Francis Ford Coppola Debuts Cannabis Line at Thursday Infused

Tickets to October’s installment of Thursday Infused sold out in under four hours and for good reason, as the event hosted the exclusive debut of a line of cannabis from acclaimed director Francis Ford Coppola.

Since it was founded by The Herb Somm earlier this year, all of the curated dinners have sold out in advance, which screams out an obvious message — adults don’t just want legal cannabis, they want it downtown, in their food with their wine. Thursday Infused serves that truth, providing a sensory experience featuring weed and wine among high-quality curated cuisine and education. This particular evening starred Altered Plates’ Chef Holden Jagger of Los Angeles, cannabis from Utopia and Humboldt Brothers, vapes from Kurvana and the discovery of new brands such as Rosebud Woman and Coppola Cannabis Company (yes, that Coppola).

Fortunate ticket holders for the San Francisco-based dinner series receive event location and instructions via email 24 hours before start time, but don’t let the “secret location” fool you, this isn’t the underground supper club you might envision.

Diners vape at the dinner table during the Thursday infused event.

The October dinner was held at a private residence in the heart of San Francisco’s Mission neighborhood at a home featuring modern decor, artwork that would make chic rockers and hippies alike swoon and an outdoor patio perfect for smoking those pre-dinner pre-rolls (the event encourages attendees to bring their own and toke up). After being greeted by The Herb Somm and a glass of bubbles, diners get to walk through the hot-and-happenin’ kitchen, where chef and staff are cooking and plating, on their way to the patio for happy hour.

From happy hour to dessert, there’s not a down moment at Thursday Infused. The two-and-a-half-hour educational experience flies by almost too quickly. Here are the highlights from this week’s dinner:

The star of happy hour was the CBD mocktail, a collaboration between Altered Plates and Rosebud Woman. This apple cider was warm, sweet and had hints of rose, perfect for the crisp fall evening.

(Product watch: Rosebud Woman is a new brand touting “radical feminine care” and offering four different cannabis-infused topicals for the vagina. It comes in gorgeous, sophisticated packaging and is designed to serve women in every stage of life. Think Estée Lauder meets Foria.)

After going bonkers over Rosebud, I was delighted to learn Francis Ford Coppola is entering the cannabis space. In a collaboration with the Humboldt Brothers, Coppola’s “Grower’s Series” packs will feature three different 1 gram portions of sungrown NorCal cannabis in a sampler pack, along with a bowl and matches, all in a brilliantly familiar steel wine bottle. Set to debut on the market before the holiday season, I thought this new product from the acclaimed director could make the perfect gift for basically anyone — because who doesn’t want to open a wine bottle to find three different kinds of weed and everything you need to smoke it inside?!

The cannabis line from  Francis Ford Coppola debuts at the event.

Continuing the brand tour, I was delighted to bump into friends and colleagues. One beautiful thing about there being so few regular cannabis events means you’re bound to see familiar faces every time you attend one. From leading cannabis journalists and influencers to the superfans who found an experience that they come back for every iteration, Thursday Infused feels like a private club for successful stoners. And there are more new members coming out every gathering.

After tasting all of Kurvana’s terpy vapes and saying hi to Utopia of Santa Cruz, I caught an appetizer before sitting down for dinner. A bite of ricotta and chili persimmon topped with pickled male cannabis plant tops was the savory starter. Chef Jagger is one of the first I’ve seen to use the male plant in a variety of applications. He also grows his own cannabis which he uses for the infusions giving a plant-to-plate experience.

Throughout the dinner, it became clear why The Herb Somm herself, Jamie Evans, has been dubbed the “queen of gourmet.” It all stems from her curated pairings and her elegant way of teaching guests to “sip, smell, taste.” Along with each course, cannabis was passed around in wine glasses for us diners to sniff after we sipped our wine and before inhaling off a vaporizer. The ritual tuned us into our senses and further heightened how the flavors of the cannabis, wine and food interacted with each other. Each course featured a different wine, strain and vape to accompany the micro-dosed delight hand crafted by the chef. Every bite was so delicious, my only complaint was wanting more of the mind-blowing food. (Bonus: the bountiful charcuterie plates were always there for those of us macro-dosers who weren’t shy about our love of weed and food.)

The table is set for the cannabis dining series.

Chef Holden Jagger of Altered Plates prepares the meal.

Here’s the menu breakdown from October’s Thursday Infused:

1st Course

Celeriac, purple potato, maitake mushroom, miso, honey — 1.5 mg THC

Sip: Balletto Pinot Gris 2017

Smell: Utopia Clementine

Taste: Kurvana Originals Master

2nd Course

Roasted duck tostada or fennel for the vegetarians (like me) — 1.5 mg THC

Sip: Buttonwood Rose 2017

Smell: Utopia Golden Lemons

Taste: Kurvana Originals Citron OG

3rd Course

Semifreddo, roasted banana, chocolate – 2 mg THC

Sip: Rancho Sisquoc Sylvaner 2016

Smell: Utopia C. Banana

Taste: Kurvana Infusions Banana Smoothie 1:1

Terpenes on display at the Thursday Infused dinner series.

The Herbal Somm Jamie Evans pours wine at the October event.

Also unique to The Herb Somm are her terpene cards and educational platform. In addition to wine glasses with cannabis pairings passed around, there was also wine glass pairing for each terpene we were exploring. We smelled the examples like mushroom, rosemary, lemon and sage as Evans explained various terpene aromas, benefits and effects, along with ideal food and wine pairings, as well as the most common cannabis strains where the terpenes appear. It was a lot of information to absorb with wine and THC, luckily, we all received terpene cards in the already jam packed gift bags. (Spoiler: this new era of regulation means all the samples were unmedicated and I got zero free weed in any form.)

Whether a foodie, wine enthusiast, or cannaisseur, or a hybrid of all, Thursday Infused will provide all you could want in an evening out. The low-dose portions and high attention to education actually make it the perfect event for a cannabis enthusiast to bring a canna-curious parent, spouse or friend. However, the event is also just as perfect for solo attendance, as you can expect to make new friends with the ultimate connector, cannabis, at the center of the evening.

Get on the list at for the next event here.

The fine print: Despite the passing of Prop 64, technically cannabis-infused dinners like Thursday Infused exist in a legal grey area as private events only because there doesn’t yet exist a permit for the experiences. Help change that and get involved at your local level. Check out Crop-To-Kitchen for community and meetings in San Francisco.

TELL US, would you attend a cannabis dinner event?