These chocolaty treats and juicy gumdrops are not your average THC edibles—just wait until you try this season’s heavenly flavors.
Keep an eye out for chef Rose’s summer flavors—he’s currently working on lemon pie and carrot cake sweets.
Explore the confectionery haven of Insa’s (insa.com) master pastry chef and chocolatier, Julian Rose, where Champagne gummy drops, luscious truffles and handmade, European chocolate send you into a dreamlike daze. After growing up amid the sweet aromas of his family bakery, Patisserie Rose, in Quebec, Rose moved on to curating desserts for Montreal’s La Marguerite restaurant and traveling Europe before assuming the role of director of the Chocolate Academy in Canada. Now, at Easthampton’s Insa, he’s combined four decades of innovative chocolate-making to create THC-packed bites that delight. “What I’ve seen in the last seven years in cannabis edibles is that there was not a quest for quality,” explains Rose. “Manufacturers would produce low-quality chocolates, but I want to have an outstanding-tasting product that’s as good as people can get in a high-quality European shop.” And needless to say, he’s far exceeded his goal—so much so that Insa clients are begging Rose for cannabis-free variations of his treats so they can eat more at once. With this said, what Rose has on the docket for the spring is sure to please: Think cannabis chocolate bars in flavors of maple white chocolate or raspberry and yuzu chocolate; new gumdrop flavors; and semi-liquid salted caramel truffles. “The truffle is interesting because it has this great pop when you bite into it and inside is that creamy soft caramel,” says Rose about the ooey-gooey treat. “My objective is to bring the flavor first, texture second, workmanship third and ‘oh, it happens to have THC’ fourth.” With a traditional background in confections, Rose enjoys exploring the uncharted waters of cannabis sweets, so needless to say, the future possibilities are endless. “It’s not easy to work with chocolate, and it has these very narrow parameters that you have to obey,” shares the chocolatier. “Almost with no limits [in edibles], I can create styles of chocolates that are not necessarily bound by the standard guidelines.”
Photography by: Courtesy of Insa
