Celebrity chef and entrepreneur Erwan Heussaff will be returning the money he received his involvement in the P80-million “Buhay Carinderia” project of the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB).
Heussaff, who was the project’s official content creator, has not yet released a statement ever since the Buhay Carinderia, an initiative that aims to promote Filipino home-cooked cuisines, and its funding has been questioned by the Department of Tourism (DOT).
However, Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat said in an interview with Saleema Refran for GMA-7’s “24 Oras” that Heussaff will return his talent fee because he only joined the project to “promote the country and its food”.
The celebrity restaurateur has yet to confirm the secretary’s claims.
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Heussaff became part of the said project in April, a month before it came under scrutiny.
It can be recalled that DOT secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat and actor Cesar Montano previously discussed the controversy surrounding the TPB’s Buhay Carinderia initiative.
The project allegedly did not undergo bidding process and was paid in full before completion.
Since then, Montano has officially resigned as chief operating officer of the TPB.
