Erwan Heussaff
Nuffnang Featured Blogger for the Month of September 2012
Who are you and what is your blog about?
I started cooking at the very young age of 8, the little annoying kid seated firmly at the kitchen counter awaiting for scraps to come my way and diligently watching the cooks do their thing. I then started experimenting with different recipes I would hear people talking about or trying to recreate food that I’ve tasted in the past. I understood early, that food would become a passion of mine. As I grew up I understood the business side of things more and found that for me the whole concept of a food offer interested me more than actual being in the kitchen, which is why I decided to pursue international business in college, in France, and not the culinary arts, but I never lost sight of my love for food. This love quickly turned into hatred as I expanded into a heavy 240 pounds. When you are that big, you become a martyr in your own head, thinking that you will never be fit again and so the dark cycle of weight gain begins. After 2 years (19-21) of verging obesity, I pulled myself together and lost an initial 50 pounds in 6 months, only by modifying what I ate. From then until now I’ve lost an additional 40 pounds and I’ve made my body go through different builds from chubby to lean to cut to bulky, getting obsessed with the fact that food and exercise can really alter your body faster than you think.
I was walking around Makati one day and started counting fast food restaurants as I walked by, and the number was staggering. I also then realised that as a people, we are getting more and more overweight as the years pass by. So I thought that maybe I could contribute a little in changing people’s perspective about food. I’m not here to tell you to only eat healthy, or to rob you from simple joys, my only message is that making fresh food at home (fatty or healthy) is fun and accessible to everyone. People will say that they have no time, so I try to show them that with a job in business 6 days a week, I still manage to prepare my meals, do sports every day and blog about it. The second objective I have is: that maybe when more people start experimenting with food and opening themselves up for new experiences, supermarkets will start carrying full ranges of products we can’t find locally, farmers will grow different varieties of vegetables that currently people don’t use since they haven’t tried it, and ultimately creating a more vibrant and diverse local food scene that will attract international attention. If I can do this with a tripod, a camera, a couple of ingredients, my Japanese knives and a computer, I’ll be happy.
What can we expect from your blog?
It’s pretty straight forward actually. I focus only on food and the stories that make me come up with recipes and each of them comes with a quick instructional cooking video I put together with the music I’m currently in love with. My tag line: “Sometimes Healthy. Sometimes Fatty. Always Happy” sums it up well.
I have Skill Shops: http://www.thefatkidinside.com/healthy-eating/skill-shop-6-a-simple-carbonara-pasta-video-still-uploading-damn-internet/
Normal Food Posts: http://www.thefatkidinside.com/healthy-eating/open-faced-beef-tenderloin-ravioli-with-runny-yolk-and-chunky-tomatoes-video-still-uploading/
Dessert Posts: http://www.thefatkidinside.com/videos/financiers-et-macarons/
Supplement Posts: http://www.thefatkidinside.com/hints/got-supplements-5-about-protein/
Health Freak Posts: http://www.thefatkidinside.com/healthy-eating/almond-flour-low-carb-gluten-free-good-for-you-bread/
When and how did you start blogging?
I started on Tumblr early 2011 and I sucked, so I wasn’t inspired to do more than 3 posts. Then in July 2011, I switched to wordpress.com and became a little more active, but still I wasn’t very happy with everything. But when Nuffnang Philippines asked me to represent the food blog category for the country at the awarding ceremony in Malaysia, I realised I had to step up my game. So I came back home with renewed inspiration to make a site that visually speaks to me and that would inspire me to blog very frequently, which is why I switched to wordpress.org so that I can have a total creative control over the site.
What separates your blog from other blogs?
Locally, I don’t see a lot of food cooking blogs. Most of the ones we have are restaurant review blogs. Moreover, of the cooking blogs we do have, most of them focus on Filipino food recipes. I’m different in a way that all of my recipes are original or adapted/inspired from someone else (I’ll specify it if it is) and I always try and make them different and refreshing. With my Filipino food post, I don’t aim to make traditional food, because I’m sure so many people can make those dishes better than me, so I just try and suggest interesting variations that will open some minds and might even attract some foreigners to try the dishes out. Internationally, what makes me different from other blogs is that I make instructional cooking videos.
What is the best thing about being a blogger?
It starts conversations with people you would never have met otherwise.
