Jump to content

Emeril Lagasse

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Autiger (talk | contribs) at 03:59, 19 November 2007 (Revert to revision 171756900 dated 2007-11-15 22:07:39 by 67.171.236.187 using popups). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Emeril Lagasse
Born (1959-10-15) October 15, 1959 (age 65)
Fall River, Massachusetts,  United States
EducationJohnson & Wales University
Culinary career
Cooking styleCajun, Creole, and French
Current restaurant(s)
Television show(s)

Emeril John Lagasse (born October 15 1959, Fall River, Massachusetts, U.S.) is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, television personality, and cookbook author. A regional James Beard Award winner, he is perhaps most notable for his Food Network shows Emeril Live and Essence of Emeril as well as catchphrases such as "kick it up a notch" and "BAM!"[1] He is a 1978 graduate of Johnson & Wales University's College of Culinary Arts. The "Emeril Empire" of media, products and restaurants generates an estimated USD$150 million annually in revenue.[2]

Biography

Lagasse was born in Fall River, Massachusetts to his Canadian Québécois father, John and Portuguese mother Hilda. He 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 Vocational High School.[3] His talents as a drummer 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 met his first wife, Elizabeth Kief, while working at a restaurant to pay his way through school.[3] He graduated from Johnson and Wales in 1978 and the school later awarded him an honorary doctorate. [4]

Lagasse initially gained fame in the culinary world as Executive Chef of Commander's Palace. After leaving Commander's he opened his first restaurant, Emeril's, in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1990. It was designated "Restaurant of the Year" in Esquire magazine of that year. Lagasse is mainly known for his emphasis on Creole and Cajun cooking styles. Indeed, many of his restaurants as well as his corporate office, Emeril's Homebase, are located in New Orleans. Lagasse is the executive chef and proprietor of ten restaurants.

Television

After several appearances on several other FoodTV programs, Lagasse hosted his own show, The Essence of Emeril. "Essence" in the title refers to the name of a spice blend of his own concoction that he frequently uses in his cooking. 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 has been nominated eight times for a Daytime Emmy Award for his Food Network shows, but has never won.

Lagasse briefly starred in a self-titled TV sitcom on NBC during the fall 2001 season with Robert Urich, but it was canceled after a few episodes and widely panned by critics. Lagasse also appeared on Shop at Home Network (which, like Food Network, was owned by Scripps Networks), on the show From Emeril's Kitchen from 2005-06. The program was discontinued after Scripps liquidated Shop at Home's assets to Jewelry Television in June 2006. Lagasse has appeared on the Home Shopping Network for the channel's 30th anniversary.

Style and cuisine

On television, Lagasse is known for his light and jovial hosting style as well as several catchphrases, including "BAM!", "Kick it up a notch", "Feel the love", "Oh yeah, babe", and "Spice it up", usually said before or after adding something spicy to a dish, or after the reaction to adding something, respectively. For instance, often when he adds garlic to a dish, the audience cheers enthusiastically. He commonly refers to food that is not seasoned as "not happy" and will add seasoning to make it "happy". When frying or making dishes like sausage, Lagasse advocates 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. He is also known for the unusual sentence constructions he uses on his show, such as "And now we're going to beginning to start."

Lagasse calls his cuisine "New New Orleans". He describes it as using local (Louisiana) ingredients in new and different ways. It should be noted, however, that the styles of cuisine from Lagasse's many restaurants vary a great deal. Tchoup-Chop in Orlando is "Pan-Asian" while Delmonico Steakhouse at The Venetian in Las Vegas is a traditional steakhouse.

Lagasse can be found in his restaurants' kitchens a good part of the year and can often be seen at his flagship restaurant, Emeril's New Orleans.

Cookbooks

Lagasse has written several best-selling cookbooks, from Emeril's New New Orleans Cooking, his first book which was published in 1993, to Emeril's Delmonico, published in 2005.

