E.J. Lagasse now works the pass at Emeril's through 50 tables a night, in the dining room his father opened in 1990 and still majority owns. The new stars followed a $1.7 million renovation and a full reworking of the menu: seven courses for $95 became thirteen courses for $295. Revenue rose 167% to an estimated $5 million annually. Emeril's also debuted at No. 20 in North America on the World's 50 Best list. E.J., now 23, holds what he describes as a substantial stake. No outside investors.
The youngest two-star chef in Michelin history came back to that bench after training at Le Bernardin under Eric Ripert, at Core by Clare Smyth in London, and at Frantzén in Stockholm under Björn Frantzén. He returned to New Orleans at 19 and took over the kitchen his father founded in 1990.
How E.J. Lagasse Became The Youngest Two-Star Michelin Chef
E.J. Lagasse was eight, eating at Café Boulud in New York City for his birthday, when he decided he wanted the kitchen. By 13, he was formally preparing to revamp Emeril's. Through high school, he worked at his father's Meril Restaurant in New Orleans and at Emeril's Coastal in Florida. He started getting home-schooled so he could cook more. During summer breaks, he staged at Café Boulud.
After graduating from Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island in 2021, the same school his father attended, E.J. was told he needed more time on the tools. Emeril III made the apprenticeship plain: "Look, you can't just work for me. That's not going to happen. You have to go work for other people."
E.J. spent nearly two years at Le Bernardin in Manhattan under Eric Ripert. He remembers the room Ripert built, one where "you can go and you never feel afraid to ask a question or anything like that." E.J.'s method was to be useful: run, clean for others, ask what needed doing, then do it.
"If Eric Ripert would have looked at me and said, 'I need you to repaint the bathroom' I'd have been like, 'Where's the paint? What do you need me to do? How do you want me to do it?'"
, E.J. Lagasse, head chef and co-owner, forbes_food_drink
After Le Bernardin, E.J. moved to London to work at Core by Clare Smyth, which holds three Michelin stars. Then he spent a year in Stockholm at Frantzén under Björn Frantzén, the only chef in the world with three restaurants holding three Michelin stars each. E.J. says he "wanted something that was a totally different speed" and was drawn to "super-efficient, super-organized environments."
When he returned to New Orleans in 2022 at age 19, his father thought he was ready. E.J. began the $1.7 million renovation of Emeril's dining room, kitchen, and menu. The restaurant reopened in 2023. Six months later, Michelin arrived in New Orleans. E.J. was 22 when the stars were announced.
From Le Bernardin To Frantzén: The Training That Shaped His Technique
The lineage E.J. Lagasse built through his stages has the shape of a European three-star curriculum, carried into an American kitchen. Le Bernardin, where he spent nearly two years, works through seafood precision and a disciplined service rhythm. Core by Clare Smyth in London holds three Michelin stars and is built around technical rigor and an ingredient-focused approach. Frantzén in Stockholm, where E.J. spent a year, runs at a pace and level of organization few kitchens match.
Björn Frantzén, his mentor in Stockholm, is the only chef in the world with three restaurants holding three Michelin stars. E.J. describes the environment as super-efficient and super-organized, a speed he wanted after the more measured rhythm of Core. That training gave him the foundation to return to New Orleans and put European three-star discipline to work on Louisiana ingredients.
The progression was deliberate. After Johnson & Wales, E.J. could have gone straight back to his father's kitchen. Instead, he spent three years in three of the world's most demanding kitchens, learning how to hold a station, how to read a pass, how to keep consistency across hundreds of covers. When he returned to New Orleans, he brought that discipline with him.
E.J. is Emeril III's third of four children and his only son. He grew up in his father's kitchens, peeling shallots and hanging out. Before his first shift at Meril Restaurant, he puked, worried the kitchen staff would treat him differently because he was the owner's son. The stages abroad gave him the credentials to lead with his own hands.
Reinventing Emeril's New Orleans Without Erasing Its Soul
Emeril's was founded in 1990 by Emeril Lagasse III after he transformed the kitchen at Commander's Palace in the 1980s, creating what he called "new New Orleans cooking." The restaurant grew with Lagasse's TV appearances and became one of the crown jewels of Creole cuisine. When E.J. took over, the restaurant had been running for 32 years.
The renovation cost $1.7 million. The menu moved from seven courses for $95 to thirteen courses for $295. E.J. describes the approach as "contemporary Louisiana," and says the goal was not to make the dishes unrecognizable. "People that have grown up here that have been coming to this restaurant for 36 years, we wanted them to close their eyes and be able to have a bite and say, 'Wow, that really is barbecue shrimp' and 'That really is gumbo.'"
