Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Chef Jordan Wagman: Toronto Mike'd #1063

Episode Date: June 9, 2022

In this 1063rd episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike chats with Chef Jordan Wagman about his lifelong battle with psoriasis, the removal of gluten, dairy and refined sugars from his diet, the role of cannabis in his life, his mental health challenges, the Kind Summer Fair and more. Toronto Mike'd is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Canna Cabana, StickerYou, Ridley Funeral Home and Duer Pants and Shorts.

When the chits pile up and there's lots of people to feed We put our heads down and band together It's amazing to see You never know, we're in the weeds It's hard to believe we're in the weeds Welcome to episode 1063 of Toronto Mic'd. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery. A fiercely independent craft brewery who believes in supporting communities, good times, and brewing amazing beer. Order online for free local home delivery in the GTA.

StickerU.com. Create custom stickers, labels, tattoos, and decals for your home and your business. Palma Pasta. Enjoy the taste of fresh, homemade Italian pasta and entrees from Palma Pasta in Mississauga and Oakville. Dewar. The world's most comfortable pants and shorts. Save 15% with the promo code TMDS. Ridley Funeral Home. Pillars of the community since 1921. And Canna Cabana. The lowest prices on cannabis guaranteed over 100 stores across the country. Learn more at CannaCabana.com. Joining me today, finally making his Toronto Mike debut is Chef Jordan Wagman.

Welcome to Toronto Mike, Chef. Jordan Wagman. Woo-hoo-hoo! Welcome to Toronto Mic'd Chef. Oh, Toronto Mic. It's so nice to be here, brother. Wait, there you go. There's the wave for you this morning. You are good at that. Were you a breakdancer in your youth?

You know I don't want to brag, but I was. Did you ever compete? Like, I talked to Scott Turner once. He was dj on uh i think it was like a disco station an am station this is going back in the mid mid 80s or whatever mid to early 80s anyway he hosted this giant like breakdancing competition in brampton did you compete in that so i didn't i never competed in breakdancing fun fact however. However, however. I love fun facts. Here's a little nugget that you don't know about me that I totally forgot. Hit me.

Until I read a piece. I was editing a piece for my new book yesterday. And I came across a story. When I moved to Florida, I started, I became what was called the singing sports chef on CBS Sportsline Radio, where I wrote songs. The first song I ever wrote was a chimichanga song to Pinball Wizard with Wilbur Marshall from the Washington Redskins. Previously the Redskins were sitting beside me and we ate chimichangas, and I sang to him. That was episode one of Singing Sports Chef on CBS Sportsline Radio. Okay, we could shut this down right now.

That's a mind blow. How did I not have a, like, I didn't have a hint of that. Dude, I forgot about that. It was triggered, maybe. Okay, because that song, let's address the song I played off the very top. That's your jam. That's you singing that song. That's me, yes.

That is me. And that is the intro to amazing In the Weeds podcast that Toronto Mike produces for me. And we do it together. And, yeah, it's been incredibly successful. By the way, that's a catchy ditty too. You sound like Bon Jovi

back when he was on Key. You think Bon Jovi maybe combined with a little Neil Diamond? They're coming to America. I wish you had brought like a guitar. You don't have one in the car.

Actually, it's funny you say that. On the drive over, I'm like, shoot, I didn't bring a guitar. you don't have one in the car actually it's funny you say that on the drive over I'm like shoot I didn't bring a guitar I don't have one for you either because I have zero musical talent but that's amazing just to let people know off the top and then we're going to get to know Chef

and his amazing story trust me it's wild but In The Weeds you can subscribe right now you can literally pause this episode of Toronto Mic'd and you can find In The Weeds with Chef Jordan Wag right now. You could literally pause this episode of Trotter Mike and you could find In the Weeds with Chef Jordan Wegman in your podcatcher of choice. You could subscribe. Chef is a natural

host and his conversations are legit, interesting, and entertaining. And I know I'm biased here, so I'll declare the bias off the get-go. But even if I had nothing to do with In the Weeds with Chef Jordan Wegman, I would want to endorse it because it's quality shit. Thank you, brother.

Appreciate it. And that's the truth. And let's just run down a couple of the two because we've only met two previous times, but I just thought I'd run it down. So we met the first time. You were cooking at a party that Jess Moran invited me to that was sort of like a can of cabana party. Tell me what you were doing when I met you that first time. I was very happy actually that evening to be able to cook for many of my friends, peers, you know, in the cannabis space. But we created an infused evening, both beverages and food stuff.

And the focus is always when you come for an infused experience with me, it's not only about quote unquote getting high. The experience is about introducing what cannabis food and beverage can be. So we created eight different courses to highlight cannabis in different forms, but also highlighting what great food and beverage, clean, great food and beverage can be. So like you're, you'll infuse it and not to bury the lead here, but what are you infusing this meal with?

Yeah. I mean, it's obviously different. I mean, it's cannabis. So we start with, you know, there are different terpenes, which are the aromatic compounds that are extracted from botanicals and cannabis. They have no, there's no cannabinoids in terpenes. So, you know, on their own, almost if you think about aromatherapy, doTERRA and SAGE have built their companies on, you know, on that, right? So it's all about the aroma and the effect that they can have.

But they also really impact cannabinoids when combined. But I focus on, you know, different cannabinoids, not only THC, but CBD and CBN and CBG, but it's also cannabis in its raw form. So I like to introduce cannabis in its acid form. So without any different sort of psychoactive effect. And most importantly, this food is both delicious and healthy for you. Absolutely. I mean, you know, the short version of that is, you know, at 12 years old, I was diagnosed with psoriasis, right? Well, yes. I want this whole story though. So here let's, okay. So bottom line is I get to meet you for the first time at this party i can't remember the name of that party but i will take this opportunity to thank uh one of

our sponsors canna cabana because i believe they were sponsoring that party so you know it was great to meet you there and you were cooking delicious food and it was infused of course with cannabis and then like just last friday i was moderating a panel at a conference by the airport. It was called O'Cannabis. And I get there a little early because they said you have to go to this room before you go to the stage and get mic'd up and everything. And I'm just kind of killing like five minutes by wandering through the hall. And who do I see but the gorgeous Chef Jordan Wagman

there at the Old Cannabis. There you are. You make me blush. You make me blush. Did you hear your shout out? So I had a mic and I was moderating this panel about like how to get your dream job in the cannabis industry.

