Hemp food is all the trend now, and it's here to stay! The newly-opened cloud kitchen, The Hemp Factory currently operates out of Andheri West. And, their hemp-infused food and cheeky names caught our attention. So before you start wondering about legalised marijuana or edibles, the only thing you're getting high on here, is flavour.
For the uninitiated, while hemp does come from the cannabis plant, it has no psychoactive component (read: it has no THC). Hemp belongs to a class of cannabis sativa, but is specifically grown for industrial and medicinal use only. This plant is a great source of proteins, minerals, amino acids, omega fatty acids, and vitamin E. So, eating hemp-infused food is actually healthy. And, perfectly legal and safe as the Food Safety and Security Authority of India (FSSAI) issued a notification that hemp seeds, oil and flour shall be sold as a food ingredient as long as it conforms to their standards, as of November 15, 2021.
That's where The Hemp Factory, Mumbai's first hemp-infused kitchen comes in. And, they're working in collaboration with The Bombay Hemp Company aka BOHECO to bring forward food you can dig into, which is healthy-ish. You won't find calorie-conscious meals or only "healthy", and "diet-friendly" food here. The idea behind The Hemp Company is to transform the food you crave (think: pizzas, burgers, brownies) into something that's relatively healthier.
The delivery-only service uses hemp flour, hemp seeds, and hemp oil in various ways. For example, the pizza dough and burger buns are made out of hemp flour; salads are tossed in hemp oil; while hemp seeds are blended into smoothies. On a phone call, co-founder Navneet Shetty tells us that hemp-infused food keeps you full for hours, and even leaves you relaxed. And, two slices of pizza and an afternoon snooze later, we agree.
Every item name on the menu is a play on weed/marijuana culture, but don't let that fool you. The Hempire Burger came with a peri peri potato and corn patty with garlic mayo, cheddar cheese, in-house hemp bun, and hemp masala fries. What's it like to eat a bun made out of hemp? It's not as soft as a brioche bun, of course. It's dense, but manages to remain a soft bite, and is a little green on the inside! The potato and corn patty too is a delicious bite, easily making this one of the better veggie burgers we've eaten from a cloud kitchen. And, the thick-cut masala fries on the side are a perfect accompaniment.
Made with hemp dough (this looks brownish-green too!), the Chicken Haze Pizza could easily give any American pizza chain a run for its money. The pizza carried extremely well from Andheri West to Dadar and the base's softness with a crispy edge remained intact. The Pomodoro sauce on the base is flavour-packed and has a tomato-ey tang, and lots of Italian herbs (basil and oregano), the buffalo chicken on top has a mildly spicy kick to it.
They have a hemp flour brownie too. Perhaps an ode to Bob Marley, it's called The Marley Brownie and is eggless. You wouldn't know the difference if you didn't know it was made with hemp flour; and it comes crusted with hemp seeds, along with a chocolate sauce to help make it soft and a little gooey. We recommend warming it up in the microwave before you eat it.
The Hemp Factory's menu offers smoothies, salads, focaccia sandwiches, and pasta as well. We didn't try everything, but you should because you won't be disappointed. An order for two from here will approximately cost you INR 600, although they're offering a 50% off on all platforms at the time of writing this. The Hemp Factory is available to deliver via their website (delivery across Mumbai), Swiggy, and Zomato.
