Emeril Lagasse

Emeril John Lagassé III (born October 15, 1959) is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, television personality, cookbook author, and National Best Recipe award winner for his "Turkey and Hot Sausage Chili" recipe in 2003.

He is a regional James Beard Award winner, known for his mastery of Creole and Cajun cuisine and his self-developed "New New Orleans" style.

He is of Portuguese descent on his mother's side, while being of French heritage through his father.

He has appeared on a wide variety of cooking TV shows, including the long running Food Network shows Emeril Live and Essence of Emeril, and is associated with several catchphrases, including "Kick it up a notch!"

and "Bam!"

Emeril John Lagasse III was born on October 15, 1959, in Fall River, Massachusetts.

His father, Emeril John Lagassé Jr., was from Quebec, and his mother, Hilda Medeiros, was from Portugal.

Lagasse stated that he "grew up very Catholic".

Lagasse worked in a Portuguese bakery as a teenager where he discovered his talent for cooking and subsequently enrolled in a culinary arts program at Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School.

His talents as a percussionist earned him a scholarship to the New England Conservatory of Music, but he chose instead to attend Johnson & Wales University in hopes of becoming a chef.

He attended Johnson & Wales in 1978.

Many years later, the school awarded him an honorary doctorate.

Lagasse graduated from the culinary school at Johnson & Wales University in 1978 and became executive chef at the Dunfey's Hyannis Resort in 1979.

In 1982, Lagasse succeeded Paul Prudhomme as executive chef of Commander's Palace in New Orleans under Richard Brennan, Sr. He led the kitchen there for seven and a half years before leaving to open his own restaurant.

He was nominated as Chef of the Year in 1983.

In 1990, he opened Emeril's in New Orleans.

From 1993 to 1995 he was the original host of Food Network's How to Boil Water.

After several appearances on several other Food Network programs, Lagasse hosted his own show, Essence of Emeril.

"Essence" in the title refers to Emeril's Essence, the name of a spice blend of his own concoction that he frequently uses in his cooking, and which is commercially available in several flavors.

He also often suggested that viewers of his show create their own spice blends that reflect their personal tastes and be unafraid to use them to customize the dishes he would teach.

Lagasse was one of sixteen chefs featured in the 1993 Julia Child series Cooking with Master Chefs.

In early 1997, Emeril Live began production.

Later that year, the show won a Cable Ace Award for "Best Informational Show" of 1997.

It was designated "Restaurant of the Year" in Esquire magazine that year and has been a recipient of the Wine Spectator Grand Award since 1999.

Many of his restaurants, as well as his corporate office, Emeril's Homebase, are located in New Orleans.

In 2005, Lagasse's portfolio of media, products, and restaurants was estimated to generate US$150 million annually in revenue.

He also appeared on Shop at Home Network (which, like Food Network, was owned by Scripps Networks), on the From Emeril's Kitchen from 2005 to 2006.

In August 2006, Lagasse contributed several recipes to the meal selection aboard the International Space Station, as part of a general NASA effort to improve the quality of the food supply for astronauts.

Lagasse's cuisine in particular was selected in the hopes that the spicier fare would offset the reported tendency of microgravity to deaden flavors.

Lagasse's restaurant company, The Emeril Group, is located in New Orleans and houses restaurant operations, a culinary test kitchen for cookbook and recipe development, and a boutique store for his signature products.

His company in 2023 owns 5 restaurants.

Lagasse first appeared on television on the show Great Chefs where he was featured on ten episodes, including Great Chefs, the Louisiana New Garde, New Orleans Jazz Brunch and Great Chefs — Great Cities.

The program was discontinued after Scripps liquidated Shop at Home's assets to Jewelry Television in June 2006.

On television, Lagasse is known for his light and jovial hosting style as well as several catchphrases, including "Bam!".

Emeril's signature catchphrase began simply as a means of keeping his studio crew awake, alert and focused.

When Emeril first began at Food Network, he would tape seven shows a day, from seven in the morning until two in the afternoon.

The interjection soon proved a hit with viewers.

"Kick it up a notch", "Aw, yeah, babe" and "Feel the love", are usually said before or after adding something spicy to a dish, or after the reaction to adding something.

When frying or making dishes like sausage, Lagasse advocated using genuine lard, boasting, "Pork fat rules!"

This style developed fully, and Lagasse became more comfortable when a live studio audience was added in the change from Essence of Emeril to Emeril Live.