Duke Ellington was playing in the background, surround sound system of course, at her AYÉ brand launch and it made sense. Stepping into the world of Master Vegan Chef Stacey Dougan is one constant loop of mesmerizing.
Transporting us all on this night was the setting: an homage to the Harlem Renaissance luminaries of that period. The era that celebrated intellectuality, culture, and the contribution and impact of African-American art and music that became what we now know as the Roaring Twenties.
And if we’re talking Chef Stacey Dougan, we’re talking about a woman of regality. A luminary in her own right.
In partnership with her business partner (and brother) William “Bilz” Dougan, they set out to create AYÉ: ultra premium organic edibles and premiere cannabis experience events company.
“We are also going to offer customized branded events to dispensaries, cultivation, and local private cannabis enthusiasts,” Chef Stacey Dougan shares exclusively.
The first Las Vegas-based premiere luxury plant-based edible brand: a healthy cannabis brand that helps heal the mind and body and helps the mind transcend.
Think infused homemade dried kale chips tossed in THC olive oil and seasoned with signature spices and sea salt (10 mg. per serving). Sold in 8 oz. package for 3-4 servings ($15) or 16 oz. package for 6-8 servings ($30).
Even! Vegan chocolate (10 mg. THC per cookie) made with: wheat flour, turbinado cane sugar, vanilla extract, baking soda, salt, chocolate chips, almond milk, and THC coconut oil (half Dozen for $30 or a dozen for $48).
And “Tincture Bottles” made with Everclear grain alcohol, cannabis extract (20 mg. THC per serving). It’s available in 5 oz. for 15 servings ($40), 1 oz. for 30 servings ($65), and 2 oz. for 60 servings ($95).
Fun fact: AYÉ means “Life” and “Earth” in the West-African language “Yoruba”. West Africa is a region where cannabis grows abundantly. Most importantly, Chef Stacey lived in Ghana for two-years. There, she found out her last name, Dougan, originated from Cape Coast, a city home to the Cape Coast Slave Castle.
Chef Stacey Dougan’s contributions to our Las Vegas foodie community is beyond her plant-based restaurant Simply Pure (which operates temporarily online. You can place your orders now for pick-up or delivery).
She is not only one of the first pioneering black-owned vegan restaurant owners but she has brought plant-based food to our community by way of its medicinal healing powers.
The night saw other prominent figures in Las Vegas society like President of the Chamber of Cannabis, Tina Ulman. President and Chief Executive Officer of Nevada Partners, Monica Ford, to name a few. Amongst prominent members of the press like Al Mancini and Debbie Hall.
Signature cocktails, infused or non-infused, included “The AYÉ” cocktail and the “Cotton Club”, named in homage to the New York City nightclub from 1923 to 1940 that operateed during the U.S. Prohibition and Jim Crow racial segregation era. Hence, the playlist of the night including: Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes, Zora Neal Hurston, Nella Larsen, Louis Armstrong, and more.
The Cotton Club was a whites-only entertainment establishment. Black people were forbidden to socialize yet booked many Black entertainers of that era like Dorothy Dandridge and Duke Ellington to entertain their Bootlegging, booze consuming audience.
Live performances included live painting and live entertainment by rising local Las Vegas talent, Cam Calloway, and his band.
Tickets were sold at $125. The private dinner launch listed on secretgather.com. The event was curated by Spaced Events Entertainment. Exclusive media coverage by CARRA LUXE.
