Emeril Lagasse

The Path

Classroom training came first at Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School and Johnson & Wales University, and it set the frame for a career that moved from vocational study into the demands of professional service. In 1979, Emeril Lagasse took the post of executive chef at Dunfey's Hyannis Resort in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, a first major kitchen role with the pace and pressure that define the trade. By 1982, he had shifted to New Orleans and into Commander's Palace, where Creole and Cajun technique would become central to the work associated with his name. Ownership followed with Emeril's in 1990, when Emeril Lagasse became chef/proprietor and took on both the line and the business side of the restaurant. Television then widened the audience for that kitchen authority. From 1993–1995, he hosted How to Boil Water; in 1997, Emeril Live put his style in front of a larger public; and in 1998 he became food correspondent of ABC's Good Morning America, a role he continues to hold today. Across those formats, the job stayed the same: translate restaurant discipline into language a broader audience could use. The screen work kept expanding across food media and competition formats. He hosted From Emeril's Kitchen from 2005–2006 and Emeril Green, then The Emeril Lagasse Show in 2010–2010. He served as host of Emeril's Table from 2011 and Emeril's Florida from 2013–2017, was menu master at On the Menu in 2014–2014, and became judge at Top Chef from 2009 onward. In 2016, he added Eat the World with Emeril Lagasse, and in 2022 he began hosting Emeril Cooks and Emeril Tailgates while also becoming chief culinary officer of Carnival Cruise Lines. Today, he remains chef/proprietor of Emeril's, food correspondent of ABC's Good Morning America, host of Eat the World with Emeril Lagasse, host of Emeril Cooks, host of Emeril Tailgates, and chief culinary officer of Carnival Cruise Lines.

The Work Today

New Orleans remains the base of the work: Emeril serves as chef-proprietor of The Emeril Group in New Orleans and has led Emeril's Restaurant there since 1990. The cooking associated with Emeril Lagasse is grounded in Creole and Cajun cuisine, then extended through his self-developed “New New Orleans” style. The point is not preservation as museum practice; it is the use of regional tradition as a working vocabulary that can still be shaped, adjusted, and made current. The name Emeril Lagasse has become attached to a style that stays legible to the tradition while pushing it through a modern public platform.

Signature

Emeril's signature dishes include Turkey and Hot Sausage Chili, Emeril Live, and Essence of Emeril.

In Their Words “I had incredible mentors with Ella and Dickie Brennan and I'm still very close with the family.” “I think people would be surprised to know that I turned down a full scholarship to a music school to pay to go to cooking school.”

Acclaim

Emeril's honors include James Beard Foundation Humanitarian of the Year, James Beard Award, Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Culinary Program, Daytime Emmy Award for Single-Camera Editing, National Best Recipe Award (2003), and Wine Spectator Grand Award.