And it was actually really interesting, but you could smell this delicious food from the stage because you were literally next door cooking. Yeah, I was doing a nice, I was doing a presentation and that was you know again it was the night after i had hosted uh an industry event so it was really cool to be able to again highlight some of the food stuff i created the previous night for industry professionals but also to to do this presentation in front of people that i really only get to see on social media

and that industry uh is drawn to you like a moth to a flame because I kind of witness these people like, chef, and they all light up when they see you and they get to, you know, I know that COVID's been tough for people to meet in person. So I just want to say that was my very first like cannabis conference of any kind. And it was, I enjoyed doing the moderation, but it was fantastic to see you there. That was only last Friday.

That was great. You know, you are much smaller in person. So how do I look? So you see me on Zoom a lot. Do I look like six foot two on Zoom? How tall do I look? You do. Actually, six four is what I told my wife.

Okay, and I'm only five nine. Yeah. So you were disappointed. I was not disappointed. Actually, pleasantly surprised because I'm only 5'8". See, I've never, obviously, I've never misled anybody. You know, I take this photo. So Stu Stone and Cam Gordon come over once a month for toast.

And it's funny, I'm like medium. So it's like Cam is like a, he's like a skyscraper. Right. I don't know what he is, 6'5 or something. I don't know what, he's up there. And then Stu, he literally has a production company, the great Stu Stone,

I should say, 5'7 production. So he's listing himself at 5'7. I haven't measured him yet. By the way, before I go, even to say the next sentence, I wanted to give you a measuring tape

from Ridley Funeral Home, proud sponsors of the show. So if you ever need to do a height check on anybody you meet in the wild, you have that measuring tape just to check that out. But all this to say, I'm meet in the wild, you have that measuring tape. Wow. But all this to say, I'm right in the middle there, man.

I'm way shorter than Cam, but I got a couple of inches on Stu. Stu Stone, Jack of all trades. So you tell me, did you enjoy Jack of all trades? I loved it. I loved it. I loved it. You know, you should come. Okay.

So have you seen Faking a Murderer? No. Okay. Well, I'd say it's the newest movie. It is his newest movie because it came out during the pandemic. Right. But they're having,

it was delayed, but they're finally having on June 22nd, they're having the premiere. So at the Review Cinema, they're going to premiere Faking a Murderer, Stu Stone's latest film. I'm going to be there. I'm just letting you know.

I could score you a ticket effortlessly if you wanted to make it. I may be in there. I may be in there. You know, he did that with Harv Glazer, which is, you know, an old friend. So, you know, from Thornley Secondary School. Okay. That's where Cam and Stu went. Of course.

So let me, I'm trying to gauge your age. Did you go to school with Noah Mintz? So Noah is one year older than me his younger brother billy or william is uh ryan my younger brother's old good friend and then their youngest brother aubrey was friend it's with my sister jennifer wow okay because noah of course he's famous for being in head but no and now he's doing a lot of like mastering for you know recording artists but noah did the vocals on hayden's take i don't know if you remember the song take by hayden but i forever thought hayden did his own vocals on that because hayden's a good

singer but it was actually noah mintz really did you know uh what about the uh what about i was gonna say i don't know how to qualify him but we we'll just say, what about Gian Gomeschi? Of course I knew him. He was, you know, he was like Fabio at Thornley, right? Because Noah had some fantastic Gian Gomeschi stories. Yeah, I mean, there were some, you know, he played in this Funkasaurus maybe? Was that the old Funkasaurus? Sounds right.

Yeah, they came to, I remember, German Mills Public School in Thornhill. And Funkasaurus came. And I think Jean Gomeschi was the lead singer back then even. But yeah, man. I mean, yeah, absolutely. Thorne Lee. Okay, so I did not go to Thorne Lee.

I went with Cynthia Dale. We went to Michael Power. But I've heard so many stories from Cam and Stu about Thorne Lee. I start to think I went there. Like I was going to say, you're not much, but you are a bit older than hayden christiansen who played anakin skywalker in star wars he went there there's quite a list of uh there is greats to go there i think absolutely that's wild okay look i'm learning so much about you already so so we met at oh cannabis that was fantastic. That was fantastic. Uh, you've got

a great podcast called In the Weeds. Uh, let's go back because what came first? I want to talk about, you mentioned psoriasis. Like I want to hear that story, but I also want to know when you realized you wanted to become a chef. Like what comes first? You know, the, it's, um, So the story is I am happiest when I'm up north. I am happiest in a canoe on the water. I'm happiest cooking over an open fire. And I fell in love with cooking while leading a canoe tripping program in northern Ontario for a decade. At the age of 12, I was diagnosed with psoriasis and the only place that I could really find some reprieve early on was at summer camp because I'd be outside shirt off and went to

camp Tamarack in Bracebridge, Ontario. Excuse me. Chef though, we're going to have to tell people what the heck is psoriasis. Yeah. It's an autoimmune disease and, and it's an often debilitating auto autoimmune disease that rears its ugly head through dry patches of skin um on on your body and i was covered head to toe um for most of my life uh you know bouts of certainly i i i realized a reprieve here and there which is really part of the story so you know 12 i was diagnosed with psoriasis was able to go to summer camp and find a little bit of relief but also when you're covered head to toe in psoriasis or you know, 12, I was diagnosed with psoriasis, was able to go to summer camp and find a little bit of relief. But also when you're covered, head to toe in psoriasis or, you know, parts of your body

and you're 12 years old or going through puberty, you're not really so eager to undress in front of people and showcase all of your crusty, scaly skin. Right. So there were summers where I didn't take off my pants or I didn't take off my shirt. So there were summers where I didn't take off my pants or I didn't take off my shirt. Anyways, but I, you know, I really developed a thick skin, but I'm fine. And you're right. No, well, definitely intended.

