Why We Teach Home Infusions
“Most people do not need more complexity. They need more confidence.”
Reflections by Chef Adam Vandermey
10 minute read · Education & Empowerment
One of the biggest problems in culinary cannabis today is not the plant itself.
It is fear.
Not fear of cannabis necessarily, but fear of unpredictability. Fear of mystery edibles. Fear of losing control. Fear of accidentally consuming too much. Fear of not understanding how any of it actually works.
Most people who approach culinary cannabis for the first time are not looking to become extraction experts or cannabinoid chemists. They are simply looking for a safe, approachable and intentional way to understand their relationship with the plant.
Unfortunately, much of the information available to them feels overwhelming.
Complicated formulas.
Endless potency calculations.
Laboratory-style language.
“Master” level expertise.
Contradictory advice.
For many people, that complexity creates hesitation instead of confidence.
That has never aligned with the way we approach education at Your Canna Chef.
The last thing we want to do is gatekeep this information.
Over the years, I have made the mistakes already.
I have overserved people. (mostly myself)
I have tested methods.
I have gone down the rabbit hole of infusion techniques, dosing systems and cannabinoid research so that other people do not have to approach culinary cannabis through fear and guesswork.
Eventually, I realized something important:
most people do not need more complexity.
They need more confidence.
That is why our educational philosophy became rooted in simplification and repeatability.
For home cooks, our infusion method is intentionally straightforward:
3 to 3.5 grams of cannabis, decarboxylated in a mason jar and infused into 1 cup of fat results in approximately 20mg of THC per tablespoon.
Is it laboratory perfect?
No.
Would we use this exact approximation method when serving paying guests in a professional hospitality environment?
Also no.
Professional cannabis hospitality requires a much higher level of precision, repeatability and testing accountability than personal home use.
But for intentional home cooking, the system is approachable, repeatable and reliable enough to help people build confidence safely.
And for us, that matters deeply.
Because the goal is not to create dependency on our expertise.
The goal is to help people feel capable enough to confidently and safely incorporate culinary cannabis into their own lives.
That confidence matters because every person’s relationship with cannabis is different.
Everyone has a different number.
For me, 10mg in the evening often creates a calm, relaxed and grounded experience. For someone else, 10mg may feel overwhelming. Interestingly, Jeanette often requires a higher dosage than I do to achieve the same effect, despite the fact that I can easily outdrink her when alcohol is involved.
Cannabis simply does not behave the same way for everyone.
That is why we encourage people to stop comparing tolerances and start paying attention to themselves instead.
What are they actually looking for cannabis to do?
Help them sleep?
Relax after a stressful day?
Feel more socially comfortable?
Reduce physical tension?
Simply slow down enough to be present?
Those answers matter far more than chasing the highest THC percentage possible.
One of the things we teach consistently is that intentional cannabis use is not about getting “as high as possible.”
It is about understanding how your own body responds and building confidence through predictable experiences.
For many first-time guests and coaching clients, we actually recommend starting with a legal 10mg gummy or beverage purchased from a dispensary before attending one of our dinners.
We ask them to simply observe themselves honestly:
Can they still comfortably socialize?
Can they focus?
Do they feel relaxed or overwhelmed?
How long does the effect last?
Those observations become the foundation for designing intentional experiences safely and confidently.
Confidence changes everything.
When people stop fearing cannabis, they stop approaching it transactionally. They stop chasing someone else’s tolerance. They stop relying on mystery edibles and guesswork.
Instead, they begin developing an intentional relationship with the plant itself.
And honestly, that relationship often looks much more ordinary than people expect.
People often assume Jeanette and I eat elaborate gourmet meals every night. The reality is that we are normal people living busy lives. Some nights, dinner is simply a frozen pizza because we are exhausted and neither of us feels like cooking.
One particularly stressful evening recently, after a long day of business building and moving preparations, we wanted to quiet our nervous systems and simply reconnect with each other for the evening.
So we made a frozen pizza.
Knowing that our infused olive oil reliably tests at approximately 20mg per tablespoon and knowing that 10mg is a comfortable and grounding dosage range for both of us, I whisked half a tablespoon of infused olive oil into a couple ramekins of Caesar dressing for dipping our pizza slices.
That was it.
The goal was not to get destroyed.
The goal was not to escape our lives.
The goal was not impairment.
The goal was to soften the noise enough for us to fully be present with each other.
And that is the part of culinary cannabis I desperately want more people to understand.
Intentional cannabis use does not need to feel intimidating, complicated or disconnected from everyday life.
It can exist quietly and naturally inside ordinary moments.
That is why we teach.
Not to create dependence.
Not to position ourselves as gatekeepers.
Not to overwhelm people with formulas and jargon.
We teach because people deserve to feel confident enough to approach culinary cannabis intentionally, safely and without fear.
And sometimes, confidence starts with nothing more complicated than frozen pizza and infused Caesar dipping sauce shared with someone you love.