  • Emeril's New New Orleans Cooking (1993)
  • Louisiana Real and Rustic (1996)
  • Emeril’s Creole Christmas (1997)
  • Emeril’s TV Dinners (1998)
  • Every Day’s a Party (1999)

Merchandising and endorsements

Lagasse has a wide range of Emeril-branded products. On June 8, 2000, he signed a deal with B&G Foods to create a line of dry grocery products marketed under the label Emeril's.[5] The product line includes pasta sauces, marinades, salsas and Lagasses' signature "Essence" spice blend. He followed this up in 2004 by lending his name to a line of fresh produce made by Pride of San Juan. The products, branded "Emeril's Gourmet Produce" include spring mix salad blends, fresh herbs and heirloom tomatoes.[6]

Lagasse also has a line of kitchen knives made by Wüsthof and cookware made by All-Clad as well as a line of kitchen electrical appliances made by T-Fal.

Recently he has appeared in Crest toothpaste commercials yelling his trademark catchphrase, "BAM!".

Pop culture

Emeril Lagasse discussing MREs during a Thanksgiving special
  • In the animated television series Futurama, the recurring chef character Elzar is a parody of Lagasse (voiced by John DiMaggio), even frequently using slightly modified versions of Lagasse's trademark catchphrases "BAM!" and "kick it up a notch".
  • Lagasse does his catchmark phrase in a brief cameo on Family Guy.
  • A parody of Lagasse appeared in an early episode of Cartoon Network's What-a-Cartoon! episode, Kenny and the Chimp, saying "BAM! Look at that bacon sizzle!" as a homage to Lagasse's love of pork fat. The cartoon also appears in one of the first episodes of Codename: Kids Next Door.
  • Lagasse's voice can be heard on the radio in the opening scene of the movie The Rundown discussing mushrooms, while the main character The Rock writes down notes for his own recipes.
  • An episode of The Daily Show jokingly argued that Lagasse could have done more to help New Orleans recover from Hurricane Katrina and thus failed to "kick it up [enough] notch[es]". Lagasse himself has been a primary spokesperson for Katrina relief efforts and agencies owing to his connection to the city.
  • Lagasse has been referenced several times in the comic strip FoxTrot, such as him making cereal and stating "Snap, Crackle, Pop, BAM!" or his "nerdy twin, Chemeril" making instant ice cream with a quart of liquid nitrogen"
  • On June 8, 2007, The Tournament of Roses revealed that Lagasse will be the Grand Marshal for the 2008 Tournament of Roses. Themed Passport to the World’s Celebrations, the 2008 Rose Parade will pay tribute to festivities from around the globe. As Grand Marshal, Lagasse will ride in the 119th Rose Parade in front of a worldwide television audience, and toss the coin before the 94th Rose Bowl Game on January 1, 2008.
  • In a strip from webcomic Mac Hall, Emeril is depicted as a character in World of Warcraft and Ian McConville's character Cherabim attacks him. In the last panel, Charabim is shown covered in blood, with the game announcing "Charabim receives loot: Essence of Emeril".
  • Is hinted at rather obviously in the online game Kingdom of Loathing as the leader of the chef-magi.

Contribution to space exploration

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.[7]

References

  1. ^ Walker, Rob (2003-09-29). "Emeril's Tasty Toothpaste". Slate.com. Retrieved 2007-07-06.
  2. ^ Schoenfeld, Brian (2005-11-28). "Emeril's Empire". Cigar Aficionado. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
  3. ^ a b "Emeril Lagasse Biography". A&E Television Networks. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
  4. ^ "Chef Emeril Lagasse: Biography". Emerils.com. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
  5. ^ "B&G Foods Annual Report (10-K)". 2004-04-02. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
  6. ^ Gaylord, Brian (2007-06-22). "The Produce Exchange to market 'Emeril's Gourmet Produce'". The Produce News. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
  7. ^ "Station Crew ‘Kicks it Up a Notch’ with Chef Emeril Lagasse." NASA press release. August 10, 2006. Accessed June 20, 2007.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emeril_Lagasse&oldid=172422042"