Chef Emeril Lagasse combined several of his passions — including his dedication to helping students pursue a career in culinary arts and his appreciation for the sport of golf — when he returned to his alma mater, Johnson & Wales University, for the 4th Annual Emeril Lagasse Golf Classic benefiting his endowed scholarship fund. The tournament raised more than $503,000, bringing the four-year event total to just over $1.6 million dollars.
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Lagasse recently announced he will open an Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House in the Island View Casino Resort in Gulfport. The 200-seat restaurant is slated to open in the summer of 2007.
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New Orleans today is a volatile mix of anger and hope. The anger surges from the raw memories and broken promises that linger in the wake of hurricane Katrina. The hope blooms from events such as Carnivale du Vin, which raised more than $2.5 million to benefit the city’s children in a star-studded culinary event in October. ( Wine Spectator was among the event’s sponsors.)
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Cafe Reconcile expands its menu to include construction training to rebuild its Central City neighborhood

When Cafe Reconcile reopened soon after Hurricane Katrina struck, it helped provide hot meals to the emergency workers, police and other first responders.

Today, the Central City lunch spot is serving as a first responder itself −− training young people to fill jobs in local restaurants, and helping its neighborhood continue to recover by drawing crowds for the inexpensive, down−home daily specials.
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Emeril Lagasse Serves Up Recipes for Young Cooks and Their Parents.

Emeril Lagasse might be the most famous chef in America. He has a wildly popular television show. He has several well-known restaurants, including three in New Orleans, Louisiana (one of which is still closed because of Hurricane Katrina). This past summer he prepared a special meal — freeze-dried jambalaya, a spicy stew — for astronauts on the space shuttle.

But when he started cooking, he was just a 7-year-old boy hanging out with his mom at home in Massachusetts.

His first major kitchen project was vegetable soup. He cooked a batch every day for four or five days straight. His mom, Hilda, would taste each one and tell him it was pretty good before suggesting that some ingredient be changed a bit or cooked a little more or a little less.

“When I got it right, she said, ‘This is how it should be. The vegetables are right; the broth is right. This is what we’re going to have for dinner tonight,’ ” said Lagasse (pronounced lah-GAS-ee). “And I was so proud.”
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He’s a world renowed chef with several restaurants bearing his name and he has his own cooking shows on The Food Network.
But these days, all Emeril Lagasse wants to talk about is his latest venture — a new cookbook. Not just any cookbook, but a cookbook for kids and their families.
“Emeril’s There’s a Chef in My World!” (HarperCollins Children’s Books, $22.99 is a follow-up to the hugely popular “There’s a Chef in My Soup!” (2002) and “There’s a Chef in My Family!” (2004).
This latest cookbook was just the natural next step, says the man who made “bam” a household word.
“I got to thinking how we take so many things for granted in the world, including food,” Lagasse said during a recent telephone interview, “so I thought it would be a great idea to do an international cookbook . . . present recipes from a variety of cultures which have an influence on Americans young and old.”
In addition, Lagasse is quick to point out, “we are all part of one big global family and what better way to learn about other cultures than through their food?”
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Kids have fun — and learn practical culinary skills — with help from Emeril’s new cookbook
There’s something about TV chef Emeril Lagasse that clicks with kids.

It could be because he’s a father of four, or because his “Emeril Live” series on Food Network is punched up with peppy jazz and phrases like “Happy happy.”

Maybe it’s because his trademark “Bam!” — often accompanied by broad gestures as he adds spices or “gahlic” to a dish — is easy for even a toddler to say.

The attraction is mutual. Lagasse encourages giving kids free — but safe — rein in the kitchen, arming them with age-appropriate cookbooks that parents can enjoy as well. His third kids’ title, now in stores, is “Emeril’s There’s a Chef in My World,” featuring more than 70 international recipes and a few American classics.

“I wanted to bring cultures of other places in the world that I know are submerging in this great melting pot,” he said in a phone interview.
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NEW ORLEANS — Chef Emeril Lagasse and Wynton Marsalis kicked off the school year with a free, educational concert for more than 2,500 grade school children at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
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Los Angeles Time - Washington Post

Emeril Lagasse may make a lot of noise, but his cast-iron stove-top smoker, made by All-Clad, promises to become a quiet favorite for summer smoking and barbecuing and long into winter. Nothing holds heat like cast iron, which has always been reason enough to love it. But the Emerilware smoker’s lid can be flipped for use as a grill pan; the smoker can also serve as a roaster and a broiler pan. It’s a hefty 10 by 22 inches, comes with four flavors of Cameron’s wood chips and costs about $100. Available at some Sur La Table, Linens ‘n Things and Bed, Bath and Beyond stores and at www.bedbathandbeyond.com.

Capital infusions : Last week, the Emeril Lagasse Foundation announced it was awarding $125,000 in “community impact” grants to help finance culinary education and summer camp programs.

Cafe Reconcile was among the grant recipients. The Central City cafe, which helps at-risk youth acquire skills in the restaurant business, received $25,000.

Also, the Willie Mae’s rebuilding project received $30,000 from the James Beard Foundation.

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Times-Picayune

Quick Bites
Friday, June 23, 2006
Brett Anderson
Restaurant writer

Brett Anderson writes about restaurants. He can be reached at banderson@timespicayune.com or at (504) 826-3353.