Typically in the culinary industry, January tends to be a very slow month. In years past, I’ve made the mistake of booking Pop Up dinners, only to see a low response for ticket sales in a month that follows Christmas. 

This year I wasn’t going to make the same mistake. So I booked a 17-day vacation to Peru and was set to leave on January 13th for what was sure to be the adventure of a lifetime! 

However, in mid-December, I received a call from Auxly Cannabis Group inquiring about 3 dinners in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver to help launch their new line of edibles. I have a hard time turning down work and jumped at the opportunity to build a new relationship with a new client – which meant losing out on a non-refundable plane ticket, but Peru will always be there. Auxly’s official launch will not! 

Lift & Co. Cannabis Expo

Before the Auxly events, the month began with the Lift & Co Cannabis Expo in Vancouver. I always look forward to the Lift event, as it gives a great opportunity for networking within the cannabis community. 

We kicked off the weekend by hosting the SUNDIAL AFTER DARK event, which was an absolute blast. We served a Taco Buffet with 3 different variations, an oyster station manned by Louie from Rodney’s Oyster House, and a Strawberry Shortcake Bar featuring Top Leaf’s Strawberry Cream strain. What really put this event above all the rest that weekend was the live music by JODIE B played throughout the night.

Auxly Cannabis Launch

The Auxly dinners were spread over 7 days between the three cities and I decided to drive the route of 2600 km, which started in Calgary. I had left Vancouver a little later than I wanted to, which threw off my entire schedule. Being the middle of winter, the roads were absolutely horrendous and by the time I hit Revelstoke, there had been an accident that shut down the highways for the rest of the night, thus setting my arrival time into Calgary off by 9 hours. Which is exactly why you always plan ahead and get whatever mise en plus done ahead of time. 

The two days of dinners in Calgary and one in Edmonton were both in venues without real kitchens, meaning I had to construct a pop-up kitchen. Though we were not able to use cannabis in the food, we were able to use some botanical terpenes to help set the mood. 

We wrapped up the Alberta portion of the launch and I was off back to Vancouver to finish the last day for Auxly. 

On my journey home I had injured my foot and by the time the dinners were happening in Vancouver, I could barely walk. It was extremely painful and very hard to move around. Luckily I had an amazing team that picked up the slack and were able to help me get through what was one of the hardest days I’ve ever had cooking.

Work-Life Balance

With my most successful January in the books, it was time to book another vacation. One I WILL NOT BE CANCELING. My girlfriend and I have booked a Villa in Greece for the middle of June and are beyond excited for this escape. Nothing will get in the way of this vacation, that I can promise.