King of a Culinary Empire - Emeril Lagasse


The first chef to find his way to Food Network, and make it big on national television is none other than our dear Mr. Emeril Lagasse. The king of the Emeril Empire, he is no longer a chef, but is in fact a definition of celebrity chef and has made a significant contribution to how the world sees gourmet food, restaurants and culinary professionals. He is among the few who make watching cooking shows everybody's worth, not just for the food, but for the lively environment that he creates by involving his audience in his shows. So let's take a peek into the life of this famous food celebrity- both on-screen and off-screen!!

Snapshot:
Birth Date: October 15th, 1956
Homebase: New Orleans
Family: Wife Alden
Famous Restaurants: Delmonico Steakhouse and Emeril's New Orleans Fishhouse
Famous Shows: Emeril Live, Essence of Emeril

Born in the small town of Fall River, Massachusetts, Emeril boasts of a fusion of Portuguese and French Canadian heritage. He worked in a local portuguese bakery as a teenager, learning the art of bread-baking and pastry, then found his way to the culinary program at Johnson & Wales University, where he earned a Doctorate in Culinary field. He later trained in France, worked in New York, Boston and Philadelphia and finally as Executive Chef at Commander's Palace restaurant for seven and a half years before fulfilling his dream of opening his own restaurant in New Orleans. He expanded this chain to 3 more eateries with his flagship palce called "Emeril's" in 1990 and by 1995 he had found a place for "Emeril's New Orleans Fish House" at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las vegas, the first ever to make an impression in the sin-city. 1999 saw the growth of his name, fame and food at Universal Studios in Orlando and a steakhouse in Vegas.

But what got every kid and adult to know the name of Emeril Lagasse was his affiliation as top chef with Food Network. His two shows "Essence of Emeril" and "Emeril Live" won him several awards and made him a celebrity in the true sense!! He has also published several bestselling cookbooks like "New Orleans cooking", "Emeril's Delmonico" and more recently "There's a Chef in my World". His books have sold more than 4.3 million copies, and his restaurants have been showered with critical acclaims like "Restaurant of the Year by John Mariani(Esquire magazine)" and the prestigious "Ivy Award". He was also named the Best Southeast Regional Chef by the James Beard Foundation. If that's not all, an entire brand of cooking stuff is named after him and is always on Amazon's most-wanted list!! Lately though, I'm a bit disappointed to see his shows being repeated on Food Network. Emeril Live, is not longer live, but then maybe its FN that needs a makeover, and not Emeril!:)

So what is this guy when he's not a chef??!! Well, he has a history of two failed marriages, but now lives with his wife Alden in New Orleans and is passionate about cooking good food. He enjoys collecting wine, and often fantasizes of joining the PGA Tour. He also loves Tennis, Golf and Fishing, which is often sacrificed due to his 12-15 hour work days!! In 2002, he started the Emeril Lagasse Foundation, a charity organization to improve the lives of children and youth, and he spends whatever time he gets with kids and passing on his culinary skills to tiny chefs.

There, a concise yet descriptive biography on the famous chef Emeril Lagasse, a celebrity in the culinary world! People all around the world love this guy, and his Emeril-isms like "Bam" and "Kick it up Another Notch" are known to most of his fans! The one thing he says to his loving audience is "Enjoy Food, Have Fun and Remember Flavor".....hmm....kind of sounds like Fun and Food, right?!:)


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12 comments :

musical said...

Love this series of yours, Mansi!

Calories In That said...

Emeril is hands down the king of Food Network. I have been watching him for years, and truly respect his greatness. Thanks for the great article. I believe he also has child(ren) as well. I remember seeing his son on one of his shows.

Sharmi said...

this is a good idea! go on! nice one!

Swaruchy said...

Hey cool Mansi...I always love his shows...more for the lively environment he creates than his recipes......Good post dear :-)

Cris said...

I love food shows, and I am a fan of his cooking too.

Anonymous said...

wow, my kids love Emeril as much as I do!! they never miss his shows, and love it when he says "BAM"!!:D

-Shelley

Anonymous said...

Emeril lagasse Rocks!! there's no one like him on FN!!:D

The Short (dis)Order Cook said...

I used to hate Emeril because I found his style too over the top, but I've softened on him over the years. For one thing, he's one of the few real chefs left on the network. He has the cooking chops and the street cred. I also find that even if he is a little crazy on his show, his passion seems very genuine. Many of the FN cooks seem a bit phony to me. I've heard Emeril is a pretty nice guy IRL and he really loves his food. He's a showman as well as a chef. If he couldn't cook, he probably could still have a show business career.

My one complaint is that he does too much in "Emeril Live". It's hard to follow his recipes because he has so much to get through in one show. "Essence" is a much better show.

Mansi said...

disorder cook- I totally agree with your comment! sums it up quite well...he's truly genuine vs the other on FN who seem to be there just for the publicity!

Anonymous said...

wow, I just stumbled here from search and I love your site!!! when are you adding in Bobby Flay?? I seriously am hooked on this section and others...great job Mansi!

-JK

l_0oio0_l said...

how about reviewing bobby flay too!!! i like bobby flay and his recent veggie show!!! well many indians would love the veggie show of his.....

i went thru all chefs here and didnt want to individually comment.....

so herez my take...

1. Rachel Ray.... hmmm shez an ok showwomen....last time i saw her in kitchen stadium in iron chef ...she was strugglin .... but shez not that bad...

2. I like Giadia....oh i juz like her....and everything she makes...hahaha show should me named Everyday Giadia instead of Everyday Italian...(btw you should write abt her too :) )

3. Tarla dala...

hmmmm good....all indian cooks good cooks....my bro and bhabhi learns a lot frm her.... i dont need to :-)

4. Alton.... oh mannn this guy is crazy....and i love hearing his research....ofcourse he has taken drama classes.....hez a drama man....ppl watch his show for his crazyness and listenin to his research.....his show where he was travellin across US was good.....

hope somebody makes similar show for India....like weekend getaways.....and identifying all excellent mom and pop eating places in small lil parts of india....oh that would be awesome!

haha kya se kya likh diya....
an excellent blog....am gonna be a regular here!

Mansi said...

Thanks a lot for such a detailed cooment! glad you found the site interesting:) Giada and Bobby Flay are surely next on my list, so keep checking!!