ICYDK, the James Beard Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to champion "a standard of good food anchored in talent, equity, and sustainability." Anointed the "Dean of American cookery" by the New York Times in 1954, James Beard was a pioneer foodie who left behind a legacy of culinary excellence. In other words, he was a *huge deal*.
As listed on the website, the 2022 James Beard Foundation Broadcast Media Awards are open "to all works in English from digital and terrestrial media—radio, television broadcasts, podcasts, documentaries, online sites, social media—covering food and beverage topics." And on June 3, 2023, Erwan Heussaff won the Social Media Account category for his own Instagram account @erwan.
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As the voiceover in his video declares, "it's a battle for representation, and the acceptance of Filipino cuisine and culture internationally. It's about finally giving a voice to a country that exports ten million workers annually, and the millions more who have migrated out."
In his thank you speech, Erwan shares, "This is incredible. Thank you everyone so much. Thanks to the Foundation, congratulations to the other nominees. I flew all over from the Philippines so 20+ hours just for this weekend, so thank you for making it worth it!" *laughs*
"Thank you to our whole crew over at TFI Studios and Featr Media our company. Thank you to my family and my beautiful wife and daughter for allowing me to travel to tough places to create stories. 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 in the country are Filipinos who are 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 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 a light on our beautiful country, our beautiful people, and the food that is made in our kitchens. So thank you very much. I appreciate it."
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Anne Curtis took to Instagram to congratulate her husband, saying "I’ve seen how passionate you are about sharing stories of Filipino food and the culture and deeper story behind each ingredient. You and the @tfkistudios team work so hard… Traveling all over the country to find the core and masters of each dish and ingredient, whilst keeping it as authentic as possible. Congratulations on this amazing feat! I can’t wait to see more stories that are faithfully told, not only about Filipino cuisine but also about the spirit, communities and culture behind it! Mabuhay @tfkistudios @featrmedia and @erwan for being recognised by @beardfoundation."
The actress-host ended her touching post with a sweet message: "Dahlia and I are so proud of you Erwan!"
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Several of the content creator-entrepreneur's friends also shared congratulatory words in the comments of Erwan's own post, including fellow *Bullied Husband* Nico Bolzico, who jokingly asked, "You won!?!?!??!?!!"
Congratulations, Erwan!