Yeah, definitely. But I ended up falling in love with food through finding my peace at, you know, in the wilderness. And so for 40, 50 days a summer, I would be in my happy place. I'd be cooking for people. And I fell in love with that instant gratification of cooking for people. My psoriasis, my life with psoriasis and my culinary life have been, like every decision in my life, has been, you know, intertwined. So there was one day where I came home from York University and I was crying and my psoriasis was just killing me. And my, you know, my family, we always knew about the option of heading to Israel to go to the Dead Sea. And that's what I did. And my dad said, you know, enough is enough and put me on a plane to Israel. And I went to the Dead Sea, which is the lowest, as I understand it to be,

but the lowest point on earth. And it's very therapeutic, but I spent a year and a half of my life sleeping in a tent at the Dead Sea in Israel. Wow. It was unbelievable. You jump to that, but before we even get to the Dead Sea, where I'm going to need more detail on that, like that's a sleeping in a tent at the Dead Sea in Israel for like over a year. That's wild. But you, before that in high school, you spent a year in the hospital, right? I spent, um, I wrote every high school exam in the hospital. Um, every, so I even, I go back even further. So when I was diagnosed with psoriasis in grade nine, I actually had really long hair and I made the Toronto fashion show called Discover. It was Discover 86. And I remember I crimped my hair, but at the time I was on PUVA treatment, which was, I forget what the

acronym stands for, but basically it's an ultraviolet A treatment where your eyes become very, very sensitive to the light. And because you can develop cataracts, they give you these pills. You have to wear these really thick glasses. And so every day I would go down to women's college hospital, take the, you know, the, the, the bus from Thornley to Finch subway station down to women's college hospital and back at home. So yeah, my whole life revolved around it, but I wrote every high school exam in the hospital, I'd be an inpatient for four years in a row, twice in Sunnybrook, twice in sick kids for three months at a time. And then, you know, ultimately having

experienced as much conventional treatment as I possibly could, it was time to do something different. Right. That's when we decided to go to Israel. Okay. So tell me a bit more about this year plus. Was it a year and a half, you said? Well, it was a year. And then I went home and realized that as soon as I got off the plane, my psoriasis started coming back. So I went back for an additional six months. So I broke it up. There were two stints. Why is that? Is that just you were, is it something to do with the sun? Like what the heck? Yeah, it is. I absolutely, the sun and the salt for sure. Right. The, the dead sea is I think like 30% salt, salt content plus other tons of minerals and vitamins in there. So when you've got all those,

you know, all of those natural minerals in there combined with the sunshine. I would sit in the sun. That was my treatment, right? I would sit in the sun for 14, 15 hours a day. And I call that, that first piece to my health puzzle, right? That's what I, that's how I frame that time in my life where I recognized very quickly, okay, the sunshine is healing. The sunshine can give me the reprieve that I desperately need. Yeah. You're living in the wrong neck of the woods, man. There's just too long a period here in the GTA where we don't get that vitamin D, we don't get that sun. A hundred percent, which is why I took advantage of being an American citizen. And, you know, after I came back from Israel and lived in Toronto for a little bit longer,

I realized that, you know, I was back in a and lived in Toronto for a little bit longer, I realized that, you know, I was back in a lecture hall at York University and studying anthropology and realized very quickly in that moment, I had an epiphany. I loved food. I needed to be in the sunshine. I am going to Pompano Beach to move in with my grandmother, Grandma Jean, and I'm going to go to culinary school and I'm going to combine my love and need of, you know, a career and life and love of food with my need to be healthy. Okay. Let's talk, let's talk a little bit here about, uh, like treatments through the, through the years. So I was, I can't even say these words. I'm going to try. Okay. Let's, let's make fun of me pronouncing these words uh methotrexate yes and cyclosporine cyclosporine close enough right okay so what these are treatments I guess as a teenager that you were uh prescribed I was and they ruined my

life uh for a very short period of time well I I I won't say short period, but they were, they're very serious drugs and I was on them. And then I was woke up one day with really bad acne and went to the dermatologist and he said very clearly, you already struggle enough with your psoriasis. We need to put you on Accutane to deal with your, with your acne. So I was on conventional drugs. I'd have to get liver biopsies because I was on those drugs. And subsequently they had some long-term side effects enough so that when I moved to Florida to go to culinary school, I couldn't even get health insurance because of the damage that those drugs did to my liver. Okay. I'm curious about your journey with cannabis. Cause I mean, it's such a huge part of your, you know, your professional life. professional life. Although you'll cook without cannabis, right?

No, no. You know, definitely it's an 80-20 for me. 20% of the events that I do are infused with cannabis. Gotcha. 80-20 split. Okay. So you're just a great chef. But tell me about the role cannabis has played in your life,

and in particular with regards to your psoriasis. Yeah, I mean, and I'll start off by saying I'm not a cannabis chef. I am a chef who cooks with cannabis. There's a distinction to be made there. You know, cannabis chefs, people, those are some people who could have been in finance or school teachers or, you know, garbage collectors last week. And they've changed their occupation and they're calling themselves a cannabis chef. Okay, the word chef,

let me ask you this. I've always been curious. Is that a designation? Like you have to, you can't just start calling somebody who cooks food for people the chef. Anyone can call themselves a chef.

It should be like a doctor. Like you have to like have some kind of... I'm very happy with someone calling me a cook. I'm very happy being called Jordan. I'm called

chef more often than not because it's a respect thing sure i think after 30 years i i do i've earned it yeah but but it it doesn't mean anything to me personally there are culinary students who graduate and you know expect 100 grand and the designation of chef as soon as they come out of school why because they've seen iron chef a couple of times. So there, I guess you got to earn those stripes. And that comes in blood, sweat and tears. And, and, and, you know, oftentimes we earn minimum wage. Oftentimes we earn minimum wage period when we start off. And so if you plan on accelerating your career, do what I did. I earned $7.50 an hour for the first many years I was in this industry, living in Florida and elsewhere. And I would work 80, 90 hours a week.

I'd get paid for 40. Why? Because it was an investment in my career. And if I wanted to learn how to make stocks and sauces and butcher, I'd have to go in early because as a cook, when your call time is two o'clock or three o'clock in the afternoon after lunch service to prepare your mise en place for dinner, all of those, the components of your mise en place are already done. The butchering's done, the sauces are done and so on. So if you want to invest in your, in your career, you know, I suggest you start going in early and volunteering. That's how you'll accelerate your career. Okay, so we have you in the United States now,

living with your grandmother, and you're going to culinary school? I am, I am. I'm going to culinary school, and I'll take a step, you know, just in terms of cannabis, because it is a huge part of my life, but it's not my story, you know. My cannabis consumption, cannabis as an ingredient, and cannabis as medicine is a part of my story. You know, my cannabis consumption, cannabis as an ingredient and cannabis as medicine is a part of my story. And so I've smoked joints every day of my life since I was 12 years old. What I didn't realize was, and I only realized as, you know, decades later that I was consuming

cannabis at the time because I had psoriasis. It was, I would wake up in the middle of the night, burnt to a crisp from my light treatment or be uncomfortable or wake up with blood and, and, and, and all of these scales in my bed. And the only way I would fall back asleep is to wake up, smoke a joint and go back to sleep. Back then I thought it was because I was a degenerate. I love playing guitar and love the grateful dead. But the truth of the matter is, all these years later, it taught me it's because I used it as medicine. Yes, of course.

