ATLANTA, GA (March 23, 2007) – Chef Emeril Lagasse has announced a new management team at Emeril’s Atlanta. Chef Lagasse and Culinary Director Chris Wilson have promoted Chef Michael Blydenstein as Chef de Cuisine at Emeril’s Atlanta. Blydenstein, who has been at Emeril’s Atlanta since it opened in 2003, has worked with Lagasse and Wilson since 1999 when he joined the team as a saucier at Emeril’s Delmonico in New Orleans. While in New Orleans, he gained experience at Emeril’s flagship restaurant, Emeril’s. He is a graduate of the Western Culinary Institute in Portland, Oregon, and began his restaurant career at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seattle.Director of Operations Tony Lott, who oversees Emeril’s Atlanta, has reunited with Averriel M. Thomas to be the new General Manager at the restaurant. Thomas began his career in the restaurant industry at Commander’s Palace in 1980. He joined Emeril in 1993 at Emeril’s in New Orleans as a dining room and back-house manager. In 1998 Chef Emeril opened Emeril’s Delmonico Restaurant and Bar where he called upon Thomas to be the assistant general manager and private party coordinator. He has more than 20 years of experience in restaurant management, including stints at Herbsaint Bar and Restaurant, Smith & Wollensky Restaurant and Doc Smith’s Upscale Sports Bar in New Orleans.Emeril’s Atlanta opened in August, 2003 in the Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta. Emeril’s Atlanta offers Chef Emeril’s world famous ‘new’ New Orleans cuisine. The menu features signature dishes including Andouille Crusted Texas Redfish, New Orleans BBQ Shrimp, and Emeril’s famous Banana Cream Pie.

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