Erwan Heussaff. Images: Instagram/@erwan
Erwan Heussaff just added a new feather to his toque after he became a recipient of the prestigious James Beard award.
The French-Filipino chef and restauranteur emerged as winner at the Social Media Account category of the 2023 James Beard Media Awards on Saturday, June 3, besting two other nominees, Kalamata’s Kitchen Staff and Nom Life.
The United States-based James Beard Foundation Awards are given annually in recognition of “exceptional talent and achievement in the culinary arts, hospitality, media, and broader food system.”
“This is incredible. Thank you so much,” he said during his acceptance speech which was live streamed on James Beard’s official YouTube channel. “Congratulations to my fellow nominees. I flew all the way from the Philippines for 20+ hours just for this weekend, so thank you for making it worth it.”
“Thank you to our whole crew over at TFKI Studios and FEATR Media for the company. Thank you to my family, my beautiful wife and daughter for letting me travel to tough places to create stories,” he continued.
The content creator also opened up about his goal of making Filipino food as the “next big thing” in his speech, saying the award “motivates [him] further” to make it happen.
“Anywhere you’ll go, you’ll meet Filipinos, especially in the Food and Beverage industry. In fact, one of our largest revenue streams is from a country with a lot of Filipinos working overseas. Yet not a lot is known about our culture, or our food. Tons of people have said Filipino food is the ‘next big thing,’ and I’m obsessed with trying to make it the next big thing,” he said.
“And so for me, this means absolutely everything ‘cause it just motivates me further to keep shining a lot on our beautiful country, beautiful people, and the food that is made in our kitchens. So, thank you very much. I appreciate it,” he added.
Heussaff also took to his personal Instagram page on Sunday, June 4, to share his gratitude following his recent milestone.
“I’m still shaking. We made it!! [Philippine flag emojis] @beardfoundation @featrmedia @tfkistudios,” he wrote.
His achievement earned rave responses in the comments of his post, including his wife Anne Curtis and sister Solenn, as well as Bea Alonzo, Matteo Guidicelli, Nico Bolzico, Isabelle Daza, and Bianca Gonzalez.
Image: Screengrab from Instagram/@erwan
The James Beard Broadcast Media Awards, is open to digital and over-the-air television platforms covering the Food and Beverage (F&B) scene, and should be done in English. Named after a famed American chef, the James Beard award is considered the Oscars of the F&B industry.
Heusaff started his food content creation career under the alias, “The Fat Kid Inside,” and has since rebranded his YouTube channel into FEATR Media and opened his media company The Fat Kid Inside Studios. EDV