How This Denver Chef Merged His Love of Cooking and Cannabis
303 Magazine August 3, 2022
South Florida native, Chef Jarod “Roilty” Farina, moved to the Mile High City to cultivate his growing fame as a fine-dining mastermind who polishes his dishes off with cannabis. From creating homemade edibles for friends to owning his own private chef service, Chef Farina has become the blueprint for this growing technique. His fully loaded portfolio of awards, culinary training, national television stardom and talent in the kitchen has certainly granted him the recognition he deserves as a cannabis cuisine artist.
Farina’s journey started in 2011 when he entered the Secret Cup competition in Los Angeles — one that highlights the best hash makers and cannabis growers internationally. After winning first place, he was offered a job in our state that focused on creating extracts. Although during this time he was more involved in the cannabis world, about seven years ago Farina and his wife decided to take a cooking class together which led him to rediscover his love for cooking. “It kind of kicked me back in the kitchen and let me know that there’s a lot more to learn. I did not think I was going to be a chef until my thirties actually,” he remembered. “I’ve been in the cannabis industry my whole life really, so it’s something that has been near and dear to me. Food has always been another side of my life. So, to meld them together kind of made sense in the end.”
South Florida native, Chef Jarod “Roilty” Farina, moved to the Mile High City to cultivate his growing fame as a fine-dining mastermind who polishes his dishes off with cannabis. From creating homemade edibles for friends to owning his own private chef service, Chef Farina has become the blueprint for this growing technique. His fully loaded portfolio of awards, culinary training, national television stardom and talent in the kitchen has certainly granted him the recognition he deserves as a cannabis cuisine artist.
Farina’s journey started in 2011 when he entered the Secret Cup competition in Los Angeles — one that highlights the best hash makers and cannabis growers internationally. After winning first place, he was offered a job in our state that focused on creating extracts. Although during this time he was more involved in the cannabis world, about seven years ago Farina and his wife decided to take a cooking class together which led him to rediscover his love for cooking. “It kind of kicked me back in the kitchen and let me know that there’s a lot more to learn. I did not think I was going to be a chef until my thirties actually,” he remembered. “I’ve been in the cannabis industry my whole life really, so it’s something that has been near and dear to me. Food has always been another side of my life. So, to meld them together kind of made sense in the end.”
After experimenting with micro-dosing and infusing different foods, his friends became the test subjects for what is now a booming business titled Dine with Roilty. “We did a big dinner for our friends on New Year’s Eve 2015 and did all infused food, all the savory stuff which we hadn’t really done before. It was a big hit — everybody was going crazy about it and that’s kind of what really kicked me in the butt to go forward,” Farina said.
With this growing idea and love for cannabis cooking, he began to search for competitions to enter and found High Times Top Cannabis Chef in Las Vegas. “It was a competition where you are put up against another chef and you cook live on site. People are there watching you and it was actually really fun. I cooked steak frites with a little sauce on there and had a garlic puree. We won that one and it kind of gave us the propellant to move forward” Farina said. Ever since this nudge, the awards and television appearances have yet to cease. Some of Farina’s top winnings include the honor of Best Chocolates in the 2020 Connoisseur Cup for Cannabis Edibles, Best Cannabis Cooking Class in Westword’s Best of Denver 2022 and national fame as a finalist on Chopped 420.