Emeril Lagasse

 Bam! The world knows Emeril Lagasse for his trademark exuberance and empire of cooking shows, cookbooks and gourmet products. But did you know he nearly entered an entirely different field? Though he established his love of food and cooking at an early age (first at his mother Hilda’s side, then at the Portuguese bakery where he worked as a teen), Emeril Lagasse was offered a full scholarship to the New England Conservatory of Music. Instead, he pursued a career as a professional chef, going from the culinary program of Johnson & Wales to the restaurants of Paris and Lyon. But his career really “kicked it up a notch” at the legendary Commander’s Palace in New Orleans. His work there earned him rave critical reviews, and he went on to open an impressive roster of restaurants, from Emeril’s in 1990 to Emeril’s Miami Beach in 2003. For most of us, though, Emeril Lagasse’s recipes and the cookbooks and cooking shows that showcase them are what make his name recognizable. He was one of the Food Network’s first superstars, and his cookbooks—from Farm to Fork and Emeril 20-40-60 to Emeril’s There’s a Chef in My Soup! (for kids)—are, like the chef himself, full of fun and good times.