She’s a nurse, a chef and a patient—but so much more

Long before cannabis became legal anywhere, many people in the United States and around the world were baking cannabis-infused brownies and cookies, sampling THC candies, or using CBD oils to alleviate aches and pains. Imagine if there was someone who was a triple threat—someone from the healthcare field who was a chef, and also had first-hand experience as a medical marijuana patient.

There is.

Meet California-based Tamara Anderson, founder of Culinary & Cannabis, an all-sensory interactive cannabis event production company formed eight years ago. When she’s not doing hero’s work as a registered nurse at a hospital, she oversees daily operations and the growth for the company, which includes online content, marketing, and brand partnerships.

As a pastry chef and MMJ patient herself, she progressively and knowledgeably understands the complex intersection of medical cannabis and traditional healthcare. Her mission is to help educate others on total plant use by providing unique experiences for learning and education.

Cannabis Inc Magazine recently caught up with Tamara during her hospital shift’s lunch break. Humble but passionate, friendly, knowledgeable and driven are just some of the adjectives that begin to describe this queen of culinary cannabis (our royalty designation, not hers).

On being that triple threat, she smiled: “I get to use everything that I have done prior in my lives in running this company. Everything I've done before has definitely led me to where I am now. It makes my perspective and how I produce stuff a little bit different just because of the background that I have.”

As a registered nurse, Tamara notes that she has always been on the more holistic side. It just always made sense to her to use something natural first to resolve or cure an ailment.

“Even before discovering all of the benefits of the plant, I always was recommending, ‘If you have a cough, take ginger,’” she said. “You know, try these things first before you need something that you have to take for a long time, because a lot of those pharmaceuticals have other side effects.”

What’s more, Tamara said she has always been the baker in the family. “I don’t consider myself a Type-A personality—except when it comes to baking,” she laughed. And her medical knowledge allows for calculating proper infusion dosages.

A number of culinary cannabis creations are found on the website (https://www.culinaryandcannabis.com), and Tamara says she has several partners who have been with her almost from the start.

“Our lead chef that we work with is Chef Matt,” she said. “He came to me, maybe I was a year in business, and he said, ‘I need some help on dosage and calculation.’”


Even though Chef Matt had been infusing for a long time—since his teen years—he found it was difficult finding reliable information on infusion dosages. “So, I just gave him some information and guidance, and recommendations of where to learn more,” Tamara recalled. “He followed through and about a year later he came back with a whole line of products.”

She added: “After 12 months, he had developed a hot sauce, soy sauce, ranch, ketchup, mustard, you name it. And since then he's been my lead chef.”

Culinary & Cannabis now has partners far and wide. “We want partners like that—people that we either grow with or watch grow are very valuable. And now, I work with chefs here. I work with chefs in New York, Florida, Seattle and elsewhere.”

Virtually anywhere that someone might be looking to do something in the culinary space, Tamara can provide proper guidance. “If they want a dinner, if they want a class, if they want a party experience, we can provide all of those things,” she said.

In addition to working with many chefs directly, Tamara also works with a lot of topical brands and many organizations that want to launch events. “For example, this year we're working with the California DCC—the Department of Cannabis Control—to introduce our audience to them because they definitely have that stigma of being the ‘cannabis police.’”

In fact, Tamara emphasizes that one of the primary goals of Culinary & Cannabis Events is “to refute the stigma associated with medical marijuana treatment by exploring its many delicious culinary possibilities.” Through Culinary & Cannabis Events, Tamara brings together healthcare professionals, advocacy groups, and food & wine experts within the community for a great cause.

The events may involve online modules and social media engagement, in-person classes, culinary, and wellness spa functions.

This year, Tamara is amped up about the recent launch of the company’s CannaSpa Parties.

“This is like a spa party at home, but with the plant,” she said. “We've been doing our CannaSpa events for seven years, but now we’re offering the services to people to have in the comfort of their own home.”
The CannaSpa Parties at home, for instance, can include an on-site package for bachelorette (or bachelor) parties, turning-21 birthday parties, and other special occasions.

“We will come create a spa party package and bring it to you with infused massages, facials, and more,” Tamara said. “There will be goody bags, maybe rolling classes, and we can have meditation, yoga, ‘paint and puff’ experiences; All those things for you and your friends – for both women and men.”

Also coming this summer: CannaSpa tours in Los Angeles and New York. “These road trips will be all about wellness,” Tamara said. “And for New York City the focus will be on Hip-Hop because 2023 marks the music genre’s 50th anniversary celebration. “And I can’t wait to tell who’s going to be there!”

It’s fitting that the queen at the intersection of culinary and cannabis makes so many others feel like royalty. She relishes making people comfortable with working with cannabis and its myriad wellness applications. Tamara’s consulting work and other Culinary & Cannabis engagements (like Canna Cool Lounge and Harrington Wellness) may be headquartered in Southern California, but demand is rapidly growing across North America, the UK, Australia, and Asia.

For more information, visit: www.culinaryandcannabis.com and https://www.cannaspaparty.com