When other folks speak about hashish delicacies, there’s normally one call that rises to the highest: Chef Nikki Steward. Recognized for curating mythical infused eating studies for celebrities and hashish fanatics international, Nikki has spent the remaining 15 years refining an way that fuses science, hospitality, and plant medication into one thing that feels much less like dinner and extra like a rite.
She’ll be the primary to let you know that she’s no longer only a chef. “I’m a pharmacist first, a chef 2d,” she says. Prior to she ever stepped into the kitchen full-time, Nikki studied pharmacy and labored within the box. That background gave her a unique lens than maximum within the hashish meals global. “My working out of gear and compounds and put issues in combination is other than maximum cooks. I lean into the alchemy aspect of it. I exploit crops which might be psychoactive in sure studies. Hashish is my forte, however it’s a part of a far larger toolset.”
That blend of science and spirituality has made her one of the vital sought-after names in hashish eating. From intimate superstar dinners to multi-hundred-person world occasions, Nikki has carved out a lane no person else occupies.
A Superstar Visitor Checklist You’d By no means Be expecting
Her first hashish dinner used to be for Snoop Dogg. That’s one hell of a debut. Since then, she has labored for Dave Chappelle for greater than a decade, thrown non-public events for megastars, and curated studies so unique that they’ve change into mythical.
“It’s very a lot an ‘if you recognize, you recognize’ roughly factor,” she explains. “Arduous to get at the record.”
At one in every of her non-public dinners, Taylor Swift grew to become up. At any other, A-list actors, rappers, athletes, and comedians sat shoulder-to-shoulder, passing plates and sharing laughter. Nikki received’t name-drop except pressed, however the tales have unfold on their very own. What makes those occasions particular isn’t simply the megastar energy; it’s the sense of care, precision, and protection baked into each route.
As a result of for Nikki, infusing meals isn’t about novelty. It’s about keep an eye on, chemistry, and developing an revel in that transforms.
Precision Over Guesswork
Numerous hashish cooks depend on infused oils or butters, however Nikki way back moved previous that. “The accuracy of oils and butters simply isn’t it for me,” she says. “It’s tougher to quantify. While you’re doing large-scale culinary manufacturing, you wish to have to understand precisely how a lot is for your product. I’m no longer on homecooked vibes. I need consistency.”
As an alternative, she works with nanotechnology, liposomal powders, concentrates, distillates, and different in moderation measured inputs. That permits her to design an revel in all the way down to the milligram and tailor the journey for her visitors.
“It’s a large number of science. Numerous math. My notes are very particular,” she explains. “You must consider reasonable frame weight, gender variations, what number of lessons, and what provider device you’re the usage of. Dairy is carried otherwise from sugar. Fat are carried otherwise from water-soluble compounds. 5 milligrams may also be gentle for one consumer and overwhelming for any other.”
Through the usage of state of the art infusion strategies, Nikki can design no longer simply the meal however the arc of the top itself. “I consider it like a taper in prescription drugs. I deliver you as much as a undeniable level, then deliver you back off prior to you permit. That means, no person is caught, no person feels out of keep an eye on. You’re with me for 4 or 5 hours, and I stroll the room each route, checking everybody’s eyes, their vibe, ensuring they’re k prior to shifting on.”
The result’s a secure, curated adventure. “I’ve by no means had a casualty,” she laughs. “Which means I’ve by no means had anyone I couldn’t get again on their toes. It’s about care, hospitality, and developing stability.”
Past Hashish: A Complete-Spectrum Manner
Whilst hashish is her cornerstone, Nikki’s palette of plant medication is way broader. She comprises psilocybin mushrooms, muffins, or even LSD microdoses into some studies. Blue lotus, kava, and different botanicals make appearances in her mocktails and pairings.
“I’m my greatest guinea pig,” she admits. “My tolerance isn’t standard. However I experiment with the whole lot so I will know the way it strikes throughout the frame and stability it.”
That stability is on the center of her world logo, The Prime-Finish Affair. The traveling culinary revel in is the most important of its sort on the planet, with occasions around the U.S., Europe, Africa, and past. She’s hosted dinners in Berlin for Mary Jane, in Spain for Spannabis, and in Ghana for the first actual match of its sort at the continent.
