Los Angeles chef Chris Sayegh and his cannabis tasting menus

Chris Sayegh’s private dinners cost £530 a head and attract foodies from across America. Turns out they’re just part of California’s new marijuana economy. Ben Hoyle gets an invite

Chef Chris Sayegh, right, and his dog, Moo Moo, with dinner guests and fellow cannabis activists (from left) Adrienne Airhart, Jeffrey Welsh, Ashley Manta, Xavier Burt, Letesha Holley, Tomer Grassiany and Molly Peckler
Chef Chris Sayegh, right, and his dog, Moo Moo, with dinner guests and fellow cannabis activists (from left) Adrienne Airhart, Jeffrey Welsh, Ashley Manta, Xavier Burt, Letesha Holley, Tomer Grassiany and Molly Peckler
BARRY J HOLMES
The Times

A few weeks ago a Texan couple with an anniversary to celebrate flew halfway across America to a stranger’s house for an experience that would be illegal in most of the world.

They hired a videographer and were then driven 40 miles to a rough-edged part of Los Angeles. There, Chris Sayegh welcomed them into his home and served them a 12-course dinner, paired with 8 different wines and infused throughout with cannabis. For this he charged his guests $750 (£530). Each.

“We did an entire tasting menu based on how they met and what they wanted out of life,” says the chef, who dreams of becoming the first person to win a Michelin star by cooking with what remains, in Britain, a Class B