Author Biography

S.T. Oner is a multi-talented individual with experience in both growing and cooking cannabis. For the last ten years, S.T. Oner has been growing marijuana at several undisclosed locations in California in order to produce safe, all-natural marijuana to add zest to his favorite recipes. A master chef and former catering assistant to the best hair bands of the 80s, S.T. Oner spent several years consulting for the biggest ice cream company in the world. He is currently a consultant at a candy company that is looking to modernize its products.

Published Works

Upcoming Works

The Marijuana Chef Cookbook (4th edition)

Author Interview

What would you say is the most challenging aspect of coming up with recipes using marijuana?

When cooking with marijuana, there has to be a fat-soluble component because of the extraction process. You have to activate the THC. Usually, that doesn’t have a huge impact on flavor, but it can and not everyone likes the taste of THC. I usually go for recipes that have strong flavors that will mask it. That’s why I find Jessica Catalono’s work interesting. She based her recipes in the Ganja Kitchen Revolution around the flavor profile of the weed itself, which I think is a much more challenging route to take than just hiding the flavor. 

Do you struggle with inspiration for your recipes and writing, or do you have a sense of what foods you are going to make and then just figure out how to incorporate cannabis? 

I don’t generally struggle with inspiration, no. The first edition was all about comfort food. Back then, everyone was just doing pot brownies, and I wanted to expand on the typical edibles but keep them very homey. Every other edition of the book, including the upcoming fourth edition, adds a component that was requested by readers. The second edition added a section on passing drug tests because people were asking me about it, the third added all sorts of drinks, and the fourth is going to have more portable snacks. I feel pretty lucky that people liked my work enough to request more and that they helped me come up with new ideas because I haven’t had to struggle with inspiration. Not for recipes, anyway. Just for how to actually write them out.

You were writing marijuana books before the drug was legalized in the majority of states, what sort of precautions did you take to avoid legal repercussions both as an author and as an individual? 

Every counter-culture faces judgement and there are definitely a lot of people still in jail for small-time drug offences and they should be released. I kept my specific location secret and obviously, I don’t do many events and I don’t have a picture in the about the author section. There are certain people who I don’t tell about my work. I do wish that I could be a bit more open about what I do because I genuinely love my job, but unfortunately there is still some stigma even with the progress in legalization. 

What sort of research do you have to do in order to create your books? 

Cooking is my day job and my passion, so I don’t usually have to do a bunch of research for an idea on what dishes should be included in the book. I have a bit of an arsenal all ready to go. I do have to do a lot of recipe testing and tasting, though. As confident as I am, I still have to check to make sure that a dish doesn’t have an obvious flavour of THC so I do try them out before sending them to the publisher. Whenever I am working on a new edition, I get a lot more visitors to the house, volunteering to be guinea pigs for me. 

There are some people who might look down on lifestyle books and on marijuana use and may view the sorts of books you write as less-than, or not a “real book.” What would you like to say to those people? 

I’m not offended if people say my work isn’t a “real book,” they are entitled to their opinion. 

It is unfortunate, however, that they have limited their worldview that way. I know that a lot of people buy into purity culture and gatekeeping, but I think it is a lot more fun to keep yourself open. There are some really talented and interesting potheads out there and it honestly sucks that people might write them or their work off. 

What is your favourite movie?

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Social Media

Instagram: @s.t.oner