The Westin Manila is advancing plant-based dining in the Philippines through an innovative approach centered on chef collaborations, menu development, and market education. Since opening in 2023, the hotel has made plant-based cuisine a cornerstone of its Eat Well pillar — one of Westin’s six pillars of well-being.
Executive Chef Rej Casanova, who spent 17 years within Marriott International across four properties, brings unique credentials to the plant-based movement. Before joining The Westin Manila, Casanova managed a steakhouse, making his transition to plant-forward cuisine particularly noteworthy. In 2021, he won the Asia-Pacific Championship for plant-based cooking, demonstrating expertise that now shapes The Westin Manila’s culinary direction.
“Cooking in this kind of aspect makes me become a better chef as I’m able to understand where these ingredients are coming from,” Chef Casanova explained.
The Westin Manila’s Eat Well philosophy
The Westin brand’s Eat Well pillar promises to empower choice by crafting food and beverage offerings that suit diverse dietary needs and preferences. Responsible sourcing and actively seeking trusted suppliers for ethical, sustainable, and organic produce are key aspects of this. At The Westin Manila, this translates into offers and experiences designed to support well-being while providing opportunities for guests to discover practices that help them thrive in an urban setting.
Tthe hotel’s lunch and dinner buffet at Seasonal Tastes features a permanent plant-based station offering delicacies inspired by different regions worldwide. Positioned as the first station guests encounter upon entering, this setup makes plant-based cuisine immediately visible and accessible.
“Having this station is our way of making plant-based cuisine more approachable and accessible to diners who are interested to try and add variety to their diet,” said Meghann Hernandez, who works in sustainability and communications at The Westin Manila.
This strategy appears to resonate with guests, with some requesting second servings at the One Dish Wonders station. The hotel maintains its permanent plant-based station featuring both international items and Filipino dishes reimagined in plant-based versions, which Hernandez credits with broadening her own appreciation for plant-based cuisine.
Green Mondays and chef collaborations
The hotel’s signature plant-based initiative, Green Mondays, launched in November 2024 as a dedicated station within the buffet restaurant. Unlike traditional buffet service where food is displayed in large platters, Green Mondays operates as a “one dish wonders” station where chefs plate dishes à la minute, reducing excess food production while showcasing plant-based cuisine.
Green Mondays features rotating collaborations with local chefs and homegrown plant-based brands, providing a platform for emerging culinary talent while raising awareness about plant-based and zero-waste menus. The inaugural collaboration in November 2024 partnered with Chef Dan Puga on a zero-waste menu. In January 2025, the hotel featured Habits by Mia Sison, a certified raw vegan chef and integrative nutrition coach who started a salad delivery business from home. The collaboration provided Sison with a platform to showcase her plant bowls in a five-star dining setting.
“We provide them with a bigger platform to share their advocacies, to showcase their skills,” Hernandez explained. “One of the earliest collaborations we did was with [Davao-based raw vegan chef Mimi Vergara-Tupas]. So we flew her in for a plant-based degustation [and workshop].”
Menu framework and future direction
Chef Casanova’s approach emphasizes creating plant-based dishes from scratch rather than relying on commercial meat alternatives, including crafting house-made plant-based cheeses, mayonnaise, and even a plant-based version of bagoong, a traditional Filipino fermented shrimp paste. Recently, the hotel’s plant-based Kare-Kare — a traditional Filipino stew — won in the first Sinagala market-wide culinary competition among all Marriott properties in the Philippines.
“It’s more interesting and creative to cook plant-based,” Chef Casanova said. “As much as possible, I try to eliminate commercial plant-based brands and really work on artisanal products. Everything is made in-house as much as possible.”
The chef incorporates plant-forward options into standard banquet packages and continues expanding plant-based offerings across the hotel’s dining outlets. While Chef Casanova indicated plans to increase plant-based selections and add more rotational cycle menus, the hotel has not established specific percentage targets for plant-based menu composition, distinguishing its approach from hotels in Cebu that have committed to 30-50% plant-based menu offerings with timelines extending through 2030.
On top of this, The Westin Manila recently published “Serve Kindness,” a limited-edition recipe book launched in time for World Food Day. The charity initiative features wholesome, plant-based, zero-waste, and practical recipes developed by the hotel’s award-winning chefs in collaboration with wellness and sustainability partners including Mia Sison, Mimi Vergara-Tupas, Dan Puga, and Nichole Mercado.Proceeds from the recipe book support feeding programs of Scholars of Sustenance Philippines.
“It’s also an opportunity for [people] to discover plant-based recipes on their own, introduce it to their kids, and extend that value and goal to each family, one household at a time,” Hernandez said.
Broader sustainability initiatives
Beyond plant-based dining, The Westin Manila has implemented several food waste reduction initiatives aligned with the Eat Well pillar’s emphasis on responsible sourcing and environmental stewardship. The hotel collects watermelon rinds from its commissary kitchen and converts them into watermelon rind achara, a pickled vegetable condiment used in Filipino cuisine. Pineapple rinds are slow-cooked for four to six hours until soft, then transformed into barbecue sauce used in the restaurant’s grill offerings.
Eggshell and seafood shell waste is addressed through a partnership with a major supplier, as well. The hotel collects, cleans, sanitizes, and dehydrates shells, which are then donated to the supplier for processing into powdered feed supplements. Chef Casanova’s goal is to achieve one ton of shell donations in 2025, describing it as a “circle of life process.” As of the time of publication, the hotel had diverted 875 kilograms from landfills, supplemented by 60-70 kilograms of fruit and vegetable peels saved monthly through the watermelon and pineapple rind programs.
The hotel also sources 100% cage-free eggs, completing a transition from 15% cage-free usage the previous year. Approximately 40% of seafood is sustainably caught with MSC certification, aligning with Marriott’s responsible sourcing requirements. The property works with agricultural farming groups in the Philippines that supply 100% organic vegetables and inform the kitchen which produce is in optimal condition each month, allowing chefs to tailor dishes around seasonal availability.
Long-term plans include developing a rooftop garden on the hotel’s fourth floor to source basic ingredients including fresh herbs, tomatoes, calamansi (a Southeast Asian citrus fruit), and local chilies in-house. “For a city hotel like us, it’s something big and also a luxury,” Chef Casanova noted.
