Photo credit: Jewels Caribbean
Jewels Caribbean CBD-infused brownies
When Jewels Caribbean Restaurant & Bar (2230 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive) featured a menu of cannabidiol (CBD)-infused foods like jerk wings, chocolate chip cookies, Rasta Pasta, macaroni and cheese pie, coco butter cocktails and margaritas during their 4/20 Day Celebration, it was intended to be just a one-time offering. But guests enjoyed the CBD food and drinks so much that, in the weeks that followed, dozens of people came in asking for them.
“At first, we said no, that was just a one-time thing,” says Natasha Jules, who owns Jewels Caribbean with her mom, Lucile Jules, and her sister, Lennora Jules. “But then we held meetings and decided to keep them on the menu. They weren’t difficult for us to make because we had CBD oil and CBD butter left over from the event, so we thought we might as well use it.”
In addition to the foods featured at the 4/20 Celebration, Natasha notes that for an upcharge, CBD can be added to almost any menu entrée, appetizer or specialty cocktail. For the food, they use Budz Butter, a Suamico, Wis., producer of full-spectrum CBD-infused butters, olive oil, coconut oil and tinctures. Natasha says the CBD can be added during the food preparation process, as long as it’s not prepared with direct heat, like sautéing, because that could diminish CBD quality. It’s often added afterwards before serving. They use CBD tinctures in the cocktails.
CBD, which typically has a grassy, earthy flavor, cannot be tasted in the food or drinks. While some tinctures are available in flavors like mint or citrus, Jewels Caribbean uses unflavored CBD. “But people say they feel a difference, an uplifting feeling, within about 30 minutes,” Natasha says, adding that as a restaurant, Wisconsin law requires them to have the certificate from their supplier on hand with third-party test results to be sure the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) level is below 0.3%.
Natasha believes CBD is more than just a trend, and people will continue to play around with it. She said customers still express a lot of curiosity and ask questions about CBD. That prompted the Jules family to host a series of informative sessions, beginning in August, to bring in experts such as medical professionals to answer questions about CBD. They will be held on Saturday afternoons; the exact time is to be determined (check their Facebook page for updates). Natasha says they will also soon add a retail component to the restaurant to sell CBD lotions, lip balms, oil and brownies.
Natasha, who lived in Los Angeles before relocating to Milwaukee, observes that Wisconsin is behind in furthering cannabis legalization and could catch up, but it’s important to not make the same mistakes made in other states where marijuana has been fully legalized.
“In California, taxes are about three to four times more than the tax for food, and that’s actually aided the black market because the cannabis products have become so expensive. People don’t mind the taxation, but not that high,” she explains. “California decided to legalize it to get rid of the underground black market, but it’s done exactly the opposite.”
Other side effects of legalization in California are high fees for small businesses that want to enter the cannabis industry and a statewide regulatory apparatus that is hard to navigate.
For more information, visit jewelscaribbean.com.