Emeril Lagasse, the talk of New Orleans and
one of the best-known chefs in the country, is credited with
revitalizing Creole-Acadian cooking. Using only fresh, top-quality
ingredients of Southern Louisiana, Emeril has managed to preserve
the bayou's culinary tradition while adding on a contemporary
flair. Now chef/proprietor of three New Orleans restaurants,
he opened his flagship restaurant, Emeril's, in the New Orleans
warehouse district in 1990. NOLA (an acronym for New Orleans,
Louisiana) was launched in the French Quarter in 1992, and
in June 1998, the classic Delmonico's in New Orleans was reopened
under Emeril's management. In fall 1995, he opened the highly
acclaimed Emeril's New Orleans Fish House at the MGM Grand
Hotel in Las Vegas. A new restaurant in Orlando at Universal
Studios will unveil in January 1999 and a steak house in Las
Vegas will open in Spring 1999.
In addition to running his top-rated restaurants, Emeril
has become a national television personality. Host of the
Food Network's highest-rated programs, "The Essence of
Emeril" and "Emeril Live", he won the 1997
CableAce Award for "Best Informational Series." He can also
be seen weekly as food correspondent for ABC's Good Morning
America.
Emeril has also become an established cookbook author, sharing
his inventive cuisine in EMERIL'S
NEW NEW ORLEANS COOKING (William Morrow & Co.; 1993;
hardcover) and taking the back roads through the bayou to
uncover LOUISIANA REAL & RUSTIC (William Morrow & Co.; Sept. 1996; hardcover). His popular
holiday entertaining cookbook, EMERIL'S
CREOLE CHRISTMAS (William Morrow & Co.; Oct. 1997;
hardcover), was on the bestseller list. Emeril's cookbook, EMERIL'S TV DINNERS (William
Morrow & Co.; Oct. 1998; hardcover), features recipes from
Food Network's award-winning Emeril Live and The Essence of
Emeril.
The reception Emeril and his restaurants have received in
the culinary community confirms his commitment to top quality
and innovative food. In 1991, Food & Wine named Emeril "ONE
OF AMERICA'S TOP TWENTY-FIVE NEW CHEFS." The James Beard Foundation
honored him (MORE) as the "BEST SOUTHEAST REGIONAL CHEF" in
1991 and in 1997 nominated him for their highest honors: most
"OUTSTANDING CHEF" and "OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD" for Emeril's.
Restaurant reviewers have been equally quick to heap praise
on his restaurants. New Orleans Times-Picayune restaurant
critic Gregory Roberts gave Emeril's a "FIVE BEAN" (Superior)
rating in 1995. Emeril's was also dubbed "RESTAURANT OF THE
YEAR" by Esquire in 1991. Other honors include the 1994 American
Express "FINE DINING HALL OF FAME" given by Nation's Restaurant
News and Restaurant & Institution's prestigious IVY AWARD
in 1994. NOLA also received "RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR" by Esquire
in 1993, while Emeril's New Orleans Fish House was recently
named Zagat's Survey's "BEST NEW RESTAURANT" in Las Vegas.
Emeril has received recognition from national publications
such as Entertainment Weekly, Travel & Leisure, USA Weekend,
Southern Living, Men's Journal, Newsweek, Self, Esquire, Time,
TV Guide, USA Today, and People. He has been seen frequently
on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, NBC The Today Show, CBS
This Morning, Good Morning America, Prime Time Live, Late
Night with Conan O'Brien and The Rosie O'Donnell Show.
Emeril, who is of Portuguese and French Canadian heritage,
grew up in the small town of Fall River, Massachusetts, where
he worked in a local Portuguese bakery and learned the art
of bread-baking and pastry. As a teenager he turned down a
music scholarship to follow his dream of cooking and worked
his way through the culinary program at Johnson & Wales University,
from which he received an honorary doctorate. Emeril trained
in France and then returned to work in New York, Boston, and
Philadelphia. Persuaded to move to the Big Easy, Emeril fell
in love with New Orleans and worked as executive chef at the
legendary Commander's Palace for seven and a half years before
opening his own restaurants.
Marcelle Bienvenu, born and raised on the Bayou Teche, graduated
from the University of Southwestern Louisiana and worked as
a feature writer for the New Orleans Times-Picayune. She operated
her own restaurant, Chez Marcelle, near Lafayette, Louisiana,
and has worked for many of the top restaurants in New Orleans.
Marcelle currently writes for several Louisiana publications,
including Louisiana Life Magazine, Teche News, and Times of
Acadiana. She also has a weekly "Cooking Creole" column in
the Times-Picayune, which she has been doing since 1984. Coauthor
of Emeril's LOUISIANA REAL & RUSTIC (William Morrow, 1996),
EMERIL'S CREOLE CHRISTMAS (William Morrow, 1997), and EMERIL'S
TV DINNERS (William Morrow, October 5, 1998), Marcelle is
also sole author of numerous other books. Marcelle still resides
on the Bayou Teche in St. Martinville, Louisiana.
Felicia Willett is a graduate of the School of Culinary Arts
at Johnson & Wales University and currently coordinates food
production for the Food Network's Emeril Live and Essence
of Emeril shows. She also works on a number of other creative
projects, including the coordination of chef Emeril Lagasse's
food segments on ABC's Good Morning America. A native of Jonesboro,
Arkansas, she live in New Orleans.
Awards and Achievements
"The Ivy Award" -- Restaurants & Institutions
"American Express Fine Dining Hall of Fame" --Nation's Restaurant
News
"Best Southeast Regional Chef" -- The James Beard Foundation
"Best New Restaurant" -- John Mariani, Esquire magazine
"One of the top 25 Chefs in the Country" -- Food & Wine magazine
"Five Beans" -- Gregory Roberts, food critic
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