-upton\/"},"modified":"2023-01-12T17:45:22","modified_gmt":"2023-01-13T01:45:22","slug":"pot-chef-derek-upton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2023\/01\/12\/pot-chef-derek-upton\/","title":{"rendered":"Pot Chef Derek Upton"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u201cFood is a second language to me,\u201d begins Derek Upton when asked about how he got his start. \u201cI\u2019m Portuguese-Italian, so I\u2019ve been cooking my whole life.\u201d<\/p>\n

The acclaimed Phoenix-based cannabis chef spent the first half of his career as a touring professional drummer before making the leap into the kitchen full-time a decade ago. But this move off the kit and into the kitchen was driven by an innate love of both food and flower. \u201cWhen I made the career switch to cook professionally, it was also in the name of cannabis,\u201d Upton says.<\/p>\n

He explains that even though he\u2019d been a long-time cannabis user, it was his struggles with depression and insomnia that ultimately pushed him to study the plant and its place in his life\u2014and in his food.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne day, something clicked for me, and I realized that cannabis was helping me more than all of the medication I was on put together. That led me to diving into cannabis, understanding cannabinoids, decarboxylation and the [body\u2019s] endocannabinoid system.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Chef Derek Upton has crafted many fine dishes as part of the Elevations series in partnership with The Clarendon Hotel.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So, as a newly minted professional chef who was also immersing himself into understanding the science behind cooking with cannabis, Upton was naturally drawn to exploring the plant\u2019s culinary possibilities. <\/p>\n

\u201cI started experimenting at home, and that led to doing dinner parties for friends and family,\u201d he says. \u201cI fell in love with it. I found that many people wanted the education, wanted to understand cannabis in a different way. What better way is there than through food?\u201d <\/p>\n

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\u201cFood makes the perfect vehicle to show people cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

With this normalizing mission in mind, the chef began hosting a series of private cannabis-infused dinners in and around Phoenix, where he quickly gained a following\u2014 all while continuing to work in a traditional, high-end restaurant. From there, Upton soon found himself on the fast track to success when Netflix featured him on the show Cooked with Cannabis<\/em> in 2020, which then led to another TV gig on Food Network\u2019s Chopped 420<\/em> in 2021. \u201cFrom a chef\u2019s standpoint, my career has skyrocketed,\u201d Upton says, clearly happy about the developments.<\/p>\n

After finding success in television and putting Arizona\u2019s culinary cannabis scene on the map, Upton upped the ante by partnering with Phoenix\u2019s cannabis-friendly The Clarendon Hotel & Spa to develop Elevations, a brand designed to explore the future of cannabis hospitality in the city and beyond. <\/p>\n

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Scallop Crudo topped with aguachile, brunoise red bell pepper and
\nshallot with microgreens. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe Clarendon reached out and said, \u2018We\u2019d like to create some cannabis tourism experiences here,\u2019 and Elevations was born.\u201d<\/p>\n

Upton and his partners at The Clarendon began putting together a series of Elevations rooftop-infused dinners and events, featuring sophisticated dishes such as Wagyu toro tartare, foie gras and New York cheesecake with cherries infused with 2.5mg THC.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think of cooking with cannabis like any other holistic thing we put in food, any other herb,\u201d says Upton of his culinary inspiration. \u201cI present cannabis to my guests in a way that resonates with them. They\u2019re not seeing a joint; they\u2019re not seeing a bong or dab rig\u2014they\u2019re seeing a plate of food that has cannabis in it. Presenting it to them like that changes the stigma, changes the perception of cannabis and what it has been.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Chef Derek Upton and Chef Jordan Savell (Hells Kitchen 19).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But the rooftop of the Clarendon is really a launchpad for the Elevations brand. \u201cWe immediately saw a much bigger picture than just dinners and started putting together SOPs [standard operating procedures] for cannabis hospitality from a hotel perspective,\u201d he says. That led to us going, \u2018hey, what if we move this to other states and take a 100,000-foot view of what Elevations could be?\u2019 We\u2019re building a lifestyle brand. Elevations will include an events side, online marketplace and cannabis lounge and hotel hospitality idea that can be built out to be franchise-ready to rec states all over the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

As part of this ambitious framework, Upton is developing a talented network of chefs who can help Elevations reach other markets, demographics and properties. The restaurant has recently hired Chef Jordan Savell from Hell\u2019s Kitchen<\/em> season 19 and plans to work with the chef and others like her to grow its consumer base.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With a proven track record of success in defining what cannabis hospitality can look like, Upton and Elevations are ready for the next step. \u201cWe\u2019re finishing the foundation, thanks to some pretty awesome partnerships happening that are going to put a lot of eyeballs on us. We\u2019re moving fast and people are understanding that this is where cannabis needs to be. This is where it needs to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Wagyu<\/a>
Wagyu Toro Tartare by Chef Derek Upton.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wagyu Toro Tartare <\/strong>(serves 2<\/em>)<\/h4>\n

Ingredients<\/strong><\/p>\n