The Journey of Lazy Bear Reserve Movie

  • First-of-Its-Kind Culinary Cannabis Collaboration 

This marks the first-ever partnership between a restaurant and a cannabis farm to develop a bespoke strain—elevating cannabis to the same level as fine wine and spirits in the culinary world. 

  • Three Years of Innovation & Pheno-Hunting 

The Lazy Bear Reserve strain is the result of an intensive, three-year pheno-hunting journey across thousands of plants with leading geneticists and breeders from around the world. The goal? To craft the perfect strain with a bouquet of Meyer lemon and redwood, aromas that tie into the Bay Area’s culinary history and natural ecosystem, respectively, and that appear constantly in Lazy Bear’s cuisine. Humboldt Seed Co. played a crucial role in refining the final selection. 

  • Industry Legends Join the Selection Process 

Celebrated horticulturalists and cannabis icons like Jorge Cervantes and Ed Rosenthal participated in the pheno-hunts, evaluating plants and helping to narrow down to the final strain selection.

 

  • Unlike Any Other Cannabis Collaboration 

This is not a celebrity-endorsed strain or a private-label release—it’s a true genetic innovation, developed over literally years of careful breeding, selection, and cultivation.

  • Handpicked for Lazy Bear’s Culinary Experience 

From a massive 3 year pheno-hunt covering hundreds of crosses and over 10,000 plants, this specific cultivar stood out as the ultimate match for Lazy Bear. Grown at Sonoma Hills Farm in the sun, soil, and wind of the idyllic Petaluma Gap, it’s an incredibly rare and special offering. 

  • Lazy Bear Reserve – The Cultivar 

The Lazy Bear Reserve was chosen for its Sativa effects and uplifting convivial spirit that is perfect for a dinner party—at Lazy Bear, or at home.

From a flavor perspective, Lazy Bear Chef/Founder David Barzelay and COO Colleen Booth tasked us with finding a strain absolutely bursting with Meyer Lemon, and with undertones of classic Lazy Bear aromas of wild California bay laurel, as well as redwood, Douglas Fir, and other conifers. After 3 years searching through thousands of individual plants, the Sonoma Hills Farm and Humboldt Seed teams brought the final 7 contenders to the Lazy Bear team in SF’s Mission District for the final selection. 

What resulted is a beautiful strain that draws on legendary genetics like Lemon Kush, Hella Jelly and Orange Cream for the blast of Meyer Lemon that is Chef Barzelay’s nod to Alice Waters and the farm-to-table cuisine that defines Northern California dining. Other crosses in the lineage include Humboldt OG for the fresh redwood notes. 

The result is a vibrant cultivar with complex citrus fruit and Northern California conifer forest notes, designed to pair beautifully with fine dining and elevate the communal experience.

  • A Partnership Rooted in Shared Values – Why Lazy Bear? 

SHF team reached out to Lazy Bear in April of 2022 because: 

  • Philosophical Alignment – Lazy Bear and Sonoma Hills Farm share a passion for terroir-driven ingredients, regenerative farming, and a dedication to pushing culinary boundaries. Just as Lazy Bear meticulously selects and preserves peak-season ingredients, Sonoma Hills Farm carefully cultivates cannabis with the same level of attention and care. SHF grows cannabis out in nature, in the sun and soil, capturing the beautiful terroir. It’s exactly the sort of farm Lazy Bear loves to work with for its culinary ingredients.
  • Northern California Hospitality – Northern California has come to lead the culture of imbibing in this country, from its incredible wine regions and innovation in cocktails, to leading the charge on non-alcoholic and produce-driven sippers. Cannabis, too, has simply become a part of Northern California hospitality. That’s nothing new for the Bay Area, but as more people shift away from a dining and party culture defined primarily by alcohol, cannabis is occupying an ever more important role. The term “California sober” may be a cliché, but it reflects a significant shift in mindset toward expanded options in how we come together to socialize and to celebrate.
  • A Communal, Experience-Driven Approach – Lazy Bear isn’t just about eating; it’s about engaging with the meal, the chefs, fellow guests, and the ingredients in a way that transforms dining into an interactive experience. This mirrors the approach to cannabis as a social, ritualistic, and elevated sensory experience.
  • A Natural Culinary Fit – Lazy Bear’s nostalgic-yet-refined tasting menus already explore nuanced, layered flavors. The Lazy Bear Reserve strain was developed specifically to complement that experience—pairing beautifully with the flavors, atmosphere, and communal spirit of the restaurant.
  • Innovation & Leadership – Just as Sonoma Hills Farm is pioneering the intersection of cannabis and fine dining, Lazy Bear has redefined what a Michelin-starred dining experience can be. Together, this collaboration sets a new standard for how cannabis can be seamlessly woven into the world of high-end hospitality.
  • Where Available? The Lazy Bear strain will be available in 1/8th Flower Jars, 1 gram pre-rolls and 4-packs of pre-rolls in dispensaries throughout California, wherever Sonoma Hills Farm products are sold. 
  • A Vision for the Future – Next Steps 

