After over seven at Commander's Palace, Emeril Lagasse wanted to open his own restaurant. He found an abandoned space in New Orleans' Warehouse District, which, in , was rundown. During the building's renovation, Lagasse locked himself in an office for 15 hours a day writing and testing recipes. Emeril's opened to rave reviews and was selected by Esquire as "Restaurant of the Year. By , executives at the new cable station, Food Network, had heard of Lagasse and offered him a show, How to Boil Water.
By Lagasse's account , the show was terrible, but Food Network recognized a potential superstar and gave him a new show, The Essence of Emeril. Lagasse was able to loosen up and be more of himself.
During the show's year run, Lagasse's energy never flagged: He opened four restaurants and wrote 10 cookbooks. During the production of The Essence of Emeril, Emeril Lagasse shuttled back and forth between his restaurants.
To accommodate his schedule, the show had to shoot eight shows a day , Sunday through Tuesday. Three or four shows were shot in the morning, and then the six-person crew took their lunch break, devouring the rich meals that Lagasse had just prepared on the set. When shooting resumed, he noticed that "everyone here is practically sleeping because they ate so much. He tried replacing "bam! Lagasse had two other catchphrases that he used in his restaurants and television shows — "kick it up a notch!
But even today people often yell "Bam! In , outside consultants reported to new Food Network president Brooke Johnson that "dump-and-stir" cooking shows, like Emeril Live , were losing ratings to the more exciting competition shows, like Iron Chef America and Top Chef. Johnson still believed in her superstar chef and allocated hundreds of thousands of dollars to overhaul Emeril Live with a new set and top-of-the-line equipment. But in three years' time, the high-energy shows — like Bobby Flay 's Throwdown — were killing Emeril Live in ratings.
On top of this, Emeril Live was expensive to produce. Because of Emeril Lagasse's astronomical salary, one episode of Emeril Live cost as much as a full episode season of a new show. In , Johnson warned Lagasse that the direction of the network may be changing. He knew his audiences were graying, but he believed the show would bounce back. Network executives thought otherwise, and on December 11, , the last Emeril Live was shot. Johnson told The New York Times that "all good things come to an end, and it was time to do something new.
Lagasse didn't understand why the network was evolving without him. He had devoted a lot of his life to Food Network, and now they were slamming the door in his face. But Griffin was against it. When Emeril Live got pulled, Lagasse retreated to New Orleans and worked as a line cook at his restaurant. His restaurants consistently win critical praise and top ratings. In , Delmonico Steakhouse received the Grand Award from Wine Spectator magazine, and has continued each year since.
Lagasse himself has received accolades and awards for his culinary expertise. Projects funded by the Foundation include an outdoor classroom, gardens, fresh foods cafeteria and teaching kitchen at Edible Schoolyard New Orleans, an accessible learning kitchen for special needs students at St. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. Emeril Lagasse is an award winning Creole chef with a dozen restaurants to his name, yet most know him for his trademark catchphrase "Bam!
In the mids, the chef was busy hosting Essence of Emeril , a instructional cooking show. But "after we had had lunch, people began to start falling asleep a little. Thus "Bam! Chefs around the country are putting their spins on classic Thanksgiving dishes — and putting them in to-go boxes for you to feast on at home. As new, cool food brands have popped up all over Instagram, so have brick-and-mortar stores dedicated to collecting them all in one place.
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