Memories have a way of staying with us through food: the smoky, buttery taste of street-cart corn served in a plastic cup; the sour bite of an unripe strawberry picked too soon from a Baguio farm; the rich comfort of laing made by a childhood nanny. For Chef Rej Casanova, Executive Chef of Sheraton Manila Hotel, these memories sit at the heart of Diwa—a culinary showcase built around the stories, flavors, and places that shaped him.
At Sheraton Manila’s event space, ColLab, Casanova turned the room into a working kitchen for the night. Diwa, which means “essence” or “spirit,” tells his life story through food.
“It really goes deep,” Casanova reflects, “each dish really showcases some experiences related to food.”
For Casanova, the menu traces his journey from his roots in Pangasinan to his years in the Visayas and, eventually, his work in hotel kitchens.
Street Roots and Domestic Rituals
The meal starts with familiar Filipino street food and karinderya flavors. Casanova gives Pangasinan-style dinakdakan, a rich pork pulutan from his youth, a plant-based twist.
Meanwhile, “Munggo Fridays,” a familiar home ritual, brings together earthy munggo, flaky black cod, and bursts of ikura. This dish may look like an Italian Caprese at first, but its flavors come straight from home. Casanova combines smoky eggplant, garden tomatoes, and fresh quesong puti from Quezon province.
Memories Reimagined
The progression balances technical subversion with autobiographical humor through a series of inventive courses.
The next courses turn childhood memories into dishes with a modern touch.
Sinigang sa Presas was inspired by an unexpected harvest of sour Baguio strawberries. Instead of sampalok, Casanova uses unripe strawberries to bring the dish its sharp, sour taste, paired with prawn-shell and strawberry broth, miso-infused gabi, and mustard-greens foam.
The idea came from a trip to Baguio’s Strawberry Farm with his cousin, who was visiting for the first time.
“He got so excited, picked all the strawberries without really checking or asking,” Casanova recalls. “He just grabbed the strawberries and then found out that when he got home, it was sour.”
With the cool Baguio weather calling for a warm bowl of soup, they made sinigang—and Casanova decided to try the strawberries in it.
Next comes Laing, wrapped in fragrant perilla leaves and paired with local fish and a savory, cornless maja blanca. The dish pays tribute to the Bicolana nanny who first introduced Casanova to laing by using rich pork bits as a stand-in for bacon.
Creativity Born Out of Experience
For a break between courses, Melon Ice Candy turns a familiar corner-store treat into a cold mix of melon granita, milk curd, and compressed cucumber. It is wrapped in an edible “plastic” film made from baked potato starch.
Asked why melon became the star of the dish, Casanova simply says, “Melon normally is my favorite ice candy flavor.”
The Inasal-Glazed Steak brings together two important parts of Casanova’s career: his early years as a young sous-chef at a Manila Marriott steakhouse and his later time at Courtyard by Marriott Iloilo. Prime beef is paired with the bold citrus and annatto flavors of Bacolod-style inasal.
“The Inasal dish is something more personal compared to the other courses,” he says.
The meal ends with Champorado, made with Philippine Culinary Cup gold medalist Chef Gretchen. Deep tablea chocolate is paired with salty, crisp pieces of dried fish, creating a familiar Filipino ending with a playful twist.
An Opening Statement for Sheraton Manila
Beyond the experimental courses, Casanova views Diwa as an opening statement for Sheraton Manila’s culinary identity across properties like S Kitchen and Oori.
Grounded in founder J.W. Marriott’s mantra that “success is never final,” Casanova proves that elevating Filipino cuisine doesn’t mean stripping away its comfort. Rather, it means finding its true soul and letting technique give it a voice.
Rather than locking diners into rigid hospitality formulas, the hotel leans into tailor-made storytelling—proving that fine dining doesn’t require abandoning the grit, humor, and warmth of everyday Filipino life.
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