Any chef worth her salt can pair food with fine wine, but personal chef Amanda Jackson wants to challenge more chefs to learn the increasingly popular art of cooking with cannabis.
Born on 4/20 and raised in a small town in Georgia, Jackson grew up going to high-end restaurants, experiences that helped her develop an early appreciation for great customer service. She admittedly struggled in school due to ADHD, and while she studied African American history and music therapy in college, she was kicked out of school because of her low GPA. Bartending and serving jobs helped her buy time, but when a coworker gave her Anthony Bourdain's memoir, Kitchen Confidential, she knew she was meant to be in the kitchen.
"I wanted to play in the fire," Jackson told POPSUGAR. She eventually went to culinary school and landed her first kitchen job making sauces and barbecue side dishes. By 26, she was an executive chef in a Tallahassee restaurant, but with the opportunity to lead a kitchen came sexual harassment from one of her sous chefs. Feeling undervalued in restaurants and in need of a change, she eventually moved to Los Angeles and was immediately drawn to high-profile cannabis chef Andrea Drummer.