You were reaping the medicinal benefits of the herb. I wasn't the herb. Absolutely. And many people are. And that stigma you're referring to, so I just had, I think it was two weeks ago,

but we talked about Stu Stone earlier, but I had him, Canada Kev, my neighbor Kareem and andy palalis from canada cabana we did an outdoor episode in my backyard uh cannabis friendly so everybody sparked one up and we were talking quite did you spark one i did i sparked one up yes chef not every day since like you but uh i did spark one up in that episode but my question is about stigma okay because there was a, you know, Kareem is struggling with this,

particularly with somebody very close to him in his life. So he smokes weed every day, and he loves smoking weed, but he senses, well, he gets it from his, I won't say who it is, but somebody close to him. But the stigma, you experience this firsthand. I mean, you're smoking weed, you're listening to Grateful Dead, you must be a degenerate mean, you're smoking weed, you're listening to Grateful Dead,

you must be a degenerate and, um, you're heading for bad life. And I struggled with mental health and I was in a school, you know, I dropped out of regular school and, and went to transition to, to a school called the Jerome D. Diamond Adolescent Center at Mount Pleasant, Neglington in Toronto. There's 30 kids in the school and it gave me the tools in my toolbox to be successful today. Um, stigma, of course, every day, but here's the difference. I don't give a shit. I am, uh, I am a father. I am husband. I contribute to society. I am a creative. I am a very passionate person. But I'm going to look right into the camera, and I'm going to say this very clearly to whomever is watching and or listening.

Seven years ago, I removed gluten, dairy, and refined sugar from my diet. I was tired of dealing with the effects of my psoriasis. Every day I'd wake up, I'd be in pain. I was tired of being in pain, and I couldn't take off anymore to the sunshine. So I needed to make wholesale changes. I sought the help of a naturopath. As I said, from that one meeting, I removed gluten, dairy, and refined sugar and began consuming cannabis with the intention of becoming or affecting my health and wellness overall. In 60 days, I lost 30 pounds and my psoriasis started to go away. It changed my life. I became mentally healthy and physically healthy. I found my mental health when I found my physical health.

Seven years later, my father has a brain tumor. He is on 2000 milligrams of different cannabinoids every single day. Two weeks ago, we moved him back into his condo with my mom from my sister's house cannabis has given him a new lease on life wow cannabis is medicine if you think that cannabis that there's a stigma i can show you michelin star trained chefs some of the world-class mixologists i'm going to ohaka to to you know train other chefs there's there's so much going on in this world. Why are we caring so much about a plant that has so much positive impact on people and lives and families? Why are we stigmatizing that? I'm reading content lately about the effects of cannabis on someone and psychosis. I mean, come on people. Cannabis is medicine and, uh, and if it doesn't work for you, that's okay. But I can tell you that there's

lots of canna curious out there, people that really are interested in cannabis. And where do you go? Who do you speak to? How do you know what to buy? I mean, that's what, that's what I do for a living. That is, that is my goal. Positively impact one person every single day. No, well said, man. Well said. Uh, I hope that the stigma that you no longer give a shit about, because unfortunately some people still do give a shit, but, uh, I'm assuming that now that it's a legal drug, you know, you know, you could go in my backyard now, you could spark one up right there. Now, you'd be violating the no smoking in the house rule, but you could spark one up right there

and you would not be committing a crime of any nature. Like that must be helping with the stigma. You know, there's so much to unpack there because for us, it is legal here, federally legal here in Canada. And I walk the dog and I'm smoking a joint and me being, having, you know, my experiences and being out there and first and foremost, being a father. And I think that's, what's really critical here is, you know, I do grow cannabis and my children, you know, my son is going into, he's going to be a sophomore in college next year. This is Canada.

We don't call him a sophomore. That's the American in you. He's going into second year, university next year. And I'll tell you what's really, what makes me, and people may roll their eyes as I say this, but there's a reason I say it. My son knows the difference between microdosing a mushroom or eating or consuming cannabis versus doing a line of cocaine. He understands the difference between medicine and drugs. And so being able to educate my children and allowing them to see the transition that the metamorphosis that cannabis has allowed me to make has been life altering for them. And it trickles down. My children are better educated.

They can better educate their friends and so on. It's just the way it is. It's education, right? It's always. And this all goes, you know you you talk about where this comes from it's all the the brainwashing that was going on back in the day i mean i'm i'm from the 80s okay and as stew reminded us last week his mom still calls a cannabis dope yeah like okay think about that for a minute like the the what was it we were told it was a gateway drug right like you start smoking weed today you're going to be injecting heroin into your vein tomorrow.

Like, right? This is what we were told. A hundred percent. But, you know, I need to tell this. It's a great story of how things have changed so much, right? So back then, when I was 17 years old with this amazing long hair, I had amazing long hair. When did you lose it?

Oh, I went karachat. When I moved to Israel, I had to go and shave my head because my psoriasis was basically like a skull cap on my scalp. You needed sun to get at it. I needed it. So back then it was by choice.

Clearly now, not by choice. But it looks good on you. Some people can pull it off and some it's not as good a look, but you actually have a good skull for baldness. I definitely have. I definitely have. Thank God I've got a decent head.

Yes. See, I don't want to know what I would look like. I might look just like a freak. I've been blessed with, I'm blessed in that regard. I might not be 6'4", like you thought I was or maybe hoped I was,

but got a good head of hair. You do have a great... Let's not find out what's going on underneath that. You do have a great head of hair. Yeah, no question. All right, but sorry, back to your story there. What was the story? Oh, yeah, yeah, no, I've got the story.

I've got the story. Your long hair. You know, so back then, you know, where I was the stoner pothead burnout, right? Like that was me. That was my classification, if you will. And so now fast forward where my mom has some friends that are coming in from New York about a month ago.

