Chef Carissa DaSilva

Connect with Chef Carissa DaSilva

Carissa DaSilva started her career from a simple hobby she enjoyed doing at home that grew into a small business. She started a little pastry shop called For the Love of Sweets in her hometown of Sebring, Florida. She would produce orders for custom cakes, pastries and cupcakes for special occasions for her customers.

Carissa would then find herself moving to South Florida where she would join Paula DaSilva, a long-time South Florida Chef, and open Artisan Beach House at the Ritz-Carlton in Bal Harbor. Carissa built a pastry menu around seasonality and some of her favorite desserts. She would also oversee all the pastry production for the company’s private and catered events and create special amenities upon request. Rather than attending culinary school, she opted to purchase books from renowned pastry chefs and teach herself many skills by trial and error.

DaSilva’s next venture would take her to be the Pastry Sous Chef Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood and the famous “Guitar Hotel.” Her creativity, passion for pastries and immense attention to detail continues to allow her to create beautiful desserts and cakes each day. Carissa was most recently featured in an article from The Whet Palette highlighting women in Miami who are “crushing the pastry mold.” She was also featured on wildly popular YouTube show “Sorted Foods” where she provided her expert knowledge on how to make the best key lime pie!

In 2020, Carissa jumped into the private club sector and joined the team at the Lauderdale Yacht Club where she spent close to one year developing their pastry program. She then spent a year revamping the Pasty program at Mizner Country Club in Delray in 2021. DaSilva most recently accepted the Pastry Chef Position at the Harbor Beach Marriott Resort and Spa in Fort Lauderdale, where she will use her passion to create amazing desserts throughout the hotel.