Rachel Burkons

 

Sip, savor, smoke: the three words that summarize Rachel’s career and the name of her consulting business. As a passionate cannabis professional who specializes in the culinary, hospitality and food and beverage applications of cannabis as well as general cannabis education, an Instagram micro-influencer and blogger, she’s known as a harbinger of good taste in all things cannabis. In 2016, Rachel also cofounded Altered Plates, a culinary cannabis hospitality group specializing in incorporating cannabis into mainstream F&B businesses and elevating cannabis experiences through education and classic hospitality, with her brother, Chef Holden Jagger. 

“We try to mitigate fears and it always starts with education, and the social component is essential – just like you would ask a bartender [about alcohol], same for cannabis,” Rachel said in a recent interview during SXSW. “But it is essential that I mention: There are still 40,000 people in prison for cannabis in this country, so our job is to not only educate, but to really understand that there are people in jail for what I do for a living.”

Rachel, who is based in LA, also serves as the executive director of Crop-To-Kitchen, a grassroots trade organization advocating for the legalization of cannabis cuisine across the United States, with boards made up of some of the leading voices in the culinary cannabis industry. Crop-To-Kitchen connects up-and-coming culinary cannabis professionals with industry players, produces educational community-focused events, and works directly with legislators and policymakers to create regulations that will allow the culinary cannabis industry to flourish.

Follow her on Instagram | Twitter |  LinkedIn