Emeril Lagasse
Emeril’s/NOLA/Delmonico’s (and more)
New Orleans LA (and more)
http://www.emerils.com
Emeril Lagasse is the embodiment of the spirit of Louisiana´s new garde chefs, and the food at his New Orleans restaurants, Emeril´s, NOLA, and Delmonico´s, is at the very apex of the new culinary style. He calls his food ‚“new New Orleans‚” cuisine. Critics call it ‚Äî and him ‚Äî top notch. He is the face of The Food Channel, and was named one of the top chefs in the country by Food & Wine, to Who´s Who of Cooking in America by Cook´s magazine, Best Southeast Regional Chef by the James Beard Foundation, and Distinguished Visiting Chef at his Alma Mater, Johnson & Wales University in Providence, among a slew of other honors. Emeril´s has been named Restaurant of the Year by Esquire, and won an Ivy Award from Restaurants & Institutions magazine. His cookbooks also receive critical acclaim.
But it is Emeril himself, with his outgoing personality and ability to explain his art, who is the real star. Lagasse´s background is down to earth, which is where he stands feet firmly planted despite international fame. He grew up in the small town of Fall River, Massachusetts. His mother was Portuguese and his father French-Canadian. Food and the family dinner table were central to his life. In childhood, Lagasse worked at a local Portuguese bakery, and as a teen he turned down a music scholarship in order to work his way through the culinary program at Johnson & Wales University, from which he holds a doctorate degree.
After polishing his cooking skills in France, at Paris and Lyon, he returned to the States and cooked in fine restaurants in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. He was offered the position as head chef at Ella and Dick Brennan´s historic Commander´s Palace, following in the footsteps of Chef Paul Prudhomme. During his seven-and-a-half years there he lightened and brightened the menu.
It was while he was chef at Commander´s that Emeril was first asked to participate in Great Chefs, taping segments for the one-hour special A Holiday Table. He prepared his favorite Portuguese holiday fare, like Kale Soup and Tuna in Portuguese Sauce. It was his first experience with national television ‚Äî and the rest is history.
Lagasse opened Emeril´s in 1990, and NOLA ‚Äì N(ew) O(rleans) LA — in 1993, as a – more informal restaurant. Reviving the classic Delmonico´s, he returned to formality. He has expanded far beyond New Orleans with more restaurants, his television shows, books, products ‚Äì the somewhat shy, diffident Emeril of Great Chefs´ holiday special is now a major business unto himself.