“Those aren’t small dinners,” she emphasizes. “3 to 400 other folks at a time. It’s a large number of math, a large number of formulations, however we make it paintings. And it’s at all times secure, at all times cared for.”
Each and every menu is exclusive. Nikki by no means repeats the similar unfold. In Ghana, she created infused jollof rice, a nod to native custom. In New York, she’s integrated oysters and surprising uncooked dishes. Her culinary research in Thailand gave her a love of sunshine, blank Asian dishes, so Jap and Thai flavors regularly make their means into her menus.
“I just like the wow issue,” she says. “You don’t be expecting infused Jap meals, or oysters, or sure refined issues. However while you style it, it’s cushy, gentle, and wonderful. That’s what makes it particular.”
Keeping Area
What Nikki does isn’t simply cooking. It’s conserving area for transformation.
“While you’re top, you’re freeing power. You’ll be able to be introverted one minute, then the lifetime of the celebration the following,” she says. “It adjustments how other folks display up. My process is to carry that area, to verify it’s secure, balanced, and cared for. Hospitality is ready greater than serving meals. It’s about guiding other folks thru an revel in.”
That’s why she takes the position so critically. Each and every route is an opportunity to track the power, to deliver anyone upper or decrease, relying on what they want. By the point visitors go away, they’ve shared no longer only a meal, however a communal adventure.
Revelry and Black Idea
This 12 months, Nikki brings her skills to Revelry Fest in New York, the place she’ll percentage the degree without any rather then Black Considered The Roots.
“Black Idea is a private pal of mine,” she says. “We’ve cooked in combination prior to. We even did the primary hashish cooking demo at Essence Competition in New Orleans. He’s in fact a actually excellent cook dinner, which surprises other folks. At Revelry, we’ll be going from side to side on meals and hashish, why they belong in combination, how they supplement every different, and why sharing meals is so central to hashish tradition.”
It’s Nikki’s 2d 12 months on the pageant. Closing 12 months, she spoke at the industry of plant medication. This 12 months, the vibe is extra intimate and cultural. “The Revelry group is determining form New York hashish tradition. They’re looking to create extra of a cultural affect than maximum gala’s or meetings. That’s why I sought after to return again.”
Objective, Normalization, and Legacy
At the back of the entire superstar dinners and global excursions, Nikki’s paintings is grounded in one thing deeper: normalization.
“I’m a mom,” she says. “And I believe it’s necessary to normalize hashish use in on a regular basis lifestyles. You’d moderately see me at my child’s football recreation with a joint than with vodka in my cup. It’s a complement. It’s about wellness, stability, and normalcy.”
For her, the venture is larger than her occasions. “I’m no longer in it for the cash. I’m in it for the aim. Hashish has a historical past, going again to mom lines in Africa, to indigenous and local lands the place it thrived prior to we introduced it to the U.S. and Europe. There’s an ancestral, functional degree to this paintings. It’s about honoring that lineage.”
That sense of legacy is what helps to keep her going. “I do a large number of cool shit, sure,” she laughs. “But it surely’s no longer all amusing and video games. That is about connecting again to one thing deeper.”
Catch Chef Nikki at Revelry
For someone attending Revelry Fest, Chef Nikki’s phase with Black Idea is a can’t-miss revel in. Catch it Saturday, September thirteenth at 3:40 pm. Be expecting candid tales, are living chemistry between two longtime buddies, and insights into the alchemy of meals and hashish that you simply received’t listen anyplace else.
Apply her on Instagram @thechefnikki and @thehighendaffair, or take a look at her web page at chefnikkisteward.com.
This 12 months’s Revelry lineup guarantees to be a convergence of hashish tradition, song, and innovation. With Nikki bringing her Prime-Finish Affair ethos to the pageant degree, attendees aren’t simply in for a panel; they’re in for an initiation into the way forward for hashish eating.
New York’s hashish tradition remains to be discovering its form. Occasions like Revelry and voices like Chef Nikki Steward’s are serving to outline what comes subsequent. Whether or not you’re an established hashish fanatic, a curious newcomer, or simply anyone who loves implausible meals, her phase will probably be one of the crucial highlights of the pageant.
Revelry Fest isn’t simply any other hashish match; it’s the place tradition, creativity, and group collide. And with Chef Nikki on the desk, it’s assured to be unforgettable.
