Emeril Lagasse is as famous for his bold Cajun cuisine as he is for shouting "Bam! But Lagasse wasn't just a celebrity chef.
During the 15 years we watched him "kick it up a notch" by tossing "gah-lic" into flaming saute pans, he was also building an empire of 13 award-winning restaurants and writing 19 best-selling cookbooks. Lagasse's charity work hasn't gone unnoticed either; in , the James Beard Foundation awarded him Humanitarian of the Year.
Since Food Network gave him the boot in , Lagasse has been in about a dozen shows as either star or guest. Not all were successes, and one β Emeril's Florida β is currently under investigation by the Florida House of Representatives.
Lagasse has given dozens of interviews over the years, and he wants to be remembered foremost as a restaurateur. There's a lot more to Lagasse than "bam!
Emeril Lagasse is so closely associated with Cajun cooking that you probably think he was raised in New Orleans. He was actually born and raised in Fall River, Massachusetts, a small town on the Rhode Island border, known for the Lizzie Borden ax murders, 19th-century textile mills, and vibrant Portuguese culture.
