With over 7 million followers on social media, 23-year-old Marquez is one of the leading food content creators from the Philippines.
Abi Marquez is in the running for the social media account category of the prestigious James Beard Media Awards. The James Beard Awards are some of the highest honors in the culinary and food media industries, recognizing leaders and innovators throughout the food industry. Included in its roster of previous winners are world-famous chefs such as Massimo Bottura and David Chang, and media works such as Dominique Ansel’s MasterClass and Salt Fat Acid Heat.
This recognition comes on the heels of Marquez’s recent People’s Voice win at the 28th Annual Webby Awards. She is the first Filipino independent content creator to win a Webby. Her win in the category of Social-Food & Drink is also the first individual entry from the Philippines.
With over 3.3 million followers on TikTok, Marquez shot to fame with her own take on the lumpia or Filipino spring roll, creating iterations inspired by popular fast food desserts, savory delicacies, and global food favorites. As she grew in following, she would forge creative collaborations with brands and global culinary superstars for the world to see.
“Growing up watching cooking contests on TV, I was always curious that the judges typically had a James Beard award in their credentials. That stirred up a dream in me to have a James Beard award, too,” Marquez says. “And for the nomination to happen this year, at this time in my career as a content creator? It feels like a dream.”
This food content creator loves putting anything in a lumpia wrapper. With over 7 million followers on social media, she successfully captured the attention of many foodies with her mouthwatering recipes and tutorials, quickly going viral.
Her excellent cooking skills come as no surprise. She is backed by her credentials as a magna cum laude graduate of 2022 with a degree in Hotel, Restaurant, and Institution Management from the University of the Philippines Diliman.
She helps home cooks ease up in the kitchen and offers Filipinos livelihood ideas through her content, using social media to entertain, educate, and support those without direct access to diverse global food cultures.
Marquez is currently in Los Angeles, collaborating with other creators, making new content, and enjoying some downtime between her recent Webby award acceptance in New York City and the James Beard event in Chicago on June 8. Earlier this month, she shared a real-time reaction video of her finding out about the prestigious nomination. (Watch video here.)
“We are thrilled to be working with Abi whose talent has been paying off in many ways,” says Kat Bautista, Head of Talent at Marquez’s agency NYMA. “She ended 2023 winning Foodie Content Creator of the Year at Tiktok, and this year won at the Hashtag Asia and Webby Awards and was inducted to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list. Her nomination by the James Beard Foundation is a true career highlight. She makes us proud at NYMA and Kroma Entertainment—and we’re glad to see how fellow Filipinos have been supportive of her, too.”
In this year’s James Beard Media Awards, Marquez is competing against KJ Kearney’s Black Food Fridays and Randy Lau’s Made With Lau for Social Media Account honors.
“It’s my honor to make the Philippines proud. Maraming salamat po sa suporta ninyo. I will be home soon!” Marquez tells her fans and followers.
Follow Abi Marquez’s ongoing journey across various social platforms as she continues to inspire food lovers everywhere with her creativity and passion on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.
Learn more about Kroma and NYMA here.
