Chef Emeril Lagasse has risen to phenomenal heights as a chef. He is arguably the most well known celebrity chef in the world today. Chef Emeril had his first culinary encounter as a boy growing up in the small town of Fall River, Massachusetts. He worked at a Portuguese bakery where he mastered the art of bread and pastry baking. Emeril turned down a music scholarship and earned his Doctorate degree through the culinary program at Johnson and Wales University. Emeril then traveled to Paris and Lyon where he polished his skills and learned the art of classic French cuisine. Returning to the United States, Emeril practiced his art in several fine restaurants in New York, Boston and Philadelphia before heading south to the Big Easy. Lured to New Orleans by Dick and Ella Brennan, Emeril established his star at their legendary restaurant, Commander's Palace, where he was executive chef for 7 ½ years.
Emeril is now the chef-proprietor of six restaurants including three in New Orleans, two in Las Vegas and one in Orlando. In 1990, Chef Emeril opened Emeril's Restaurant in the chic Warehouse District in downtown New Orleans. Two years later, he opened Nola Restaurant in the historic French Quarter. In 1995, Emeril brought his new New Orleans cooking to Las Vegas and opened Emeril's New Orleans Fish House, located in the monumental MGM Grand Hotel. In 1998, Emeril opened Emeril's Delmonico Restaurant and Bar in New Orleans' historic Garden District. In February 1999, he headed down to Florida to open Emeril's Restaurant Orlando at Universal Studios City Walk. Lastly, in May 1999 Emeril opened Delmonico Steakhouse is in the Venetian Resort/Hotel/Casino.
The recognition and awards he has garnered have made him known to food-loving Americans everywhere. His restaurants consistently win critical praise and top ratings. Emeril's Restaurant received a "five bean" rave from critic Gregory Roberts, and in 1990 was dubbed "Restaurant of the Year" by John Mariani in Esquire magazine. In 1991, Emeril was named "Best Southeast Regional Chef" by the James Beard Foundation and most recently, Emeril's Restaurant earned the prestigious Ivy Award. Nola has achieved the status of "Best New Restaurant" by Esquire magazine in 1993 and has been recognized nationally by Travel & Leisure, Traveler and Southern Living magazines. His third restaurant, Emeril's New Orleans Fish House was named "Best Restaurant in Las Vegas" by Zagat.
Chef Emeril Lagasse is also a national TV personality. He is the host of the Television Food Network's production of "The Essence of Emeril" and "Emeril Live", which reaches over 50 million homes daily. The former has been nominated for two Emmy Awards in 2001 and was voted by Time magazine as one of the "Top 10 TV Shows" during 1996. The latter has won a Cable Ace Award for "Best Informational Series." In addition to his award winning show, Chef Emeril is food correspondent for "Good Morning America" and appears every Friday morning with recipes and anecdotes that give broadcast TV an entirely new way of looking at food.
Also an established cookbook author, Chef Emeril Lagasse has authored five books including Emeril's New New Orleans Cooking, Louisiana Real and Rustic, Emeril's Creole Christmas, Emeril's TV Dinners and Every Day's A Party. His sixth book, entitled Primetime Emeril, will debut in October 2001. His book sales have exceeded two million.
This evolution of creativity continues today and his local patrons and national fans are continually curious as to what Chef Emeril Lagasse's next step or creation will be.
