El Pollo Loco is drawing some inspiration from its Los Angeles hometown and launching a “For Your Consideration” campaign to recommend 11 Hispanic chefs for the 2022 James Beard Foundation Awards, recognizing culinary talents and achievements.
The campaign, which begins today, the start of Hispanic Heritage Month, aims to bring attention to the fact that there’s a disproportionate gap between the Hispanic community’s contributions to America’s food and restaurant industry and the number of individuals who are recognized for their contributions. There are 22.6% Hispanic executive chefs and 18.2% Hispanic restaurant owners in the U.S., according to career resource site Zippia, but as of 2018, only 2.4% Hispanic people have ever been given a James Beard Foundation Award in 30 years, according to Mic.
Like any “For Your Consideration” campaign, the goal is visibility. El Pollo Loco took out a full-page ad in the New York Times today with a visual representation how many Hispanic people make up the restaurant workforce versus the 0% of Hispanic James Beard Award winners within the last decade. A digital billboard truck with the faces of all 11 chefs will be on display in New York City near the James Beard Foundation’s home in Greenwich Village.
The 11 chefs featured in the campaign are:
- Manny Barella
- Michael Diaz de Leon
- Danielle Duran Zecca
- Crystal Espinoza
- Christina Galtman
- Nelson German
- Byron Gomez
- Maria Mazon
- Eduardo Ruiz
- Loreta Ruiz
- Angelo Sosa
Each chef will be profiled across all of El Pollo Loco’s social media platforms and the chain will encourage customers to celebrate and tag their favorite chefs in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month as well.
Supporting and uplifting the community
Given its Mexican roots, El Pollo Loco has always championed the Hispanic community, and Bernard Acoca, CEO of El Pollo Loco, told Adweek that for this year’s Hispanic Heritage Month, that was no different. One thing that stood out to Acoca with “For Your Consideration” is how the chefs’ stories “are truly representations of the American dream.”
“The common thread that is interwoven throughout all their stories is this embracing [that dream] and what this country affords those that really put in the hard work to try to better themselves,” he said, “and where we think there’s still opportunity, that has yet to be fully leveraged and realized, isn’t recognizing these individuals who have worked so hard, so tirelessly to get to where they are today.”
This also hits close to home for El Pollo Loco, as the company notes that 80% of its employees are Hispanic. The chain plans to recognize its own talent by launching “More Chef Hats,” a grant program that will award one employee with a $5,000 scholarship to further their own culinary career.
“We want to use our scale for good, to better that community where we can because they up such a significant portion of the communities that we serve each and every day and it’s just a logical extension of our brand’s DNA,” Acoca said. “But equally as important is the message that it sends to our employees … and the fact that we want them to take pride in a company that represents them and represents who they are and always with the goal of wanting to make them feel part of something bigger than just the job itself.”
Acoca hopes that the “For Your Consideration” campaign will help others appreciate “how significant Hispanics are in terms of their contributions to the restaurant industry.”
“I think these 11 chefs that we are spotlighting are indicative of those that have worked assiduously to get to the highest levels of the industry, have attained, significant success in their careers,” he said, “but to be candid, have yet to really be recognized for all their achievements, perhaps in the same way that other groups have. We think it’s long overdue, that they get the recognition that they deserve, given what their contributions have meant and continue to mean in this business each and every day.”