And my mom said to me and forwards me this text chain where her friend said, you know, I know that your son is in the cannabis space. I take these CBbn gummies for my sleep every night i know i can't bring them to canada but do you think he might be able to get me some gummies so then so of course i am you know it's you said here's the canna cabana location well i'm like okay so i you know obviously being in the space and having a couple of friends in the space i recruited some couple of friends in the space, I recruited some friends.

I was able to get my hands on some CBN gummies and hand-delivered them to my sister's house where my folks were still living at the time and their friends were over. And I said to them, you know, isn't it funny how I was back then this stoner burnout pothead and here I am hand delivering you cannabis, you know, as a 50 year old. That's wild. Right.

I love that. The times have really, really changed. Okay. So, but you said seven years ago you had this moment. So you went to see a naturopath. Correct.

And then it's the three things you remove from your diet completely. Gluten, dairy, and refined sugar. Correct. So just quickly, I'll let you know, you will not be enjoying the two products that I give to every guest who comes on Toronto Mike

because there's plenty of gluten, there's plenty of gluten, dairy, and refined sugar to be found in the Palma Pasta lasagnas. You cannot eat that. And there's gluten, of course, in the Great Lakes beer. You can't drink that either. These are things that are not part of your diet. No, they aren't. I don't drink. I don't drink. It's not good for me. And I'll tell you what's happened is in the last seven years, I've admittedly, and maybe this is breaking news,

but I have an addiction and a crazy addiction. I'm addicted to being healthy. I'm really addicted to being healthy. I love it. I, you know, we've become so conditioned to, yeah, I'm just going to eat this big Mac or, you know, it's eight o'clock in the morning. I'll go to drive through, get a, you know, egg McMuffin, but I know I'll be in the toilet in half an hour. Right. Like that, that's just how conditioned we become to food sometimes. And I'm like, you know what? I don't wake up anymore feeling crappy because of what I ate the previous night. And even if I go and I, you know, I do something or eat something that's against the grain outside of my norm, I come back to center very quickly and it doesn't impact me.

But there are certain food stuff that I absolutely have to cut out. But there are lots of foods. So is it difficult for you? I mean, if you're a chef, so making your own food, this would not be a big deal because you just make it. But when you go out, like when you go to a restaurant, is it difficult to find something without gluten, dairy? I have to correct you on that.

Okay, go ahead. Because I'll tell you why it was difficult. Tell me. I have been trained a certain way for decades. I have made pasta a certain way. I've made ice cream a certain way. I've created sauces a certain way. And I've created breads and baked goods and so on and all

of them all of them contain either or gluten dairy refined sugar right and refined sugar whatever the case may be so when i had to remove those ingredients from my diet it was like you know i this is top of mind because i just edited this story too, but it was like gluten, dairy, and refined sugar, lions and tigers and bears. Oh my. Right. Like what the, look, what am I going to do here? How am I going to create ice cream? How am I going to create a chocolate truffle? And so for the last seven years on my journey, as I've been recreating all of the foods that I've always loved using ingredients my natural path would approve of and my body tolerates, I've been redefining the narrative of what cannabis food and beverage can be. So if you think about my father who has this brain tumor right now, I cannot go to a

dispensary, buy my father a gummy or a food stuff that is without refined sugar and hand it to him. I can't do that because it doesn't exist necessarily here. And it doesn't exist in many places on the globe. And quite frankly, North America is really one of the only places you're going to start seeing cannabis food stuff. So at least legally, you know, so, so why aren't we producing better food stuff? And that's the soapbox that I live on, is trying to change that narrative where we're talking about healthier foodstuff. We're talking about tomato sauce that has three ingredients.

We're talking about ice cream that's made with coconut milk. We're talking about, instead of a dolce de leche, now a dolce de coconut. So instead of, you know, using condensed milk, I'm actually taking amazing coconut milk, combining it with maple syrup, amazing Canadian maple syrup, two ingredients, reducing that down until it becomes this thick, thick mixture. And then that's my dolce de leche or dolce de coconut. All of my desserts are plant-based. Everything is quote unquote healthy

or clean. Now, quick question. When you delete gluten, dairy, and refined sugar from your diet and you realize that your psoriasis is starting to go away, and of course, you're going to, by the way, you'll lose the weight because so many of our calories come from food stuff that would have gluten, dairy, and refined sugar in it. I feel like that would just cleanse your diet to a point where you wouldn't have the calories. But regardless of the weight loss, which is amazing, by the way, but the psoriasis starts

to go away, which is everything. Did you have a mindset of like, okay, I remove these three things. Let me add one back and see if the psoriasis stays away because maybe it's one of those things or is it just simply you just got addicted to being healthy and those three things, you're healthier without those three items in your diet? Full disclosure, it's way more than three. It's nightshade, vegetables, tomatoes, eggplants. Tomatoes?

I don't know if I could do that. Raw tomatoes I don't eat necessarily. And it's not to say I don't eat. I'll eat from time to time. But eggplant, you know, only recently after seven years have I started to maybe eat a piece of eggplant, potato, rice. Rice is something that converts into sugar in your body. So I really stayed away from rice. So quinoa became my grain of choice. So there's

been many, many, many ingredients that I've removed. and what we call that if if people look it up it's aip autoimmune protocol so where you're removing a bunch of these inflammatory ingredients and then to your point absolutely you can slowly uh integrate them back into your diet i have tried and because there are certain sponsors i don't want to speak to you know like specific food it's okay i mean i mean i can't drink beer You're not going to drink beer. That's fine. I can't drink beer. Beer ruined me last year, last summer. Is that because of the wheat?

Yeast. The yeast, right? Yeah, the gluten. It just- Right. I ended up, and I am sometimes an emotional eater like many people.

Sure. And if I'm in a bad mood, in a bad way, having a bad day, you might see me having a scoop of a Hug and Does, which used to be a food group in my world. You know what I mean? Like I used to love Hug and Does, but it wouldn't negatively impact me to take a spoon of it. If I ate a whole pint of it, it would definitely. But if I'm sad or I'm having a bad day, I'll eat something. And, you know, sometimes it will, you know, it can negatively impact me.

That happened on a canoe trip with one beer. And it landed me, landed me in a very, very, very bad place. Well, so much of this is knowing your body. Like, it took you, it took you some time, but it sounds like over the last several years, you've come very far in understanding what triggers the psoriasis. So let me ask you today, here we are 2022, are you psoriasis symptom free right now or is it mild? What's going on with your psoriasis?

