There's no shortage of cooking competition shows out there. Top Chef. Chopped. The Great British Baking Show. But until now, there hasn't been a culinary show where the judges and contestants get baked while the food is cooking. Enter Cooking on High, Netflix's newest cooking competition show, in which every challenge features the same secret ingredient — weed. But though the show will no doubt make viewers' mouths water, those who watch the show may find themselves wondering: How is Cooking On High legal?
The short answer is that Cooking On High is legal because pot is legal now — well, in nine states and Washington, D.C., anyway. According to Vox, Alaska, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington have all legalized marijuana, though in Vermont and D.C., weed still can't be sold for recreational purposes. So that means that if the show was produced and filmed in one of those states where recreational use of weed is legal (production company Stage 13 is run by California-based Warner Bros.) then all of the challenges featured on Cooking On High are also totally legal. Pretty rad, right? But parents who are concerned that their children might stumble upon the show by accident don't have to worry, because according to High Times, the cannabis cooking show will only be available to viewers 18 and older. So there's a limited chance that your 8-year-old might come up with some, ahem, interesting ideas for dinner.
For those cooking show aficionados who are of age, Cooking On High pits real, experienced chefs against one other to cook a gourmet meal that somehow includes marijuana. According to Food & Wine, the delicious creations concocted by these chefs will include the use of marijuana oils, butters, and even marijuana buds. But don't worry, the process is entirely safe for everyone involved. Food & Wine also reports that there is a marijuana expert on set who "explains exactly what strain the chefs will be cooking with, down to the THC level, and Indica and Sativa percentages." So everything is monitored, safe, fun, and, most importantly, yummy.
And the chefs making these delicious edibles are far from college kids baking weed brownies in their kitchens. Food & Wine reports that the chefs competing on each episode are true professionals, from a former Chopped contestant to a chef trained at Le Cordon Bleu. But though the judges on the show might be experts in weed, they aren't exactly professional culinary critics. The Boston Globe reports that the Cooking On High judges tend to be "extremely experienced stoners" who will rate the food they consume based on a scale of one to 10 pot leaves. They even take a break between eating the food and judging it in order to allow time for the buzz to set in, which the show calls a "THC Time-Out," according to The Boston Globe.
Cooking On High might be the first show of its kind, but gourmet edibles have already become a trend in states where recreational marijuana has been legalized. The Los Angeles Times compiled a list of the best places to attend an edibles pop-up dinner party, where the food is delish and infused with THC. These gourmet meals could cost you as much as $250 a person, are curated by well-known LA chefs, and run the gamut from Middle Eastern cuisine to Japanese sashimi. Weed pairs well with everything, apparently.
So even though it's no Chef's Table, Cooking On High just might be the solution to your munchies — well, in addition to a large bag of Doritos, of course.
