Emeril Lagasse
🇺🇸 United States · American cuisine · b. 1959
The 'Bam!' chef who put modern New Orleans Creole cooking on the American food map.
Biography
Emeril John Lagassé III is an American chef, restaurateur, cookbook author and television personality of French-Canadian and Portuguese descent who is most closely associated with the modern Creole cooking of New Orleans. He is widely credited with breaking the celebrity chef format on American television in the 1990s with his Food Network shows 'Essence of Emeril' (1993) and the live, audience-driven 'Emeril Live' (1997), whose catchphrases 'Bam!' and 'kick it up a notch' became national pop culture.
Lagasse was born and raised in Fall River, Massachusetts, the son of a Portuguese mother and a French-Canadian father. He turned down a music scholarship to study cooking at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, graduating in 1978. After cooking in France, Lyon and at a number of New York and New England restaurants, he was hired in 1982 as executive chef of Commander's Palace in New Orleans by Ella and Dick Brennan, succeeding Paul Prudhomme — a position that gave him both his deep grounding in Creole cooking and his national profile.
In 1990 he opened Emeril's New Orleans in the city's Warehouse District. It earned the James Beard Award for Best Restaurant in the South within a few years and launched a hospitality group that today comprises about a dozen restaurants across New Orleans, Las Vegas, Orlando and on Carnival cruise ships. He is also a prolific cookbook author, philanthropist (the Emeril Lagasse Foundation has donated tens of millions of dollars to children's culinary, nutritional and arts programmes) and product brand (Emeril's spice blends and cookware).
Cooking Philosophy
New New Orleans cooking — kick it up a notch. Lagasse describes his cuisine as 'New New Orleans': built on the foundations of classical Creole and Cajun cooking (roux, the holy trinity of onion-celery-bell pepper, andouille, file powder, blackened seafood) but pushed harder on spice, technique and ingredient variety. His often-quoted instruction to 'kick it up a notch' captures the belief that under-seasoning is the cardinal sin of American home cooking.
Restaurants
- Emeril's New OrleansNew Orleans, Louisiana
The flagship since 1990, in the Warehouse District; James Beard Best Restaurant in the South.
- NOLA RestaurantNew Orleans, Louisiana
More casual French Quarter restaurant opened 1992.
- Emeril's Coastal ItalianMiramar Beach, Florida
Italian-coastal restaurant opened 2017.
- Emeril's RestaurantOrlando, Florida
Located in Universal Studios CityWalk; opened 1999.
- Delmonico SteakhouseLas Vegas, Nevada
Steakhouse inside The Venetian; opened 1999.
Awards & Recognition
- James Beard Award — Best Chef Southeast (1991)
- James Beard Award — Outstanding Restaurant (Emeril's, 2013)
- James Beard Humanitarian of the Year (2013)
- James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award (2018)
Iconic Dishes
Cookbooks
- Emeril's New New Orleans Cooking (1993)
- Louisiana Real & Rustic (1996)
- Emeril's Creole Christmas (1997)
- Emeril's TV Dinners (1998)
- Essential Emeril (2015)
Recipes in Emeril's Style
These recipes from our database reflect the american cooking tradition that Emeril works in. They are not direct reproductions of Emeril's copyrighted recipes, but traditional dishes inspired by the same culinary heritage.
In Emeril's Own Words
“Bam!”
— Emeril Live (Food Network, 1997–2007)
“Let's kick it up a notch.”
— Essence of Emeril (Food Network, 1993)
“Cooking with love provides food for the soul.”
— Interview, Esquire
Career Timeline
Graduates from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island.
Hired by Ella and Dick Brennan as executive chef of Commander's Palace in New Orleans, succeeding Paul Prudhomme.
Opens Emeril's New Orleans in the Warehouse District.
Wins James Beard Award for Best Chef Southeast.
Launches Essence of Emeril on the newly founded Food Network.
Launches the live, audience-format Emeril Live — runs until 2007.
Opens Delmonico Steakhouse at The Venetian, Las Vegas, and Emeril's Restaurant at Universal Orlando.
Founds the Emeril Lagasse Foundation, which goes on to donate tens of millions of dollars to children's culinary programmes.
Wins the James Beard Outstanding Restaurant Award for Emeril's New Orleans and is named the foundation's Humanitarian of the Year.
Awarded the James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award.
Mentors & Influences
Frequently Asked Questions about Emeril Lagasse
What kind of food does Emeril Lagasse cook?
Modern New Orleans Creole cooking — gumbo, jambalaya, barbecued shrimp, blackened redfish, étouffée — pushed harder on spice and technique than the classical Creole canon he inherited from Paul Prudhomme at Commander's Palace. He has long described his style as 'New New Orleans cooking.'
Why does Emeril say 'Bam!'?
The catchphrase started on his Food Network show Emeril Live in 1997 — he would shout 'Bam!' as he added a spice blend or seasoning to a dish, partly as a way of waking up the studio audience and partly as theatre. It became one of the most recognisable food-television catchphrases of the 1990s, alongside 'kick it up a notch.'
Where did Emeril Lagasse train?
He turned down a music scholarship to attend Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, graduating from its culinary programme in 1978. He then trained in France and at restaurants in New York and New England before being hired by Ella and Dick Brennan as executive chef at Commander's Palace in New Orleans in 1982.
Is Emeril Lagasse from New Orleans?
No — he was born and raised in Fall River, Massachusetts, the son of a Portuguese mother and a French-Canadian father. He moved to New Orleans in 1982 when the Brennan family hired him to run Commander's Palace, and the city has been his professional home ever since.
How many restaurants does Emeril Lagasse have?
Around a dozen, spread across New Orleans (Emeril's, NOLA, Meril, Emeril's Delmonico), Las Vegas (Delmonico Steakhouse, Emeril's New Orleans Fish House), Orlando (Emeril's Restaurant at Universal CityWalk, Emeril's Tchoup Chop), Florida's Gulf Coast (Emeril's Coastal Italian) and on Carnival cruise ships under the Emeril's Bistro 1396 brand.
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