Inside Canada's First Culinary Cannabis Test Kitchen, West Blvd Cannabis

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cooking in a kitchen

The founders are looking to bring marijuana to your pantry.

Despite its popularity with our neighbours down south, culinary cannabis isn’t something most Canadians are familiar with according to the founders of West Blvd Cannabis. They're aiming to change that with their multi-use interactive cannabis production space in the very-walkable Mt. Pleasant neighbourhood. Here, they will produce packaged goods for consumers under their own branding and collab with Canada’s top cannabis suppliers so they can shorten the supply chain—all through an educational lens.

Stepping inside their new space felt like I was pulling the curtain back at Oz. Yes, I got to see all the bells and whistles of the (stunning!) test kitchen, but behind the consumer-facing storefront hides the large-and-in-charge production space where thousands upon thousands of cannabis products will eventually be made.

My sneak peek was so sneaky that the production space was actually not completed yet. Luckily for me, this meant I didn’t have to don the regulation head-to-toe safety wear that future guests will be mandated to change into. And I really do mean change. There are airlocks upon airlocks to keep the products, and you, safe while you’re in the space. There’s a dedicated changing space, where—not unlike a scene from a medical drama—you must remove your contaminated outdoor clothes in order to be allowed in. These protocols are intense, yes, but they help guarantee a product that won’t deviate from their set standard.

When West Blvd eventually releases their culinary line, they say consumers will be presented with the same products every time (unlike the unregulated intake you might get from, say, smoking). This is important because they’re creating culinary products designed to be used in everyday cooking. Substitutes, if you will, for the products you already have in your home. Think of the sauces, oils and condiments that are the staples in your pantry. Now imagine they have cannabis in them. West Blvd is aiming to make sure their products don’t taste like straight-up cannabis, but instead like an elevated version of whatever it is you’re buying. Cayli Weinberg, their head of product development, has twelve years of culinary experience (which includes recipe development for Glowbal Group). Plus, they’ll be releasing a cookbook in the near future so you can use their products to make Cayli’s tried and true cannabis recipes at home. 

West Blvd’s flagship storefront is also intended to be an educational space. Although not yet public facing, this will eventually be a place for chefs and West Blvd (as well as their future collaborators) to come together, test recipes and explore the cannabis industry’s new frontier. They’re even planning to use QR codes on their products to help educate the public from the comfort of home.

The founders of West Blvd say that all the products they release are consumer-focused. Right now, one of their brands, Choklit Park, is in its soft launch stage. Choklit Park is a combustible product (read: you can smoke it) in chocolate bar-themed packaging with strains that are new to the Canadian market.

The cooking oils, teas and gummies will be released to the public in summer 2022. For now, we’re keeping an eye on this space and all the infused products coming our way.

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