French pizza chef makes Lille鈥檚 first cannabis dough
A pizza茂olo in Lille (Hauts-de-France) has created the city鈥檚 first ever legal pizza dough made with cannabis.
Claudio Nigro, chef at the VIP Pizzeria in Saint-Andr茅, by using hemp flour, purchased from a local organic food shop, rather than leaves or oil of cannabis itself.
Hemp, which originally comes from the cannabis plant and has the botanical name of 鈥淐annabis Sativa L鈥�, is legal in France. It contains less than 0.2% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive element in cannabis that causes users to become 鈥渉igh鈥�.
Despite this, orders for the pizzas have risen by 30% since the new flour鈥檚 introduction, and have even attracted a visit from four local police officers keen to check out the legality of the new dish.
: 鈥淭hey came to check that everything was legal. In France, we are still at the stage where this sort of thing makes people scared. It鈥檚 like I鈥檝e offended a religion. But there is nothing extraordinary about it. I know that in ten years, this will be normal. I want to be a trailblazer in this area.鈥�
He explained that the hemp flour has significant health benefits; contains a good source of protein and fibre, and is easily digestible.
: 鈥淚 am passionate about nutrition and in my work, I try to unite pleasure with gastronomy and health. I have always liked adding things to my organic flour.
鈥淚 started with bran, then rye, and then recently I鈥檝e put in hemp. It is just like any other flour [but] has an added nutty taste.鈥�
The VIP Pizzeria serves the hemp pizza dough with a healthy topping of fresh tomatoes and mixed salad leaves, as well as a ball of burrata cheese.
In defence of the legality of the flour, and the lack of THC in it, Mr Nigro : 鈥淢y aim is to feel like I am on another planet [not because of THC, but] simply because of the quality of the ingredients."
