In time for World Chocolate Day this 7 July, The Westin Manila, Marriott International’s first five-star wellness-focused Michelin Guide-recognized hotel in Mandaluyong, partners with award-winning pastry chef and chocolatier Ely Salar, who is also the co-founder of Le Choux-Colat and Aton Cacao. This will be for two limited-time culinary events that celebrate sustainability alongside Filipino produce, creativity and craftsmanship.

The collaboration kicks off with a “Green Mondays” edition that is a bit different from previous iterations. This time, the spotlight is on the dessert menu boasting local, familiar flavors crafted and elevated by Chef Salar using locally-grown cacao from Aton Cacao.

“Most people think chocolate is unhealthy because a lot of the ones they know are heavily processed,” Chef Salar states. “At Aton Cacao, our chocolates are not made with vegetable fat and are not high in sugar. In addition, the desserts we’ve prepared for ‘Green Mondays’ will also be made with sustainably-sourced, local whole food ingredients.”

Malunggay and ube are baked into a rich cheesecake topped with a ganache made with Aton Cacao’s 38 percent Mairete chocolate from Leyte, while adlai grains, Baguio strawberries and fresh Philippine mangoes are paired with Aton Cacao’s Misamis white chocolate for a modern twist on the classic Filipino champorado.

Another must-try from the dessert lineup for Green Mondays is Elements of Cacao, which stays very true to its name and incorporates various forms cacao can be made into, delivering a satisfying medley of textures in each bite.

“Green Mondays” began as a sustainability initiative and culinary special at The Westin Manila back in late 2024, where the hotel culinary team partners with local brands, chefs, restaurants and artisans to come up with menus anchored on holistic wellness and well-being.

These handcrafted desserts made with Philippine cacao will be available every Monday at the Seasonal Tastes lunch buffet dessert station until 31 August.

For the second half of the collaboration, the hotel will be hosting a seven-course degustation showcasing the journey of Philippine cacao from fruit to finished product. Titled “Cacao Degustation: Story of Philippine cacao in phases and plates,” the menu is curated as a culinary journey following the various processes of chocolate-making — from fermentation to drying, roasting and up to refining, while exploring ways to maximize every part of the cacao, even those often discarded like the husks.

The Westin Manila executive sous chef Daryl Yulo Sy adds in the statement, “Sustainability plays a significant role in our creative process as chefs here at the hotel. We strive to maximize the ingredients we source and minimize our waste while delivering exciting, mindful and elevated menus for our guests that are grounded on well-being, so it was very fitting to apply the same approach to a very interesting ingredient like the Philippine cacao.”

For the first course — Harvest —a puri shell that may be more familiar to most as a key ingredient in the savory Indian classic panipuri is filled with a cocoa espuma, then topped with a slice of cured ham for a slightly sweet and savory bite to open the palate, finished off with a grating of Batangas cacao nibs to add a layer of depth and earthiness.

 Then comes Fermentation, which is showcased through a scallops ceviche in vinegar fermented with cacao grown and harvested from Samar. Drying and Roasting follow, the processes encapsulated in the dried fish espuma swirled on top of an adlai champurrado also crafted with Samar cacao chocolate — an elevated twist on a Filipino comfort food enjoyed across the country and even across generations.

 In Winnowing, grouper fillet is poached in Misamis cocoa butter and miso to infuse it with a unique flavor, sprinkled with seaweed powder for additional umami, and served with burnt cauliflower purée and glazed broccoli for a fuller flavor profile in each bite.

 After, the cacao undergoes Grinding and Refining, which is translated to a rich entrée of Leyte cacao cocoa powder-aged wagyu and smoked beef short ribs with light celeriac purée and smoked cacao husk jus. 

The last two courses feature desserts made by Chef Ely Salar, which provide a glimpse of the latter end of the chocolate-making process. In Conching, gritty cacao is turned into the smooth and velvety chocolate paste that becomes the chocolate bars known and loved by many after tempering.

 The sixth course — Conching — highlights three Philippine cacao chocolates presented as a thoughtfully crafted dessert. Aton Cacao Misamis white chocolate is used for the ganache, with a lakatan sponge cake with guava-mango confit and tablea gelato placed inside a “chocolate fermentation box” inspired by the actual boxes used for the process. Alongside this is Aton Cacao 64 percent Samar dark chocolate incorporated into a crémeux on a bed of Leyte cacao nibs crunch.

 As finale, guests can enjoy one of Chef Salar’s signatures — the seventh course being artisan bonbons made with Aton Cacao 58 percent Luzvi chocolate paired with flavors of honey, caramel, malunggay and guyabano, and a sugar-free chocolate bonbon topped with pili nuts. 

At P4,500 per person, the degustation will be offered on two exclusive nights only, the first one being on World Chocolate Day itself, while the second degustation night will be on 3 August. Guests may also opt to upgrade their experience with wine pairing for an additional P1,800 per person.

Chef Salar, together with his wife Jiannina, began making a name for themselves in the local pastry scene with Le Choux-Colat, where Chef Salar shares his craft through premium handcrafted desserts like entremet cakes, croissants and other artisanal chocolate confections.

Salar trained and worked for prestigious institutions abroad, including the Pomeroy Kananaskis Mountain Lodge, a Marriott International property part of the brand’s Autograph Collection in Canada. Along his journey, he earned many awards as pastry chef and chocolatier, including the coveted Red Seal Chef and Journeyman Baker culinary certifications.

Asked when his curiosity for chocolate began, he shares, “Since I was using chocolate in my pastry creations, eventually I developed an interest in chocolate itself. As I delved deeper, I realized that we grew cacao here in the Philippines, which wasn’t the case for the countries I’ve worked in abroad.”

With this, he made it his personal mission to highlight Philippine cacao in his creations, shifting from imported to locally produced chocolate for their pastries in Le Choux-Colat. Eventually, they converted their calamansi farm in Leyte to a cacao farm, where Aton Cacao traces its roots.

“That’s how we began,” Chef Salar explains. “’Aton Cacao’ means ‘our cacao’ in Waray-Waray, the native language in my hometown, Leyte. We wanted to ensure we had a sustainable source of Philippine cacao for our creations, and because we wanted to work with farmers all over the country to gain a deeper understanding of Philippine cacao cultivation.”

In their commitment to taking both Filipino talent and produce to the global stage, Chef Ely and Jiannina have also established Chocolatier’s Lab, an artisanal chocolate and pastry studio where the chef shares his talent and expertise to aspiring chefs and chocolatiers.

“I believe Philippine cacao can be world-class, the same with us as chefs,” he says. “Filipino products and talents can be one of the bests around the world…”