So the story is we got into a pandemic. There's this world, this global pandemic, and everyone is getting vaccines. I have avoided, since you mentioned, excuse me, cyclosporine, methotrexate, and Accutane, I have stayed away for decades from conventional treatment. We got into this global pandemic. My wife said to me,

George, if you plan on integrating back into society, you're going to need, namely, traveling. If you want to travel, you're going to have to get vaccinated. Not against my better judgment. I think I

still would probably do it again but the first one i hadn't been sick in seven years put me in gave me my first fever um woke up wasn't feeling great but started to recover then fast forward uh i had my beer It sent me into a little bit of a valley and then I recovered. And then I took the second dose of Moderna. And I was in bed for two days straight with a high fever. It was a Friday. I woke up Monday and I was covered head to toe in psoriasis. Now, when I say head to toe in psoriasis, I don't mean, because I've been uncomfortable in my life every day in my life. But I tell you that

death would have probably been the only alternative for me if I had to live my life the way I was living for that four weeks. It was intolerable. I couldn't, my hands were swollen. Basically, if you think about a snake and they're shedding their you know that that layer that's what happened is basically my my entire body swelled to a point where i lost an entire layer of skin i had no choice but to go to an dermatologist doctor and i'm going to shout him out because a dermatologist doctor and i'm gonna shout him out because holy shit this man saved my life he saved my life dr david adam saved my life i went to a dermatologist and uh i got in i'm shaking um my sister got me into dr david adam and uh he looked at me he said

like you have no choice you cannot leave here if this was my brother if you were my brother you'd be on this treatment so i went on a biologic called sky rizzy and uh i haven't told this story i haven't told this story in a long time. It just killed me. I went on this drug called Sky Rizzy. And in four weeks, I was cleared. And for nine months. And there's some things that go on a little bit.

There's no side effects. But, you know, there's almost ghost scratching under my arms. And I'm feeling it. But to answer your question, very long way of answering it. Uh, I'm clear. I'm totally clear of my psoriasis. I am totally clear. And you know, I'm, I'm, I, I've combined now, uh, Eastern and Western medicine. My diet is, uh, obviously continues to be a huge part of it. My cannabis consumption continues to be a huge part of it. I microdose mushrooms, not daily, but certainly multiple times a week. And, uh, you know, it's all about,

it's just as, as, as balanced a life as I can lead. but that was, uh, definitely an impactful, you know, this, this man changed my life. When you say he saved your life, are you, I just want to understand, is it that the psoriasis would kill you or were you like,

were you in a dark place? You know, the truth of the matter is, is that a good friend of mine committed suicide in 2021. And, um, the happiest guy, the funniest guy you'd ever meet. And, uh, I never, when I was young, I used to think about taking my life. I was struggling very hard, you know, when I was a kid and mental health, it was really

tough for me. And I was on antidepressants. And, you know, when you talk about awareness, I'm very self-aware. I'm aware of my body. I'm aware of my mind. I'm very self-aware because I've been in therapy since I was eight years old. I would have chosen to not live if I had to live that way. It was intolerable.

I wasn't living. I was truly in those four weeks. I was a captive. I was captive in my own body. I was, I was, I was held captive in my own body. Chef. Okay. I mentioned off the top, this is the third time I've met you, but to be clear with everybody, we've been meeting on zoom for for i don't know if it's been a year but it's it's been a while uh maybe more than a year and we'd we'd meet on the regular we met we meet all the time on zoom because of course of of the great podcast in the weeds you got to know this man i'm gonna i'm trying to look at you and stay in the mic but honest to god when i see my phone has the name chef jordan wag, that's how you are my client.

When I see that name, I'll answer. Like right now my ringer is off. So if I'm in the middle of the recording, I might not answer. But if I can, I always answer. And I'm just letting you know, man, because I've grown to just like totally like admire you, adore you. I think the world of you, I know how many people you've been helping in this world,

but if you're ever in a fucking dark place, I'm just making sure you know. Call me. Just call me, man. I'll fucking bike to you and tell you a joke, whatever I have to do, man, but I'll talk you through whatever. Just call me, man.

I can't believe you were thinking of ending your life during this period. do you know that i i don't uh i don't claim to be anything that i am on social media in person i um i'm real and we're all struggling. You know, the pandemic was really tough and I'm not the only one who was negatively impacted by the vaccine. That,

that switch was flipped for many of us who struggle with an autoimmune disease. And I'll tell you, and I put this out there on all podcasts, right? And so I don't mind saying it here is that, you know, if there's someone listening and you're struggling,

like let's, let's commiserate, you know,ate you know my my dms are always open to speak to people tell people your handle yeah chef jordan wagman everywhere you know jordan wagman yeah chef jordan wagman everywhere jordan wagman on linkedin i love linkedin but you know my my goal is to positively impact people and you know the only way that we can actually be goal is to positively impact people. And, you know, the only way that we can actually be impactful is to be real. Curate yourself. I curate my real self on social media. I have no problem crying. I have no problem laughing. I have no problem being an intellect. And also being that person who says, I put my hand up and say, I don't know what the hell you're talking about. Please teach me. I want to learn. And I love, you know, two ears, one mouth. I love to learn. I love

to listen. But I'll tell you the one thing that is, has been so incredibly impactful is the people that reach out, you know, being in person these days and going to some of these shows, O'Cannabis and Lyft and going to Spain and walking through down these aisles and someone saying, chef, thank you. Like, thank you. Thank you for putting yourself out there or thank you for this. You never know who's listening.

You never know who's resonating with your words or your tears or your laughter. And I'll tell you, it feels really good to impact people positively and know that I'm just doing it because I'm being my real self. So, you know, I just, I put myself out there. If you're struggling, hey, let's struggle together. That's a two-way street, buddy. Your authenticity is what draws me to you. I got no time. I always tell my kids I'm allergic to bullshit. You know, that's when I start to get itchy. But man, you're not to make light of that, of course. Sounds horrific.

But yeah, you're authentic. And that's why I think you're a good podcaster. But it's why you're an even better friend, man. And I'm so glad this doctor you shouted out who's saved your life. I owe him the Palma Pasta and the Great Lakes beers. So I'm going to put that guy up. That's amazing, man. Yeah, he's an incredible human.

