Wellness is a lifestyle choice
Over brunch, I am served with a green plate lined with banana leaf, filled with finely-diced mushrooms and OmniMeat, a plant-based product that mimics the tastes of meat and seafood. It is crowned with an egg made of tofu for the whites and chickpea flour for the yolk. The red chili and calamansi complete the vegan sisig. Another dish is a slab of breaded eggplant which looks like beef at first glance. It is paired with eggplant caviar on a sauce of coconut milk, chili, turmeric and lemongrass.These are now part of the menu at Joy~Nostalg Hotel and Suites.“I’ve been experimenting at home. Eggplant is my new beef,” says executive chef Gulshan “Gus” Mohamed.
The expansion of plant-based options in the hotel menu isn’t merely because the hospitality industry is taking up wellness, or following the increasing focus on preventive health in surviving today’s stressful world. A recent cancer survivor, Mohamed has made it his advocacy to create animal-free and flavorful dishes for guests.
Cancer red flag
In April 2023, Mohamed was interviewed for the executive chef position at Joy~Nolstalg Hotel and Suites. He impressed the owners and management with his extensive experience and creativity. After a routine medical check-up, his SGPT blood test, which detected disease or injury in the kidney, heart or liver, and the SGOT test for liver enzymes were unusually high. Following the advice of his mother, a physician, he took an ultrasound test which revealed a 7-centimeter lump in the liver. Additional imaging scans confirmed a tumor.
“I was surprised because I never felt any symptoms,” he recalls. Mohamed told his new employers that he needed to go to India for further treatment. There, he was diagnosed with stage one renal cell carcinoma, a liver cancer, and had to undergo surgery.
By May, Mohamed donned his new uniform and reported for work with enthusiasm. “We were aware that he had only one kidney after the surgery. Yet, he was hitting the ground running,” says Odette Huang, Joy~Nostalg’s general manager.
With his condition, Mohamed had to adapt to a restricted diet—minimize oils and no animal protein, salt, nuts and dairy. Oats, legumes and tofu, when taken in large amounts, can raise uric acid levels that can affect the kidneys.
His diet revolves around variations of broccoli, red peppers and eggplant, fish and eggs. Yet, he still cheats on dark chocolate and Super Scoops dairy-free ice cream and munches on cocoa nibs instead of nuts. Mohamed drinks four liters a day to cleanse his kidney.
In six months, Mohamed dropped from 118 kilograms to 88 kg despite fulfilling his duties of sampling the dishes for his approval and creating menus for special events. He says the 30-kg weight loss restored his blood pressure to normal levels and raised his vitality. Doctors slowly removed medication as he trimmed down.
“People assume weight loss is difficult. I realized that it is a commitment. I did it because I had no choice,” he says. His lifestyle augurs well with the direction of Accor, the multinational hospitality group that is Joy~Nostalg’s mother company.
Culture of well-being
Accor’s Health to Wealth program is based on the premise that well-being influences our daily decisions and is an important thread in keeping the balance in our lives, society and the planet. Hence, it should be a priority. The program includes a podcast series on the state of wellness and a white paper on building a culture of well-being.
Huang says the hotel has been taking measures, starting with reducing the environmental impact. The hotel favors locally-sourced foods to support farmers and has eschewed single-use plastics such as water bottles. Every suite with a kitchen has a water filtration system.
Joy~Nostalg launched its wellness package which highlights special perks. Guests who avail of this package will be given natural handmade soap by soap artisans and a Swedish massage. “It’s added relaxation,” says Huang.
They can also enjoy the indoor heated swimming pool with background music. “The heated pool increases blood circulation and relaxes muscles. It’s safe for children who won’t feel the shock of cold water when they jump,” says the general manager.
She adds that guests enjoy the apartment fit-out of the rooms where families bond by cooking together in the kitchen. As a pet-friendly hotel, Joy~Nostalg Hotel and Suites allows guests to bring their furry pals as long as they follow the size limit. Like most Accor hotels, buffets include a station for plant-based foods such as pesto pasta and bistek Tagalog with OmniSpam. Being married to a Filipina, Mohamed has concocted several vegan Pinoy dishes.
Plant-based tea menu
In February, Joy~Nostalg will introduce the plant-based tea menu. Thesavory tray consists of faux crab cake sliders, faux meatballs with dips, wonton with tofu, spring rolls with mushrooms, caramelized eggplants and goji berry tart and faux tuna open-faced sandwiches. The club sandwich is sliced carrot, marinated with spices and grilled for a smokey flavor and a faux egg yolk made with chickpeas.
Pastry chef Ardo Mercado prepared a mousse made of vegetarian Chantilly cream with strawberry essence, vegan brownies, watermelon infused with rose water from India and gluten-free vegan scones with tofu cream cheese. The turon is an innovative fusion of caramelized bananas and chocolate in a panipuri (deep-fried breaded shell).
“I am blessed to have a team that is equally dedicated to the mission as I am. It makes my life easier,” says Mohamed.
Wellness need not come at a price though. Huang quotes the Health to Wealth paper as saying that it can democratized so that more people see it as their right and not an aspiration.
It doesn’t cost anything to walk to work instead of hopping on a vehicle, doing daily breathing exercises, meditating to start the day right and cutting back on junk food.
“The focus is on the mind and body, ensuring that wellness is accessible in a democratic way,” says Huang.