Now that the Lazy Bear strain has been created, our next step is to work with the team to create the perfect Lazy Bear edible. This partnership could expand into a larger release, with national distribution possibilities

  • A Historic Moment in Culinary & Cannabis Culture 

This collaboration sets a new precedent for integrating cannabis into fine dining, paving the way for a new era of thoughtful, chef-driven cannabis experiences.

  • Potential Elevated Marketing & Experiential Components??

○ VIP guests at Lazy Bear will receive special recognition at the dispensary directly across from Lazy Bear, OFL San Pancho. OFL San Pancho is owned by local artist and muralist Apexer. 

○ A potential special bite or pairing experience for those who purchase the Lazy Bear strain. 

○ Exclusive dinners?

○ A long-term vision to develop and document a fine dining cannabis service ritual.

About Sonoma Hills Farm: 

Sonoma Hills Farm is a premium craft cannabis farm and organic culinary garden nestled on 60-acres in Sonoma Valley’s Petaluma Gap appellation, one of the nation’s premier wine terroirs. Sonoma Hills Farm’s cannabis flower is produced in harmony with nature using regenerative farming techniques and is harvested at its full-term peak potential. 

In addition to Sun+Earth certification, the farm’s cannabis was one of first to be recognized as “organic comparable,” as designated by CCOF’s OCal program, which certifies consistency with the uniform standards of the National Organic Program. 

Led by Aaron Keefer, the former culinary gardener for the Thomas Keller Group & The French Laundry, the farm collaborates with chefs to cultivate the highest expression of sun-grown cannabis, hemp, and vegetables. The farm bridges Sonoma County’s rich agricultural history with a farm-to-table cannabis lifestyle, curating an experience for the sophisticated and passionate flower consumer. 

Sonoma Hills Farm seeks to usher in a new era of cannabis forward dining, bringing forward hospitality service rituals and traditions that give cannabis its proper place in hospitality settings.  

About Humboldt Seed Company: 

At Humboldt Seed Company, quality isn’t just a priority—it’s a promise. Founded in 2001 by scientists in California, we began by breeding seeds for patients under Prop. 215 and have since expanded to serve both recreational and medical growers worldwide. With over 20 years of expertise, we are proud to be California’s largest licensed cannabis seed provider, offering a diverse selection of feminized, autoflower, triploid, and regular seeds. Our products undergo rigorous lab testing and extensive annual phenotype hunts, vetted by California’s top cannabis farmers, ensuring stable genetics, high germination rates, and exceptional performance. 

From our roots in environmental and social justice to our expansion into global markets—including Spain, Canada, Jamaica, and Thailand—Humboldt Seed Company remains committed to blending the best of nature and science. When you choose our seeds, you’re planting decades of research, innovation, and a deep respect for the land. 

 

We believe in empowering cultivators at every level—from first-time growers to commercial operations—through our commitment to: 

  • Develop innovative award-winning genetics. 
  • Focus on stability and potency. 
  • Preserve precious Landrace strains. 
  • Advance sustainable cultivation practices.