New Orleans Chef Emeril Lagasse

The chef/proprietor of three New Orleans restaurants – Emeril’s Restaurant, NOLA and Emeril's Delmonico Restaurant & Bar – Emeril Lagasse is a national TV personality and has hosted over 1,500 shows on the Food Network. He is the food correspondent for "ABC’s Good Morning America," and host of "Emeril Green," an original series exploring fresh and seasonal ingredients, which airs on Discovery’s Planet Green. His show "Essence of Emeril" can be seen on Food Network, and "Emeril Live" appears on both Fine Living and Food Network.

Lagasse is the best-selling author of 14 cookbooks including "Emeril’s New New Orleans Cooking," which introduced his creative take on Creole cuisine. In September 2008, Lagasse announced a multi-year, 10-book project with HarperStudio, a new imprint of HarperCollins. The chef’s first book with HarperStudio, "Emeril at the Grill," quickly became a New York Times bestseller. His newest book, "Emeril 20-40-60: Fresh Food Fast," debuted in October 2009.

In 2002, Emeril established the Emeril Lagasse Foundation to support and encourage culinary arts and education programs for children. As of late 2009, the foundation had given over $3.2 million to children’s causes in New Orleans and on the Gulf Coast. Lagasse's corporate office, Emeril's homebase, is located in New Orleans and houses restaurant operations, a culinary test kitchen, and a boutique store for his signature products.

Lagasse joined the Martha Stewart family of brands in 2008; Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (NYSE: MSO) acquired the assets related to Emeril’s media and merchandising business, including television programming, cookbooks, and emerils.com website and his licensed kitchen and food products. See Emeril's recipe for: Spicy sausage, bean and cheese nachos