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Emeril John Lagasse was born on October 15th 1959 in Fall River Massachusetts. His dad was a French Canadian named Emeril Jr. his mum is Portuguese named Hilda. As with all of us the food we eat as we are growing up influences us throughout our lives. Emeril began working in a local Portuguese bakery as a teenager. While at the bakery Emeril developed a love of cooking. He attended Diman Vocational High School and took the culinary arts program. Emeril led the high school drum band. They played at dances, celebrations and local religious festivals. He was so good at drumming that Emeril was offered a scholarship to the New England Conservatory of Music on graduating high school. He decided instead to go with a career as a professional chef.
For the next year he attended the Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. He took a job in a local restaurant to pay his tuition. He met a fellow student, Elizabeth Kief, while here and the two fell in love and married in 1978. A few months later Emeril completed his course graduating in 1978, he was later awarded an honorary doctorate by the Johnson & Wales University. He was able to experience working in Paris and Lyon in France. He then returned to the United States of America. He spent many years working in fine restaurants; one in particular was the Telemark Lodge in Cable, Wisconsin. In 1982 he worked for the Commanders Palace. He worked eighteen hour days putting a great strain on his health and marriage. He left the Commanders Palace and opened his own restaurant, Emerils in New Orleans in 1990. Emeril is known for his use of the Creole and Cajun cooking styles.
