Caruso’s at Rosewood Miramar Beach Unveils Sustainable Chocolate Program

Montecito, CA - Caruso’s, Rosewood Miramar Beach’s Michelin Star and Green Star signature restaurant perched above the Pacific, is augmenting its culinary program once again—this time with the debut of its bean-to-bar chocolate program. In this new chapter of sustainability, Chef/Partner Massimo Falsini presents a unique in-house chocolate program, bringing the story of domestic Hawaiian cacao to Montecito through bars, cacao tea, and bespoke desserts featured on Caruso’s signature tasting menu.

Guests are invited to taste a chocolate degustation experience on Caruso’s tasting menu that features four unique house-made chocolates: three single-cru expressions from three respective Hawaiian cacao farms, with a final custom blend marrying the distinct beans into one profile. Paired with carefully selected whisky and house-made cacao tea, guests additionally receive a chocolate bar upon finishing the tasting menu.

“Six months ago, we travelled to Hawai'i to find the world’s greatest chocolate,” says Massimo Falsini, Chef/Partner of Caruso’s. “Hawaiian chocolate is the perfect expression of terroir and craftsmanship, as distinctive and vibrant as the islands themselves, and as refined as any world-class product. From that journey, we are proud to launch our bean-to-bar program: chocolate crafted from the ground up, honoring extraordinary farmers, land, and tradition, while creating something uniquely our own by the sea.”

Chef Massimo began his chocolate journey in the Hawaiian Islands, the only place in the United States where cacao is cultivated, and a region celebrated for its commitment to sustainability under some of the world’s most rigorous agricultural and environmental laws. From these volcanic landscapes comes cacao that is truly exceptional: fair, sustainable, and fully traceable to the farms where it is grown. Falsini identified three boutique cacao farms for partnership: 100% Hawaiian-owned Lavaloha Chocolate farms and Mauna Kea Cacao on the Island of Hawai’i, and veteran-owned 21 Degrees Estate in O’ahu, that align with Caruso’s ambitious sustainability model. Selected for terroir and flavor complexity, heirloom beans are fermented and dried on-site to preserve their natural characteristics before being flown to Montecito for processing

At Caruso’s, every cacao bean begins a patient, multi-day journey of transformation. The team carefully roasts the beans to draw out the essence of each terroir, presses the nibs to create pure cacao butter, and conches the chocolate for more than 48 hours to achieve a silky texture and fully expressed flavors. Guided by Falsini’s sensitivity and craft, the process remains intentionally pure; only cacao butter and sugar are added, allowing each Grand Cru to speak with its own distinct voice and concentration. In alignment with Caruso’s zero-waste model, Falsini additionally developed a cacao tea made from the bean’s husk, exemplifying full-bean sustainability

Caruso’s zero-waste chocolate program is yet another example of the restaurant’s dedication to sustainable dining. Long recognized for its outstanding efforts, Caruso’s sources over 90 percent of seafood from sustainable sources, earning the property recognition as an Oceanwise and Seafood Watch Partner, a Where Food Comes From/Smart Catch Ambassador, and three stars from the Sustainable Restaurant Association 2024 Food Made Good Awards. Falsini is also an ambassador for Project Zero’s Coral Collective, an organization that works to save coral reefs from extinction. With an on-site apiary, Caruso’s very own farm in Buellton, CA, partnerships with regenerative farms and sustainably granaries, glass reduction efforts, and in-house food waste measures, including the utilization of the Power Knot Biodigester and an Enzyme Eater to convert waste into environmentally safe grey water, the restaurant has taken meaningful strides towards becoming a zero-carbon footprint establishment.

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