Emeril Lagasse

New Orleans

Bam! The beloved chef always kickin’ it up a notch

Emeril Lagasse is one of the most famous and best-loved chefs in the US, known for his 'new New Orleans' style of cooking. Having been on TV screens since the early 1990s, there are millions of people across the country who have grown up with, or been inspired to cook by him.

Lagasse started young – at 10, he worked as a pot washer at a Portuguese bakery in his hometown of Fall River in Massachusetts, and at 14, he attended a culinary arts programme at the local technical school.

A keen percussionist in school, Lagasse was awarded a scholarship to the New England Conservatory of Music, but turned it down to attend Johnson and Wales, which became one of the top-rated culinary schools in the US. From there, he spent time in Paris and Lyon learning the art of classic French cuisine, before moving back to the US to work in New York, Boston and Philadelphia.

In the mid-1980s, he had a job offer from Dick and Ella Brennan – to run the kitchen at Commander's Palace in New Orleans. After working at the legendary spot for nearly eight years, he set out on his own in 1990, opening his flagship restaurant, Emeril's.

Over the last three-plus decades, Lagasse has opened more than 20 restaurants across the US. He has four locations in New Orleans: Emeril's, Meril, Emeril's Brasserie at Caesars and Emeril's Table at MSY Airport; as well as Emeril's New Orleans Fish House and Delmonico Steakhouse in Las Vegas; and his three restaurants at sea – Emeril's Bistro 1396 on Carnival Cruise Line's Mardi Gras ship; Emeril's Bistro 1397 on Carnival Celebration; and Emeril's Bistro 717 on Carnival Jubilee.

Outside of restaurants, Lagasse is best known for his TV work – and of course, his famous catchphrase, 'Bam!'. A staple on the Food Network, he has hosted more than 2,000 shows since the 1990s, including How to Boil Water, Essence of Emeril, Emeril Live, appearing as a guest on Julia Childs' series Cooking with Master Chefs, working as a judge on Top Chef and as a food correspondent on ABC's Good Morning America.

He is even the voice of Marlon the Gator in the Disney film The Princess and the Frog and appeared as himself on an episode of HBO's Tremé.

A best-selling author, Lagasse has written close to 20 cookbooks, including his first, Emeril's New New Orleans Cooking, which introduced his take on Creole cuisine; Sizzling Skillets & Other One-Pot Wonders; and Emeril's There's a Chef in My Soup!, a cookbook aimed at encouraging children to get creative in the kitchen.

In 2002, Lagasse established the Emeril Lagasse Foundation, which supports children's educational programmes that inspire and mentor young people through the culinary arts. To date, the Foundation has distributed around $20m in grants to support children's charities across the US. Lagasse was named the Humanitarian of the Year by the James Beard Foundation in 2013 for his dedicated efforts to further the culinary arts in America, as well as his philanthropic work.

With countless awards to his name over the years, Lagasse will now have to make some more space in his trophy cabinet, as he is named the winner of the SevenRooms Icon Award 2026, as part of North America's 50 Best Restaurants.

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