@erwan on Instagram
For creating content that highlights Filipino food and culture, Heussaff received a Broadcast Media Award for the Social Media Account category.
Erwan Heussaff is taking home a James Beard Award. The French-Filipino food content creator shared a photo of himself wearing the medal with the caption, “I’m still shaking. We made it!!” on Instagram.
Heussaff won the Social Media Category of the James Beard Broadcast Media Awards for his Instagram account. He beat out two other nominees: Kalamata’s Kitchen Staff for Kalamata’s Kitchen–Of Course It’s Kid-Friendly! on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, and YouTube; and Andrew Huang, Ewa Huang, and Jeremy Ko for Nom Life on Instagram and TikTok.
Established in 1990 and named after American chef, cookbook author, and teacher James Andrews Beard, the James Beard Awards recognizes top food authors, broadcast producers, hosts, journalists, podcasters, and social media content creators in the United States. The winners for the James Beard Awards were announced on June 3, Saturday night, at Columbia College Chicago in the United States. Heussaff was present at the ceremony, noting in his acceptance speech that winning had made his 20-hour flight to attend the event worthwhile.
“Anywhere you go in the world, you’ll meet Filipinos, especially in the food and beverage industry. In fact, one of our largest revenue streams of the country are Filipinos who are working overseas, yet not a lot is known about our culture or our food,” Heussaff said in his speech. “Tons of people have said Filipino food is the next big thing, and I’m obsessed with trying to figure out how to make it just the big thing. And so this, for me, means absolutely everything because it just motivates me further to keep shining the light on our beautiful country, our beautiful people, and the food that is made in our kitchen,” he added.
Initially creating Filipino food content such as The Fat Kid Inside on Instagram and YouTube, Heussaff rebranded in 2021 to FEATR Media to expand his content offering to cover culture and travel, as well as to accommodate a broader range of content creators. He continues sharing recipes, travel videos featuring local cuisine and introductions to off-the-beaten-path food destinations in the Philippines through his Instagram account and The Fat Kid Inside Studios, the media company he founded.
