Mindy Segal, the mastermind chef behind Mindy's Hot Chocolate in Chicago, recently announced her new edible line of products. Segal is the first and only James Beard award-holder to infuse cannabis into her creations.
Mindy Segal partnered with Cresco Labs to grow cannabis at three cultivation centers throughout Illinois. Cresco Labs is Illinois' largest licensed cannabis producer. Segal plans on infusing desserts from her book Cookie Love including chocolate brittle bars, granola bites, hot chocolate and cookie batter mix. Segal's edibles could help Illinois patients in the 25 collectives that will be open by the end of the year. Cresco Labs co-founder Joe Caltabiano is a cancer survivor himself.
“From a culinary standpoint, I’m approaching this the same way I’d approach any of the food I serve in my restaurant. Basically, [I'm] trying to come up with great things to eat, even if they didn’t have cannabis in them. So we’re doing a line of brittles, and just like the hot chocolate at my restaurant, they’re all blends of chocolate—including a blend of caramelized white chocolates with butterscotch nibs, peanut butter brittle with beer nut toffee and whipped peanut butter, and a blend of dark chocolates with smoked almond toffee. We’re also doing a granola line with different mixes of seeds, nuts, dried fruit, caramels, honeycombs—again, all in different blends. And then, of course, hot chocolate drinks,” Segal told VICE.
All medical cannabis products in Illinois must come from one of 22 licensed cultivation centers, which is why Segal chose Cresco. "Having someone with Mindy's name brand and credibility enter the cannabis industry says a lot about where this industry is headed," Cresco Labs co-founder Charles Bachtell said.
Segal's product line is expected to be available for distribution in late February in Illinois. She also plans on expanding to five other medical cannabis states.
