Andrea Drummer is a cannabis chef and co-owner of the

Original Cannabis Cafe The Original Cannabis Cafe, known previously as Lowell Farms: A Cannabis Cafe until December 2019, is an indoor-outdoor restaurant located in West Hollywood, California. It is the first cannabis restaurant in the United States and opened on Octob ...

, the first legal cannabis restaurant in the US.

Early life and education

Drummer grew up in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

in a conservative religious household. She attended

Le Cordon Bleu Le Cordon Bleu (; French: " The Blue Ribbon"; LCB) is a French hospitality and culinary education institution, teaching haute cuisine. Its educational focuses are hospitality management, culinary arts, and gastronomy. The institution consists ...

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

Career

Before becoming interested in cannabis cuisine, Drummer worked as a drug counselor. When she first moved to Los Angeles, she worked for an attorney who used pot daily, an experience that changed her view on marijuana. She worked for Thomas Keller and cooked under chef Neal Fraser at Redbird and Vibiana in Los Angeles. Drummer also cooked at the Ritz-Carlton in Los Angeles. In 2012 Drummer created Elevation VIP Cooperative and began hosting private cannabis events in Los Angeles. According to ''

High Times ''High Times'' was an American monthly magazine (and cannabis brand) that advocates the legalization of cannabis as well as other counterculture ideas. The magazine was founded in 1974 by Tom Forcade. The magazine had its own book publishing d ...

'' her culinary style combines French technique and Southern influences. She created a room service CBD menu for the James Hotel in New York City.

Original Cannabis Cafe

Drummer's partners in the Cannabis Cafe originally were the cannabis collective

Lowell Herb Co Lowell Herb Co is a California-based cannabis brand owned by Lowell Farms that sells packs of Joint (cannabis), pre-rolled joints in varying blends, including seasonal crops. In 2020, California cannabis company Indus Holdings, Inc. acquired the ...

. She and Lowell lobbied the city of

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. History Most historical writings about West Hollywood be ...

for a license to open a cannabis cafe, a process that took over three years. The restaurant originally opened in 2019 as the Lowell Cafe. It was the first cannabis restaurant in the United States.US. Drummer and Lowell Herb Co parted ways in 2019, with Drummer taking over the restaurant.

Books

Drummer wrote ''Cannabis Cuisine: Bud Pairings of a Born Again Chef'' (2017), which was described by ''

Nation's Restaurant News ''Nation's Restaurant News'' (''NRN'') is an American trade publication, founded in 1967. NRN covers the foodservice industry, including restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Me ...

'' as a "landmark book".

Television

Drummer won the first episode of the Netflix cannabis cuisine competition series Cooking on High and appeared on

Chelsea Does ''Chelsea Does'' is an American television documentary series first released on Netflix on January 23, 2016. The episodes follow comedian Chelsea Handler Chelsea Joy Handler (born February 25, 1975) is an American stand-up comedian, actress ...

Recognition

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. The paper covers music, arts, film, theater, culture, and other local news in the Los Angeles area. ''LA Weekly'' was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin (among others), ...

'' called her "a pioneering leader in both the culinary and cannabis industries" and a "world-class marijuana chef".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drummer, Andrea American chefs 21st-century African-American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century African-American women Year of birth missing (living people) Living people