Filipino Nominees for the James Beard Awards 2024: Abi Marquez, Abi Balingit, FEATR

(SPOT.ph) Just last year, Filipino chefs and content creators made headlines for being nominated for—and eventually winning in—the prestigious James Beard Foundation Awards. Thankfully, it looks like our streak is far from over. Noted Filipino food figures are once again on the James Beard Awards' Media Award nominees list this 2024: Filipino-American chef Abi Balingit, content creator Abi Marquez, and local video channel FEATR.

Also read: 
Erwan Heussaff + 3 Filipino Chefs Are Nominated for the 2023 James Beard Awards 
"We Made It!," Says Erwan Heussaff as He Bags Coveted James Beard Award 
This Self-Taught Filipina Cook Just Won a James Beard Award

Check out these Filipinos that made it to the list of finalists for the James Beard Awards 2023:

Abi Balingit

Nominated for different sections in the James Beard Awards Media Awards 2024 are three Filipino and Filipino-American figures. Under the James Beard Foundation Book Award (specifically the Baking and Desserts category) is Abi Balingit and her cookbook Mayumu: Filipino American Desserts Remixed; the young Filipina-American is known for crafting one-of-a-kind sweet treats that incorporate unexpected Filipino elements, among them her adobo chocolate chip cookies that was published in New York Times.

Abi Marquez

Also within the Media Awards umbrella is the James Beard Foundation Broadcast Media Award, covering "non-fiction works in English covering food and beverage topics and appearing widely for the first time in the United States" in 2023. Nominated in this is the Philippines' own Lumpia Queen, Abi Marquez, under the Social Media Account category that shines the spotlight on "excellence in a single food-related post, or compilation of up to three posts, that clearly represents the intention of the Facebook page, Twitter account, TikTok account, Instagram feed, or other social media [formats]." (This comes just after her having been nominated for the coveted Webby Awards!)

FEATR

Filipino media company FEATR, too, is nominated for three of their works across different categories in the Broadcast Media Award: the Philippine Salt Series under Docuseries Visual Media, and their Most Expensive Chocolate in the World (Heirloom Ingredients of Negros Occidental Philippines) and Why Is the Filipino Calamansi Being Left Behind? videos under Visual Media—Long Form. FEATR is founded by Erwan Heussaff, who also received an award in the 2023 edition of the James Beard Media Awards.

The winners will be through a special ceremony to be held at the Columbia College Chicago on June 8.

The annual awards—which has been around since 1990—is all about recognizing "exceptional talent and achievement in the culinary arts, hospitality, media, and broader food system." They likewise strive to push for "racial and gender equity, community, sustainability, and a culture where all can thrive."

See the full list of 2024 Media Award nominees. For more information, check out the James Beard Foundation's website.

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