Damian pastry chef, rising L.A. star Joshua Ulmer dies at 25

Josh Ulmer, a man in a chef's apron and glasses, sits on a large rock.

Ulmer died last month at 25, leaving colleagues shocked at the sudden loss of a passionate local star. His hibiscus meringue at Enrique Olvera’s Damian was a fan favorite.

April 10, 2023 3:16 PM PT

It was one of his signature dishes: a chewy, pastel hibiscus meringue that is halved and shattered to reveal a chantilly beneath, all dusted with dehydrated hibiscus imported from Oaxaca. This dessert frequently steals the show for diners at the downtown Mexican restaurant Damian, and it was the creation of Joshua Ulmer.

Ulmer, a rising-star pastry chef who wove Latin-heritage ingredients with French technique for Enrique Olvera’s restaurant group, died March 29 at the age of 25. His sudden passing immediately reverberated among the restaurant community in Los Angeles and beyond, with many high-profile voices lamenting the loss on social media. The cause of death was not disclosed.

“A guest left him a note one night during service that said, ‘I heard Nipsey [Hussle] said that the greatest human act is to inspire. The desserts were inspirational,’” Ulmer’s family said. “To know that he not only inspired our family, but also those that worked with him and ate with him, makes our family’s hearts so full.”

Ulmer was born July 19, 1997, on Long Island, New York, and his fascination with cooking began shortly thereafter. The future chef would regularly arrive home to watch the Food Network after his days spent at elementary school. Once his parents, John and Christine Ulmer, purchased his first cookbook he began preparing meals for the family — notably nachos for Cinco de Mayo — inspired by his grandmothers and the chefs he diligently watched onscreen, according to his sister, Victoria Ulmer.

His love of dessert began early too. “Nothing could make him happier than bread, butter and, most importantly, ice cream,” Ulmer’s family said in a joint statement. “There was not a hot summer day that went by that you couldn’t hear Joshua running for the ice cream truck. There was not a more perfect job in the world than a pastry chef for someone so sweet.”

After graduating from Johnson & Wales University, where he studied culinary arts, Ulmer joined the pastry team of Cosme, a Michelin-starred New York City restaurant under Olvera’s Casamata hospitality group. In 2020 he made his way to Casamata’s Los Angeles restaurants, Damian and Ditroit, where he helped to open both.

The pastry lead brought to the restaurants sweets that were vibrant in flavor and hue: dipping pink peppercorn paletas in a kind of raspberry hard shell; baking pink-tinted hibiscus conchas; forming fresh churros into the base for chocolate-drizzled sundaes; and creating his fan-favorite signature, the hibiscus meringue at Damian.

Pastry chef Joshua Ulmer rolling out dough in a restaurant kitchen

According to colleagues, Ulmer was a cherished friend both in and out of the kitchen.

“In the beginning the days were very long, 14- to 16-hour days, but I knew I would get through because we were always there for each other,” said Carlos Garcia, a sous chef at Damian who also worked with Ulmer at Cosme. “Despite him being the pastry chef of Damian, he would always come and offer a hand.”

Ulmer’s keen attention to detail and perfection at his dessert station didn’t preclude him from helping others; colleagues say he would stop whatever he was doing — even when plating 10 meringues at a time — to help cooks in need at other stations in the kitchen. He would regularly make time to teach others, colleagues said. His pursuit of flavor and perfection was infectious, as was his determination. Once, Garcia remembers, he and Ulmer spent more than 28 straight hours baking bread and brownies for a catered event; his friend and years-long co-worker didn’t complain once.

“The bond that we created is everlasting,” Garcia said. “Not only did we become friends but brothers. We would wake up together, spend the day, build a team together, we would leave together and have drinks at the end of every night for months.”

Ulmer was partial to Long Island iced teas and possessed surprising proficiency at not only pastry but bowling; he often could be found at Clark Street Diner for breakfast or eating dinner at Dan Tana’s, whose red-sauce Italian menu reminded him of his Long Island upbringing. Though Ulmer was “a true city boy,” friends and family both recall Ulmer’s gravitation toward nature and the great outdoors.

“I remember him being so uncomfortable at first, then he settled in when we started cooking,” said Alex Kim-Salas, Damian’s assistant general manager and an Ulmer friend. “He wanted to be like Francis Mallmann, grilling with masterfully crafted rigs and elaborate recipes. I kept inviting him out because he would make epic meals and I truly felt that he was at peace being out in the middle of nowhere, sitting around a fire and pondering life.”

After Olvera’s restaurants shared the news of Ulmer’s death, comments poured in on social media from loved ones, acquaintances and recent and past colleagues.

“Your warm soul and cheerful energy will forever live in our kitchens,” Olvera said on his personal Instagram account.

“At work he was an absolute titan — striving for, and often achieving, perfection with style and grace,” Salas told The Times. “But outside of work Josh was simple, funny, easygoing and down to do anything. He was a special part of my life, and to everyone around him, and he will forever have a seat at our family table.”

Ulmer is survived by his parents, John and Christine; his sister, Victoria; his aunts, uncles, cousins and grandmothers; and his friends and colleagues of Casamata.