About Travis Petersen & Dan Kennedy
Travis Petersen, known as The Nomad Cook, is a self-taught chef and culinary entrepreneur from Vancouver, British Columbia. He first gained national attention after appearing on MasterChef Canada in 2016, then pivoted from a career in oil and gas to build The Nomad Cook — a traveling pop-up dinner concept that has introduced more than 30,000 people to infused dining experiences across more than 1,000 events in over 150 cities and seven countries. He is the author of The Nomad Cook: Introduction to Culinary Cannabis, launched the Culinary Cannabis Summit in partnership with the American Culinary Federation, and created one of Canada’s first recognized culinary cannabis certificate programs. His work is centered on responsible dosing, extraction technique, and building professional standards for culinary cannabis across North America. At the time of this recording he had just completed a final nationwide pop-up tour and was transitioning to hosting smaller omakase-style dinners from his home in Miami.
Dan Kennedy was Head Chef at Pasta Bar in Austin, Texas — the Michelin-recognized concept from chef Phillip Frankland Lee.
Episode Overview
André Natera reunites with Travis Petersen and Dan Kennedy for a wide-ranging conversation that covers culinary cannabis, the realities of life on the road as a nomadic chef, and the unwritten rules of professional kitchen culture. Travis breaks down the physical and logistical demands of his final nationwide pop-up tour, the shift toward intimate omakase-style home dinners in Miami, and his plans to expand culinary cannabis education through an ACF-linked summit launching in New York. The conversation gets into the legal gray areas of cannabis events and brand sponsorships, responsible dosing and hospitality in intimate dining settings, terpene-focused strain pairing, and technique specifics including cannabis-infused Maldon salt.
The episode also covers what cooking competition shows actually look like behind the scenes — with Travis drawing on his MasterChef Canada experience and Dan weighing in on the Top Chef decision-making process — along with debate on comping meals for visiting chefs, tipping expectations, and kitchen communication norms including the “yes chef” versus “heard” debate.
Topics covered in this episode:
- The physical and logistical grind of Travis’s final nationwide pop-up tour
- The shift to smaller omakase-style cannabis dinners in Miami
- The ACF-linked Culinary Cannabis Summit and expanding professional education
- Responsible dosing, hospitality, and safety at cannabis dining events
- Terpene-focused strain pairing and why terpenes matter more than indica vs. sativa
- Technique: making cannabis-infused Maldon salt and other kitchen applications
- The legal gray areas of cannabis events and brand sponsorships
- The future of cannabis in restaurant settings
- What cooking competition shows look like behind the scenes — MasterChef, Top Chef, and the Voltaggio effect
- The etiquette debate: comping meals for visiting chefs and tipping expectations
- Kitchen communication norms: “yes chef” versus “heard”
Timestamps
00:00 – Show intro and guests
00:18 – Sponsor message
01:21 – Final tour grind
03:13 – Travel gear and plate chaos
04:54 – Mentoring popup chefs
07:09 – Cannabis Summit and ACF partnership
09:35 – Selling out and key takeaways
10:50 – Miami home dinners
13:54 – Hospitality and the intimate dining experience
22:05 – Paris takeover panic
24:52 – Cannabis in restaurants
26:59 – MasterChef lessons and TV reality
31:04 – The Top Chef decision
32:13 – The Voltaggio effect and hype lessons
32:54 – Ink Kitchen grind
34:13 – Pasta Bar experience
35:53 – Chefs as guests
36:49 – Quality versus quantity
38:14 – Cannabis dinner safety
39:24 – Terpenes over indica
42:52 – The future of cannabis food
43:53 – Comping and tipping
48:26 – The Versailles wine story
51:10 – Terpene snobs and joints
53:22 – The kitchen callouts debate
59:17 – Tour dates and wrap
Links & Resources
Travis Petersen on Instagram: @the_nomadcook
Travis Petersen Website: thenomadcook.com
Dan Kennedy on Instagram: @chefdankennedy
Subscribe to Chef’s PSA → youtube.com/@ChefsPSA
Shop Chef’s PSA Merch → shop.chefspsa.com
Visit Chef’s PSA Website → chefspsa.com
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Audible