Q + A with Cooking on High Creator/Executive Producer Collin Whelan and Weed Expert, Ngaio Bealum. We’ve watched Gordon Ramsay (Hell’s Kichen) and Tom Colicchio (Top Chef) judge upcoming chefs and their cuisine for years, and now thanks to Netflix, we get to watch a new kind of cooking competition. Created by Conveyer Media, Cooking on High is a show taking the culinary experience to new highs. This time its cannabis that’s on the menu. Produced
like Disney, VH1, Comedy Central, Snapchat, Travel Channel, and USA Network among them. Cooking on High is a show he’s excited to see on the air. We asked him about what he’s cooking up for Season Two. As women become the dominant consumer of cannabis, any chance of having more females on the series? Collin Whelan (CW): Absolutely! We’ve actually started chatting with more female judges and chefs in hopes of having
by Stage 13, a division of Warner Bros. Digital Network, Vice
more on for Season Two.
President Shari Scorca oversees talent and content devel-
With so many resources out there, especially edibles, of all the dishes you made in Season One, which one was by far the tastiest and most unique?
opment. Scorca emphatically says, “We were looking for something noisy that would break through the clutter. Even as cannabis culture has gone a bit more mainstream, this show still stands out. It is not a parody of a cooking competition show, but instead a real cooking competition with hilarious and slightly stoned judges. The comedy is in the
CW: I hate to say this but as the executive producer I wasn’t allowed to eat any of the dishes. They all looked amazing and every judge seemed happy. One stand-out challenge though was the one we called, “Wake & Bake” and it in-
cast of characters, while the dishes are savory, delicious, and
volved making breakfast foods.
of course on a ‘higher’ level!” Adding Cooking on High to the
What are you excited to experiment with next in terms of ingredients? CW: We’ll decide that after the casting process is completed for the new season.
roster was an exciting development for Scorca. The series is among the more daring and provocative unscripted shows airing on the network now known for pushing boundaries Hosted by YouTube star, Josh Leyva, Cooking on High
What else can we expect in terms of variety for guest judges and chefs?
brings together some of the best chefs, challenging them
CW: We’re in the very early stages but we think our audi-
to make dishes utilizing cannabis strains chosen by weed
ence is going to the love the direction Season Two is go-
expert Ngaio Bealum, all cooked in a set amount of time.
ing in. We’ve been approached by a number of people that
The goal is to create dishes that will impress the judges, get
want to judge, as you can imagine, so it should make the
said judges properly stoned, and inevitably win the coveted,
casting process interesting. In one sentence, tell me what doing this show means to you—and—how it’s changed your life so far?
and creating truly authentic content.
“GOLDEN POT”. Cooking for an array of judges ranging from rappers, comedians, digital influencers and more, this show really kicks up the fun and wets the appetite with cuisine
CW: This show started out as a great idea that we thought
that can be anything from late night munchies to Michelin-worthy eats. With the excitement and anticipation surrounding the second season, we talked to show creator and executive producer Collin Whelan and weed expert, Ngaio Bealum to get a preview of what we can expect in the coming season.
COLLIN WHELAN Founder of Conveyor Media, Whelan is a man with a vision and a pretty wicked sense of humor. The roster of shows he’s produced and executive produced is impressive: Cooking on High, Bargain Mansions, Justin Bieber’s Roast Red Carpet, American Idol Tonight, Beauty Wars, Ink Roulette working with media giants
Ngaio Bealum