Crafting with Care: Chef Dimla's Path to Sustainable Chocolate
Mac Daniel Dimla | Providence
NHM Online Presents ChocoLAte: From Beans to Bliss, a video series celebrating the diversity of Los Angeles and its people through the lens of chocolate.
Mac Daniel Dimla is the Executive Pastry Chef at the two Michelin-starred and Green Michelin-starred Providence restaurant in Hollywood. Chef Mac sat down with NHM to discuss the emotional potential of chocolate and how he strives to attain a zero-waste ethos in his pastry profession.
Watch the video below to learn more about Chef Mac's connection to Los Angeles and his approach to making the highest-quality desserts.
Guided by Providence
Los Angeles was not in the cards for Chef Mac Daniel Dimla. Raised in Guam, Chef Mac attended the Culinary Institute of America in Napa, California. An internship in New York convinced him that the Big Apple was to be his new home. However, what was to be a brief intercession in Los Angeles at the behest of his girlfriend soon evolved into an undeniable connection with the city. Mac decided to stay, working as a hot-side chef at a restaurant in Hollywood. Then came an act of Providence. A classmate of Mac's who was working down the street as a pastry chef at Providence called upon him to help at the short-staffed restaurant. Mac's presence at Providence became increasingly frequent. Chef Mac, initially trained in crafting savory dishes, soon converted to the gospel of sweet and became the head pastry chef at the two-time Michelin-starred seafood restaurant at just 23 years old.
It was by accident that I became a pastry chef.
Chef Mac Daniel Dimla
The Chocolate at Providence
A defining part of Chef Mac's approach to creating Michelin-quality chocolate lies in his commitment to sustainability and zero-waste processes. He maintains a close connection with all of his cacao suppliers and ensures that their harvesting practices are ethical and eco-friendly. At Providence, chocolate is made starting from scratch, straight from the cacao nibs. Chef Mac utilizes the versatility of the chocolate ingredient to innovate and elevate his desserts. Not only is Chef Mac's chocolate bean-to-bar, but it is also bean-to-bon-bons, mousse, cakes, ice cream, cremeux, mignardises, garnish, and sauce. The labor-intensive process of creating chocolate from cacao invariably creates considerable waste. Committed to not wasting an abundance of aromatic cacao husks and inspired by a similar concoction he encountered on a cacao plantation in Hawaii, he developed a zero-waste program where he transforms the cacao-husk into mint tea that is served at the end of every meal at Providence. The spent husk-and-mint combination is then worked into mulch that is sowed into the expansive garden habitat on the roof of the restaurant, from which fresh ingredients are harvested. Chef Mac's commitment to finding increasingly sustainable ways to work in chocolate is belied by a simple tenet:
Chocolate sustainability, simply put, is the future. There’s no way this industry or even the actual plant itself can survive without us thinking about [sustainability]”
Chef Mac Daniel Dimla
Chocolate in its myriad forms. At left, chocolate mignardises, or small desserts, are complemented by a serving of mint-and-cacao infused tea. Nestled in the hollow cacao pod in the foreground are two sesame-praline bars encased by Ecuadorian single-origin chocolate.
The spent cacao nib-and-mint mixture used in the tea gets turned into a nutrient-rich mulch that enriches the rooftop garden at Providence.
The work of turning raw cacao into Michelin-worthy desserts is the responsibility of Chef Mac Daniel Dimla.
The Perfect Bite
For Chef Mac, the power of chocolate is not only contained within the walls of an elite restaurant. A bite of a Hershey bar with almonds, or of a type of chocolate cake served at hotel buffets in Guam, is all it takes to transport him back to memories of home.
I cant think of anything else when I pick up a Hershey's chocolate bar or when I make that chocolate cake...Every time I take a bite of something like that, it gives me the feeling that I'm back to where that memory was, and sometimes you need those emotions, those kind of warm feelings. Life is hard.
Chef Mac Daniel Dimla
Whether he is innovating in the field of pastry and dessert, or devising new and unique ways to reduce food waste, Chef Mac is an ardent believer in the power of food to unite people. He continues to be a driving force on the cutting-edge of fine dining.
LEARN MORE ABOUT PROVIDENCE
Click here to learn more about Providence and make reservations.
SPILL THE CACAO BEANS ON YOUR CHOCOLATE FAVORITES
Do you have a special connection with chocolate? Do you know another L.A. chocolate maker who lovingly connects with their community? We want to hear from you! Join the conversation on social media and tag us @NHMLA with #chocoLAte.
Following the success of Kneaded: L.A. Bread Stories and L.A. at Play: Dolls & Figurines, we're celebrating the history, heritage, and communities of Los Angeles through the lens of different cultural traditions. This year, ChocoLAte: From Beans to Bliss seeks to inspire, captivate, and tap into the deep-rooted love for chocolate that flows through the veins of this vibrant city.
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