As Aria Hotel & Residences prepares for its soft opening, the property is taking a distinctive approach to food sustainability — building environmental responsibility into its operations from day one rather than retrofitting practices later. Located in the heart of Davao City, approximately 15 minutes from the airport, the luxury hotel is positioning itself as a leader in sustainable hospitality in the Mindanao region.
Executive Chef Jean Louis Leon, who has spent the past decade working across the Philippines, is spearheading the hotel’s farm-to-table initiatives. His approach centers on working directly with local farmers, fishermen, and producers to create menus that celebrate regional ingredients while minimizing environmental impact.
“The goal is really to use as much as I can locally,” Chef Leon explained. “For example, the grass-fed chicken that is available on this side of the country. I’ve approached some farms that produce passion fruit regularly — I know for one month I can use really fresh passion fruit. It’s a matter of working with whichever ingredients are readily available.”
The hotel’s ownership has embraced this vision, providing Chef Leon with the flexibility to work with small-scale producers who might not have formal business structures. This approach allows the property to source seasonal ingredients directly from farmers who provide quality products.
Establishing direct relationships with local producers
Chef Leon’s strategy involves actively seeking out local suppliers rather than relying solely on established distributors. He has connected with farms producing hydroponic lettuce, herb gardens that can be replenished as needed, and producers of specialty items like locally grown cacao from renowned Davao brands.
“Even though some of those items are more expensive than imported chocolate, I’d rather work with them, because they provide a unique flavor and this way, we get to support local products,” Chef Leon said. “We have to strike a balance, because I will save on buying the local passion fruit, but I will spend more on chocolate. So in the end, the balance should be there anyway.”
His approach extends beyond simply purchasing ingredients. Chef Leon emphasizes building relationships with suppliers and understanding their growing practices over time. “First, when you approach people, they offer a product but you don’t know how they produce it. So the first step is to create trust between me and that person — whether that’s a farmer, a fisherman, or whoever we deal with,” he explained. “Then as you go, you try to understand what they do and how they grow their products. Whether they use chemicals or not, over time, that will be revealed to me.”
Waste reduction and circular practices
Beyond sourcing, Aria is implementing waste reduction strategies before the kitchen even becomes operational. Chef Leon is working to eliminate the use of cling wrap, a common source of plastic waste in commercial kitchens, by investing in reusable plastic containers with lids.
“My goal is to eliminate the use of cling wrap because, at my previous company, I saw how much money we spent on it in a year,” Chef Leon said. “So my goal is to convince them that if we need to buy extra plastic containers with lids, we should invest in those, because I can show them the savings over the long term.”
The hotel plans to maximize ingredient utilization by creating its own broths from fish, beef, chicken, and pork trimmings, avoiding the use of commercial flavor enhancers. Chef Leon is also working to establish a composting system near the hotel’s herb garden.
“The goal is really to explain to people that waste should technically be minimal if we’re smart about how we use everything,” he said. “That’s my goal here — that at the end of the shift when they take out the garbage bin, it should be very light.”
The challenge of buffet service — a common source of food waste in hotels—is being addressed through careful planning. While breakfast buffets can be calibrated based on guest occupancy, Chef Leon plans to limit lunch and dinner buffets to high-demand periods, focusing instead on à la carte service where portion control is easier to manage.
Menu development and guest education
The hotel’s menu strategy balances Asian flavors in the main restaurants with French-European techniques in the luxury dining space on the top floor. Across all outlets, the emphasis remains on showcasing local ingredients.
The hotel is incorporating plant-based options into its offerings, with dishes featured on both buffet spreads and à la carte menus. While Chef Leon acknowledges that plant-based dining is still developing in the Philippines, the hotel is committed to providing these options and educating guests about their benefits. “We have a couple of plant-based dishes and we’ll see how people react to them,” he noted.
Guest education forms a key part of Aria’s sustainability strategy. The hotel plans to include informational notes on buffet displays and menus explaining the origins of ingredients, the benefits of certain foods, and the stories behind specific dishes.
“For example, a special dish might contain quinoa. So we’d include a little note on the side explaining where it originates from as well as its benefits. These would be very short but wouldn’t take too much effort for the guest to read and hopefully convince them to give it a try,” Chef Leon explained.
This educational approach extends to highlighting local ingredients that guests might not be familiar with, such as papaya leaves or ginger leaves used in steaming preparations.
Chef Leon is actively working with the purchasing team to evaluate animal welfare standards in sourcing practices, as well. “It’s something I will push for, but I have to understand the complexity of delivery as well,” he said, aiming to find solutions that work operationally while advancing sustainability goals.
Community impact and long-term vision
Chef Leon views the hotel’s local sourcing strategy as mutually beneficial. Small-scale farmers and producers gain a consistent customer in Davao’s first homegrown luxury hotel, while the property secures unique, high-quality ingredients.
“I think they should be proud to serve the first homegrown luxury hotel in Davao,” he said. “They can see consistency and income over the long term because we support those people over the years, which is great. Everyone benefits. I get great products, they get a monthly or seasonal income that they don’t have to stress about.”
Staff education represents another pillar of Aria’s sustainability approach. Leon believes that training employees in sustainable practices creates a ripple effect as they move to other positions in the industry. “The people who are with us will move on, and if we succeed here, it’s a credit to them that they can carry on and hopefully bring that knowledge along,” he explained.
Looking ahead, Chef Leon envisions Aria’s sustainability efforts expanding beyond the kitchen to encompass all hotel operations, from front office practices to room management and energy conservation. The goal is to create a property where every department contributes to environmental responsibility.
Starting sustainability practices from the beginning offers advantages that established properties don’t have. “If we start from day one, we move forward,” Chef Leon noted. “With an existing property, it’s difficult to change the mindset and habits of the people.”
As Aria Hotel & Residences prepares to welcome its first guests, the property is demonstrating that luxury hospitality and environmental stewardship can work in tandem. By prioritizing local partnerships, waste reduction, and guest education from the outset, the hotel is setting a foundation for sustainable operations that could influence the broader hospitality sector in Mindanao and beyond.