And, you know, it's funny. I'm always out there trying to impact people. trying to impact people. And sometimes it's those that impact me that I just, I'm not used to that. I'm not used to someone doing something for me. I'm used to being the giver and not the taker, you know? And so when someone like that impacts your life, it's incredibly powerful, for sure.

All right, I got a little song because we're going to transition here just a little bit. And this seems to be... So these are FOTMs. This is a little Dwayne Gretzky. Great vocals. In a moment I'll explain Why am I playing Dwayne Gretzky It's all going to make sense in a moment But I want to just give you something here Chef

I'm told this is gluten free. There's no refined sugar. This is a Toronto Mike sticker from sticker. You.com. Awesome. Sticker. You.com have been amazing partners of this program for years. And I want to shout them out and let everybody know if you need stickers or decals or anything of that nature,

you go to sticker. You.com there. It's good people, you go to StickerU.com. It's good people, but it's quality shit too. Thank you. Speaking of quality shit, this is a call to all FOTMs listening that Dewar Pants, D-U-E-R. By the way, the pants, shorts, and the shirt, that's what I was wearing the day I saw you at O'Cannabis when I was moderating that panel. I had a pair of Dewar pants on. I had a Dewar t-shirt on. And you can save, right now you can save 15% in the retail store, which is on Queen Street West,

or at Dewar.ca, D-U-E-R.ca, if you use the promo code TMDS. And it really helps the program. So get yourself some quality garb. You won't regret it. Good quality pants. And you can wear them, like I say, in the bike lane and the boardroom. It's perfect for Toronto, Mike. It's perfect for you. Thank you, Dewar, for your support. Chef, why am I playing Dwayne Gretzky? Well, A, they're awesome. But I can tell you I couldn't be prouder of my involvement with Kind Magazine.

And Kind Magazine, Kind Media and Events, the publisher is my good friend Josh Nagel, and he's created this incredible team, Shabazz Kara. And we have Nicole Wolfe, and I mean Mallory, and I mean Hassan, and I mean, Mallory. And, I mean, Hasan. And, I mean, Jen. This entire team is incredible. But here's why we're playing Dwayne Gretzky.

This summer, July 5th and 6th, down at Rebel City View in Toronto, we are hosting the first of its kind, Kind Summer Fair, where we're hosting this amazing, amazing carnival. And on day one, day one, the show is none other than Dwayne Gretzky.

What day is this happening? July 5th. That's July 5th. That's the Dwayne Gretzky. And then second day, we have Afrobeats. It's going to be lights out. This event

is the first of its kind here in Canada. Okay. Wow. Kind Festival. Kind Summer Fair. Yep. Okay.

Kind Summer Fair. Where exactly do you get tickets for this? Like, where do you want people to go? Yeah. Kind Summer Fair. So it's actually at kindsummerfair.ca. And if you use the promo code WAGS, W-A-G-S 25, you'll get a nice promotion there.

Nice discount. But here's what's really special about it. So this is a two-day festival, two-day fair. That part of it is there's kind gardens, which is if you're a bud tender, if you're in the space, you can actually come in for the first of its kind sampling event. It's going to be lights out where we've really sort of brought in all of these licensed producers. And over two days, they're going to have this amazing captive audience of 500 bud tenders each day. They're going to be able to talk about their product and have that face time because we know in the cannabis industry and our friend mutual friend andy can tell you the most influential person in the cannabis space is the bud tender because they are consumer facing yeah shout out to canada kev who uh i'm gonna guess right now is already uh using wags 25 to pick up his tickets at the the kind summer fair but uh

canada kev he talked about his experience at canada cabana he walked in he wasn't sure about like what strain for this and that and he said these bud tenders they know their shit and they'll walk you through it so if you're a newbie like if you're a cannabis newbie don't be intimidated just have a conversation with these bud tenders yeah and i and and and here's the the pushback on is, it's not every bud tender that's as knowledgeable as the next. There are some incredibly talented and knowledgeable people, but like in every space, you know, we need to be educated. And that's what this is.

It's about education through entertainment and being able to look at people in the eyes as you're educating them. The Kind Gardens also comes with incredible speakers. So I'll tell you, and here's a little secret, Jamie Pearson, who was just on my podcast, In the Weeds, a couple of weeks ago, right? She's the CEO and president of Bang, Bang Chocolate, B-H-A-N-G. They have some of the top selling chocolates here in Canada through Indiva, they have some of the top selling chocolates here in canada through in diva but they're a global brand jamie is one of the keynote speakers and we have incredible speakers that are coming on the stage to be engaging to educate and to entertain it's going to be amazing and then outside outside

we have 5 000 people that are coming each day dwaywayne Gretzky, yeah, it's going to be incredible. We have food trucks galore. Rick's Good Eats. La Palma is coming. We have Funnel Cake Express. We have La Vietnamita Carnita. We have amazing, amazing food trucks that are coming out to support this. We have Carnival Eats.

We have Carnival Games. It's going to be lights out. And what it is, and that's really what this is if you're in the cannabis space if you if you love cannabis even if you're kind of curious come out enjoy celebrate with us and meet your c-suite meet your bud tenders meet your personalities that are in the space it's going to be a one-of-a-kind experience amazing and after two years of this bullshit we've been dealing with with this fucking pandemic it's just so amazing that we're back to doing things like this is the thing then this is the summer i'm out doing everything i can because uh i just lost two years i missed i missed this i missed this mike i missed being able to to be in person well we

would have done this in the backyard yeah true no that's true that is true i really do miss being in person i'm i'm a physical person i like to hug people i like to you know just that's who i am and so i've really missed you know that that connection chefing chefing what's the term like when you're your chef do you chef are you chefing okay so so give us a little taste of what your life is like with regard to chefing. Like, do you cook for a restaurant? Do you like, do you host meals? Like what does chef Jordan Wegman do if people want to actually eat his food?

