Erwan Heussaff, 3 Filipino chefs score nominations in 2023 James Beard Awards: 'We're just getting started'
Erwan Heussaff is positively engaged to keep moving forward following his nomination in the 2023 James Beard Awards.
On Thursday, April 28, the prestigious award-giving body announced the official nominees for Media Awards, where Erwan is listed as one of the nominees for the Social Media Category—which recognizes food posts that “clearly represents the intention” of the social media platform.
Erwan expressed his gratitude and plans following the nomination, which made him more “determined to keep going.”
“Woke up to the exciting news yesterday and it just makes me more determined to keep going. To be recognized internationally by such an amazing platform is so motivating,” he wrote in his Instagram post.
“It all started as a food blog to help people eat healthy. After 12 years, 3 studio builds, countless cooking videos and short documentaries later, it finally feels like we are hitting our stride,” he continued. “Whether I make it or not, it doesn’t really matter!”
He went on to share how he has been focused on the positive things following the reviews about his work.
“In my 'mature' age of 36, I now always focus on the positive. A few articles came out about me this week and have brought out the 'commentors', it’s still sad to see that people who’ve made their assumptions about me a few years back, still can’t see our growth and the AMAZING work that the whole FEATR Media and The Fat Kid Inside Studios teams churn out,” the content creator said.
Erwan also shared that he and his team currently working on a project—a documentary about Filipino heritage salts and further promoting local products in hopes to raise awareness and Filipino pride in the process.
“We are on track to document all Filipino heritage Salts this year, incredible local products and continue to shoot as many provinces as possible; giving light to the people who make all these places special and hopefully raising awareness and pride along the way.”
“We're just getting started!” he concluded his post.
Aside from Erwan, three more Pinoy chefs also scored nominations in the annual awards. Vince Bugtong of Abacá, a San Francisco-based contemporary Filipino restaurant; Margarita Manzke of République in Los Angeles, California; and Walter Manzke, one of the founders of Wildflour Café + Bakery in Manila are included as finalists for the category of Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker.
Aaron Verzosa of Archipelago, a Filipino restaurant in Seattle, Washington is also nominated for Best Chef in the Northwest and the Pacific category.
Winners for Media Awards will be announced on June 3, while winners for Restaurant and Chef will be announced on June 5.
Established in 1990, the James Beard Awards recognize excellence in the food industry from Book, Broadcast Media, Journalism, Leadership, to Restaurant and Chef.