Hardly anyone on Earth embodies the “from dishwasher to millionaire” cliché as well as Emeril Lagasse. From humble beginnings at a small bakery in his hometown of Fall River, Massachusetts, Lagasse has built one of the gastronomy world’s most successful careers. And one of its most lucrative – the 65-year-old now has an estimated net worth of around 70 million dollars.
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From celebrity chef to chef celebrity
His cooking skills weren’t the only thing that brought Emeril Lagasse to the top. He realized early on that success and popularity are closely connected, and at the end of last century and the beginning of this one, popularity came from one medium: television. After enjoying initial success as a chef, Lagasse made the leap to the small screen in the early 90s with “How to Boil Water,” a show aimed at people with little to no cooking experience. Once he’d developed a following, he developed his own television format,
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“Essence of Emeril” – the vehicle that officially made the chef a TV star. Lagasse’s business acumen and constant drive were already on full display in several respects. The title of his new show was no accident – and “Emeril’s Essence,” his own spice blend, made regular appearances on camera. The product is still available in Lagasse’s shop to this day…
Well, he wanted it, and he got it: even now, three decades after his first TV appearance, Emeril Lagasse remains a household name. A recently published study of Google name searches listed him as America’s fourth most popular chef after Guy Fieri, Bobby Flay, and Buddy Valastro. In fact, he ranks 16th worldwide, just one spot below the legendary Heston Blumenthal. (Number one on the list, incidentally, was fine dining’s resident “bad boy” Gordon Ramsay.) One thing’s clear: television turns chefs into stars.
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Swapping snares for stoves
Even so, Emeril Lagasse would probably never have achieved this level of popularity without his incredible culinary skill. Or would he? At any rate, the celebrity chef’s life would have been a lot different if he’d chosen his other great passion: music. Born in 1959 to a housewife and a factory worker, Emeril John Lagasse was an enthusiastic drummer in his youth. And an exceptionally talented one, too. In fact, when he graduated high school, he was even offered a scholarship to the New England Conservatory of Music. But Emeril turned down the scholarship – and the chance at a highly successful musical career – in favor of a spot at Johnson & Wales University’s College of Culinary Arts in Providence, Rhode Island.
After all, Emeril Lagasse has been interested in cooking for as long as he can remember. He spent a lot of time in the kitchen with his mother, Hilda – and a lot of time watching The French Chef, starring Julia Child. “I grew up on it,” Lagasse said at a book event several years ago. “I was was really impressed with her skills.” Inspired by the two women’s culinary talents, young Emeril couldn’t resist the idea of becoming a chef himself. As a teenager, he found work at a Portuguese bakery in his hometown of Fall River… as a dishwasher.
After graduating college in 1982, he became a chef at Commander’s Palace, a Creole restaurant owned by the legendary Brennan family in New Orleans. He spent eight years as Paul Prudhomme’s successor at Commander’s Palace before ultimately taking the plunge in 1990 and striking out on his own. At the age of 31, Emeril Lagasse opened his first restaurant in his adopted home of New Orleans. The gamble paid off: that same year, Esquire Magazine voted Emeril’s Restaurant of the Year. The rest is history.
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Emeril Lagasse: An empire with an heir
Though his success story has never included a Michelin star, the Emeril Group now encompasses ten venues in four US states, hundreds of TV shows, 19 books, its own merchandise company, and a foundation for disadvantaged children. Not to mention a signature cooking style. Emeril Lagasse helped create the concept of “New Orleans” cuisine, an interpretation of Creole food that incorporates regional ingredients from Louisana as well as national and international influences such as Portuguese and Asian flavors –
a mix of styles that was completely unfamiliar to the Massachusetts-born Lagasse at the beginning of his career. That all changed when he hired on at Commander’s Palace and began learning all about local dishes, talking extensively to locals, fishing, oyster harvesting, and delving into Louisiana’s culinary history. “If you don’t understand the culture, you don’t understand the food,” the chef insists when asked about the years that shaped him more than any other. “If I had to pick the people who had had the greatest impact on my life, it would have to be the Brennans,” Emeril Lagasse says. He’s already laid the foundations for a restaurant dynasty of his own: his son, E.J. (Emeril John) has been running the flagship restaurant, Emeril’s, since 2022. There’s no doubt about it: Lagasse’s impact on US cuisine is here to stay.
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And Emeril Lagasse wouldn’t be Emeril Lagasseif he hadn’t left more than just a culinary mark on the world: his two catchphrases, “Bam!” and “Let’s kick it up a notch,” have made their way into American vernacular, and not just among die-hard fans. The sayings also reflect the personal philosophy that helped this former dishwasher ascend to multimillionaire status. After all, if Emeril Lagasse has done one thing in his life, it’s kick things up a notch. And he’s got incredible success to show for it.