I have a couple parts of my life, right? So, so there's definitely the media side, which is, excuse me, as we know, we just shot another pilot yesterday for a new show that's coming out. So I have a new, a new cooking show that's coming out on Cannabis Wiki. We started shooting that at the beginning of the pandemic called Eating Green. Eating Green! Oh, that's Jackie Childs involved with that, right? Yeah, yeah. I know her. Yeah, I know, I have a lot of media stuff going on and I love to produce content. Then I have my formulation side where I'm working with different licensed producers and brands that are coming to market or looking to

revolutionize products and create cleaner products. And then I have my philanthropy, which is really important. So that's the three of four. My fourth is the cooking. really important. So that's the three of four. My fourth is the cooking. Cooking is something that I do because I love it. And so once a week I host events either in my home, which I have my own event space in my garage that I've created. So it's like in, you know, in home catering, but I create 10 to 15 course either course, either infused or non-infused experiences. course either infused or non-infused experiences. Everything is very seasonal. It's very simple food done very well. And I will also come to people's homes. I travel. I was just, and this was the story very recently where I had a gig at the Hall of Flowers in Palm Springs. And then a week later, I was going to LA. So I was going to be in California for two weeks. And then I got to the

airport and they denied me entrance into the US as a US citizen because I wasn't traveling on my US passport. But now I'm going to pick that up tomorrow. And so, yeah, so I'm back to traveling to the US and globally. And yeah, so I love cooking, but it's only once a week. US and globally. And yeah, so I love cooking, but it's only once a week. Okay, amazing. Now, just quick aside is that her name is Jackie Childs. And I always think of Seinfeld, the lawyer's name was Jackie Childs. Do you remember this?

No, I don't. Because similarly, you mentioned psoriasis, right? So Jackie Childs was upset because, I'm trying to remember now, Kramer used balm. Oh my god, I totally remember that was a spoof of Jackie from the O.J. Simpson Yeah, yeah, yeah. Who told you to use a balm? Did I tell you to use a balm?

That's hilarious. So here's the thing about Jackie Child and you know to look at Jackie is to say, you know, what a stunning woman. And there's no question. But I know her to be a stunning woman inside. And she is just another person in my life who came to cannabis because she had a challenge.

Jackie has Crohn's. Jackie has had problems with her innards. That's why she gave me one of the greatest compliments I've ever received in my culinary life a couple years ago. She was over at my house pre-pandemic for an event, and she said, you know, Jordan, I actually could eat tonight. That's the greatest compliment for someone that struggles, and I know how it is going out with something wrong with your innards

and afraid to eat the food because you might end up in the bathroom three minutes later. And that's the greatest compliment. She's become such a good friend. She's such a kind, kind human. That is my friend, Jackie Childs. Shout out to Jackie Childs. Awesome. Actually, so I met her on Zoom a few times because she'd appear on Dr. Mike Hart's podcast, Heart to Heart.

But then I also met the same events I've met you at. I've met Jackie. So if I'm going to meet Chef Jordan Wagman, Jackie Childs will be there as well. A hundred percent. And next week, we're all in London, Ontario at the Cannabis Wiki Convention. That's a long bike ride, but I'll do it if I need to. Awesome. So Chef, amazing that we finally did this,

but is there anything, like any story or any question that you were thinking of maybe on your drive here? Now, I don't want you to be driving home and thinking, oh, I forgot to ask about this or I forgot to share this story. This is where you can drain the swamp, so to speak. Is there anything in your mind you want to share here before lowest of the low play us out? Listen, life is hard. And that's really what it comes down to. It's not supposed to be easy. And I feel really blessed to be able to, and

blessed is maybe the wrong word, fortunate to be able to wake up now and say, I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. And if you aren't, get there. You know, if I can help you, I want to. I make time for what's important. I think we all need to. I think if the pandemic has taught us all anything, it's that there's perspective out there. And we miss each other. We miss, you know, I think that we were all sort of, through this perspective of the pandemic, some of us, many of us understand and maybe dialed our life back a little bit and went back to the more simple ways of cooking and enjoying food and connecting with your family through board games. And, you know, and I'm really encouraged by, you know, what I see in my family

that although everyone's getting back to the hustle and bustle, there is that connection where we never really had family dinners before. And now we are. And so I'm really happy with where I'm at. I feel really fortunate to have had the struggles that I've had in my life. And I know that's strange to say, but every struggle in the moment has been really hard for me to sort of see the trees through the forest. But with perspective, if you allow, and I think it was Brett Puffenbarger

on In the Weeds that may have said, if you allow there to be perspective, there can be perspective. And so I'm allowing perspective in my life. I'm allowing loss to occur and to evaluate it without really getting, pardon the pun, sort of stuck in the weeds. And so I really, all of that to say, if you're struggling, I am too. And life is not easy, but you're not alone and never think you are. And, you know, you, Mike, I'm very appreciative of your friendship and being there for me.

And you've always been. And thank you for everything that you've done for me and continue to do because you are a great friend. Chef Jordan Wagman, you are a true inspiration. I'm like just delighted to hear that your dad was able to go home. That's the best news I got out of this podcast. And I'm glad you've got the addiction to feeling healthy because you're enjoying life. And we need more Chef Jordan Wagmans in this world.

We need more of you. And I'm glad you're feeling better, buddy. Thank you, brother. And that... That... And that... That brings us to the end of our 1063rd show. You can follow me on Twitter. I'm at TorontoMikeChef. Are you at ChefJordanWagman?

At WagmanJordan on Twitter. Okay, on Twitter, it's at WagmanJordan. Follow the chef. Our friends at Great Lakes Brewery are at Great Lakes Beer. By the way, chef, on September 1st from 6 to 9 p.m., we're having a big event at Great Lakes Beer here, Southern Etobicoke Campus, because they have a new location on Jarvis.

But we're going to have TMLXX which is the 10th Toronto Mike listener experience and it's going to be awesome so tell your friends and if you could be there that would be amazing yes guy now I owe Jim Taddy

50 bucks thanks very much Palma Pasta is at Palma Pasta Sticker U is at Sticker U. Dewar are at Dewar Performance. Remember, Dewar is D-U-E-R. Ridley Funeral Home are at Ridley F-H. And Canna Cabana are at Canna Cabana underscore. See you all next week.

I've been under my skin for more than eight years. It's been eight years of laughter and eight years of tears And I don't know what the future can hold or do for me and you But I'm a much better man for having known you

Oh, you know that's true because everything is coming up rosy and gray. Yeah, the wind is cold, but the smell of snow won't stay today. And your smile is fine, and it's just like mine, and it won't go away. Because everything is rosy and gray. Cause everything is rosy and green Well, I've been told that there's a sucker born every day But I wonder who

Yeah, I wonder who