"My dad and I have been working on this for 10 years, the idea of really taking Emeril's and returning it to what it was opened to be"
, E.J. Lagasse, head chef and co-owner, forbes_food_drink
E.J. says he and his father have been working on the idea for ten years: returning Emeril's to what it was opened to be. The renovation did not erase the restaurant's identity. It tightened it. The thirteen-course menu draws from Louisiana and the surrounding Gulf. The technique is European; the ingredients stay local.
One early mistake: E.J. tried to change the restaurant's banana cream pie. He got enough hate mail that he reversed the decision. His father, now 66, still lets him make mistakes. Emeril III remains a phone call away and visits the restaurant quite a bit. E.J. says he has the benefit of being able to call his dad and ask what he should do.
The business structure is simple: no outside investors, just father and son as owners. Emeril III holds the majority stake; E.J. holds a substantial stake. Emeril III sold the rights to Emeril-branded television shows, cookbooks, kitchen products, and spice blends for about $50 million in 2008. The family also has deals with Carnival cruises and outposts in Las Vegas. Fine dining establishments can bring in solid profits, with EBITDA margins topping 10%. Emeril's serves 50 tables a night and has increased revenue 167% under E.J.'s leadership.
Emeril III describes his son's approach: "E.J. has always approached the restaurant with the mindset of both a chef and an operator. He thinks about every aspect of the business, from guest experience to his team, and he's shown a maturity beyond his years in how he approaches the business."
The Menu That Earned Two Stars: Distilled Louisiana Cuisine
E.J. Lagasse describes his cooking philosophy as distillation. "From a technique standpoint, we want to take these dishes and these flavors and be able to elevate them, and not make them better than they've ever been but try to distill them down to the ideal version of what they are."
The aim is recognizability. A diner who has been coming to Emeril's for 36 years should be able to close their eyes, taste barbecue shrimp or gumbo, and know it. The difference sits in the method. E.J. applies the precision he learned at Le Bernardin, the ingredient focus he learned at Core, and the organizational rigor he learned at Frantzén to Louisiana dishes.
The thirteen-course menu is built around sense of place. E.J. says he wants locals who live uptown on Magazine Street to have the same experience they would get at Per Se in New York without having to fly. "They can come a mile and a half down the road to Tchoupitoulas Street and have that experience."
The menu works through Louisiana ingredients and Gulf seafood. The technique is refined, but the flavors remain tied to the region. E.J. is not trying to reinvent Louisiana cuisine; he is trying to distill it to its ideal version. The Michelin stars and the World's 50 Best ranking mark how that work has landed.
E.J. says Emeril's is still the least expensive two-star restaurant in the country, something they did intentionally. At $295 for thirteen courses, the restaurant is accessible by two-star standards. The 50 tables per night sell out consistently. The attention has brought questions about what comes next, but E.J. says he has no desire to open an E.J. Lagasse restaurant or to start a YouTube channel or to open in New York.
Why E.J. Lagasse's Approach Differs From His Father's Empire
Emeril Lagasse III built his career on bold, accessible flavors and charismatic TV appearances. He transformed Commander's Palace in the 1980s by creating "new New Orleans cooking," and he opened Emeril's in 1990 as a flagship for that approach. His TV shows, cookbooks, and licensing deals made him a household name. He sold the rights to Emeril-branded products for about $50 million in 2008. His signature catchphrase, "Bam!," is trademarked. E.J. jokes that he doesn't use it because he'd have to pay Emeril to say it.
E.J.'s method is different. He works from sense of place and technical refinement. He trained in European three-star kitchens and returned to New Orleans to apply that discipline to Louisiana ingredients. His cooking is not built for broad TV translation; it is built through distillation and precision. The thirteen-course menu at Emeril's belongs to the pass, the plate, and the room.
E.J. says the accolades matter. "I'm not going to sit here and tell you the accolades don't matter, because I think each chef that tells you that they don't probably isn't telling the truth." But he adds that the most fulfilling thing is not the stars or the World's 50 Best ranking. "The most fulfilling thing out of it is that I get to do this with my dad."
The father-son dynamic sits at the center of the work. Emeril III let his son take over the kitchen at 19 after three years of training abroad. He let him make mistakes, like changing the banana cream pie. He remains the majority owner, but he lets E.J. run the restaurant day-to-day. E.J. calls him when he needs advice. Emeril III visits the restaurant quite a bit. The business has no outside investors. It is just the two of them.
Emeril's first key move under E.J.'s leadership was joining the list of Relais & Châteaux in 2024. The Michelin stars came six months after the restaurant reopened. The World's 50 Best ranking followed. The reservation list is full. Revenue is up 167%. At 23, the youngest two-star Michelin chef in history is working the kitchen his father founded 35 years ago, with the predecessor still close and the next service already on the books.
